Why Personal Brands Are Important For Black Women Who Want To Diversify Their Income
Equal Pay Day is today and more than ever there is a need to make our companies and colleagues aware of the pay gap that exists between men and women.
It takes women 15 months to make what men make in a year, but for black women, it will take 19 months until we make what men make in 12 months. That means black women are making 63 cents to every dollar men make. The discussion continues each year around how to close the wage gap, offering solutions to getting women equal pay with many starting in the workplace.
For many black women, the workplace has been a difficult environment to gain promotions, salary raises, and visibility, which leaves money and opportunities on the table untouched by not feeling comfortable enough to advocate for ourselves and to show our worth. "For black women who are at the bottom of the food chain in terms of equal pay, we cannot afford to be modest; we can't afford to hide in plain sight. We have to get out front with our branding because other people are able to earn more by doing the same work as us so we need to at least try to level the playing field by making more noise about what we are capable of, what we have already done, and therefore what we can do," personal branding coach Amanda Miller Littlejohn shared.
"For black women who are at the bottom of the food chain in terms of equal pay, we cannot afford to be modest."
Amanda believes black women can take more control over their pay by taking more ownership of their personal brand. "Lagging behind both white men and white women in terms of equal pay, black and brown women can't afford to keep quiet when it comes to sharing our achievements and selling ourselves. By keeping our heads down, and working hard but not telling our stories, we miss out on promotions, new job leads, and clients. This adds up to thousands of potential additional dollars in missed earning power over our lifetimes," she stated.
Amanda created The Branding Box in 2014 after working with private personal branding and public relations clients as both a publicist and personal branding advisor. She noticed that there was a distinct framework that she created for her individual clients and decided to package her most common recommendations into a relatively inexpensive product that could help others build their personal brand. She later created the Package Your Genius Academy, to create a community and peer to peer learning opportunity for her clients. "I owe so much to my personal brand and I'm so happy to be able to earn a living and help to support my family from those efforts," she said.
With social media's wide range of tools and access to people from all over the world, black women are creating opportunities to not only live the life they want, but to gain the opportunities to build their authority in their industry and start up the businesses that they once dreamed of owning. In order to find success, those women had to build their personal brand and understand it.
Amanda shared some of her insight with us on ways you can begin building your personal brand:
Turn Your Digital Savvy Into Income & Opportunities
"One's personal brand is their reputation and the idea that the wider world has about them, their capabilities, their values, and their expertise. In the digital age, this is also your in-person reputation but also what can be found about you online. Just like your reputation, your digital presence as it relates to your personal brand can attract new opportunities to you when you're not in the room. While Black women over-index in our use of digital tools and social media platforms like Twitter, we don't always leverage our digital savvy to create income opportunities and career advancement for ourselves. Black women can begin to create a personal brand online by sharing who they are and what they know about the wider world. I personally have used personal branding and digital tools to connect with people all over the world and make the case for my business and give credibility to my expertise. Black women are traditionally pigeonholed into roles of the supporters, helpers, builders; but it's time for us to step out of those support roles and claim the recognition that we deserve so that we can earn more."
Don't Be Afraid to Share Your Good News
"One of the things I see most of my clients is a discomfort with the spotlight - a reticence to be out front with their accomplishments and share how amazing and qualified they are. It may come across as modesty and humility, but can be really damaging through the lifecycle of your career. If your colleagues, your superiors, and your wider industry do not know what you are capable of because you have failed to "share your good news" so to speak on any platform, be that through speaking, through media, or online through your LinkedIn profile, it will become extremely difficult for you to remain top of mind for new opportunities. So while you may think that being modest is endearing and 'appropriate,' ultimately, it renders you invisible to the very opportunities you seek."
Be Strategic & Goal-Oriented
"Where most people go wrong is not being intentional about building a personal brand, and for those who have set out to build their personal brand, they are not being strategic in terms of thinking about the types of opportunities or clients they want to attract. As you set out to build your brand, you should have some goals in mind, whether they are immediate or more long-term and related to a 1, 5, or 10-year plan."
Always Promote Your Brand
"Don't keep your head down and do good work for your company without seeking visibility opportunities outside of your immediate department and company. The same thing goes for creatives and entrepreneurs who may be working with clients: don't focus solely on doing such a great job for your clients at the expense of your personal brand. When those client engagements are over or should you lose your full-time role or be laid off or displaced, you will have to start from scratch if you have not been steadily building awareness of your gifts, skills, and talents. So essentially, don't wait to build your brand until you need it: steadily keep getting the word out about what you're passionate about and what you do best."
For more Amanda Miller Littlejohn and her bomb branding insight, follow her on Instagram.
- Equal Pay for Black Women - NWLC ›
- The pay gap is worse for black women. Here's a look at the statistics ... ›
- Let's Talk About Black Women's Equal Pay Day | Fortune ›
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- Black women have to work 7 months into 2017 to be paid the same ... ›
- The Pay Gap Is Even Worse for Black Women, and That's ... ›
- Equal Pay Days Social Media Kit 2017 | National Organization for ... ›
- Black women reach equal pay - seven months late ›
- Black Women's Equal Pay Day 2017 — Equal Pay Today! Campaign ›
- Why Black Women's Equal Pay Day is on July 31st | Glamour ›
Brittney Oliver is a marketing communications professional from Greater Nashville. Over the past three years, Brittney has built her platform Lemons 2 Lemonade to help Millennials turn life's obstacles around. Her platform is known for its networking mixers, which has brought over 300 NYC young professionals, entrepreneurs, and creatives together to turn life's lemons into lemonade. Brittney is a contributing writer for Fast Company and ESSENCE, among other media outlets.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Sheila Rashid's Androgynous Approach To Unisex Clothing Is A Lesson In Embracing Individuality
The ItGirl 100 List is a celebration of 100 Black women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table.
For Sheila Rashid, it all started with some free-hand drawings and a few strokes of paint.
The Chicago-based clothing designer and creative director of Sheila Rashid Brand recalls using her spare time in high school to hand paint designs on t-shirts and distressed hoodies, distributing them to classmates as walking billboards for her art.
Rashid sought to pursue fashion design at Columbia College in Chicago but eventually took the self-taught route to build upon her knack for crafting one-of-a-kind, androgynous pieces.
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Thanks to the mentorship of local designers taking her under their wings, Rashid was able to gain valuable experience in putting together collections and creating patterns; equipping her with them with the necessary skills to pursue her own collections.
After two years of living in New York, Rashid returned home to the Chi and uncovered the unique flair she could offer the city. “I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world,” she tells xoNecole. “That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
For the Midwest native, inspiration comes from her time around creative peers and the city’s notorious winters — known to be a main character in many Chicagoans stories. “It's a different perspective and mindset when I'm making stuff because of the weather here,” she explains. “When we get summer, it’s ‘Summertime Chi’ — it's amazing. It's beautiful. Still, I find myself always making clothes that cater to the winter.”
"I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world. That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
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Many designers have a signature aesthetic or theme in their creations. In Rashid’s design story, dancing between the lines of femininity and masculinity is how she’s been able to distinguish herself within the industry. Her androgynous clothing has garnered the eye of celebrities like Zendaya, Chance the Rapper, WNBA star Sydney Colson, and more — showing her range and approach to designs with inclusivity in mind.
“I think I do reflect my own style,” she says. “When I do make pieces, I'm very tomboyish, androgynous. My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes.” From denim to overalls, and color-drenched outerwear, Rashid has mastered the structure of statement pieces that tell a story.
“Each collection, I never know what's going to be the thing I'm going to focus on. I try to reflect my own style and have fun with the storytelling,” she shares. “I look at it more like it's my art in this small way of expressing myself, so it's not that calculated.”
"My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes."
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Still, if you were able to add up all the moments within Rashid’s 20-year career in design, one theme that has multiplied her into becoming an “ItGirl” is her confidence to take up space within the fashion industry as a queer, Black woman. “Being an ItGirl is about being yourself, loving what you do, finding your niche, and mastering that,” she says.
No matter where you are on your ItGirl journey, Rashid says to always remain persistent and never hesitate to share your art with the world. “Don’t give up. Even if it's something small, finish it and don't be afraid to put it out,” she says, “It's about tackling your own fear of feeling like you have to please everybody, but just please yourself, and that's good enough.”
To learn more about the ItGirl 100 List, view the full list here.
Featured image Courtesy