It’s always a good look when you’re able to get to the final step of a job interview. You’ve made it past the first round of interrogation, the second round of meeting with your prospective manager, and now you’re at the last stop, where you pretty much have the job but still have the opportunity to either accept or decline the offer. Before you say yes, though, think about the environment women work in today and consider your options in terms of pay.
Last week, Equal Pay Day was commemorated on March 15 in order to mark how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned during the same time last year. While some companies’ leaders are doing the best they can to not only raise the bar on equal pay for all employees but actually set better standards for pay altogether, many companies still struggle to get with the equal-pay program.
So, when you’re having that virtual meeting where the hiring manager asks, “So, any more questions on the position that will seal the deal for you?” here are three you shouldn’t leave the conversation without asking:
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1. "How are professionals at your company rewarded for good work or tenure?"
This is the time when you’d be able to get insights about the process of pay raises or rewards for good performance or find out whether they might be having you work for eight years, doing well before a pay raise is even considered. (This happened to me, and I literally struggled while making a yesteryear’s salary with modern-day bills.) Ask them follow-up questions like, “When would I have the opportunity for a raise upon performing well?” or “Is there a policy in place that rewards those who have been at the company for a while or for tenure perks?”
When you do well, you should be compensated. And remember, inflation and bill collectors don’t pause, so you must advocate for yourself by finding out how your salary might increase (or not) over time.
If they can give detailed responses on this, you might have found a good fit here in terms of getting what your skills and talents are worth. If they have to “get back to you” upon your acceptance of the offer, they don’t have any specifics on these things, or they simply say, “No, there are none in place at this time,” you might want to reconsider saying yes to the job. It’s a good idea to get ahead of the possible future of burnout and frustration.
And depending on your industry, some perks based on how much time you’ve been at a company are industry-standard or even legally backed.
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2. "What retirement, other investment options, or perks are available, and does the company offer a match to my fund contributions?"
While the realities of COVID have impacted many businesses, it’s still a good idea to at least ask this question. (And if you don’t know anything about a 401K, you should still be asking about this. You could be leaving thousands of dollars on the table by avoiding this conversation.) Find out all the options for perks and funds, and ask your prospective employer about the investment firms or financial institutions they work with so you can do your own investigating as to what might be best for you. When I got my first job, I knew nothing about a 401K and didn’t really understand what I was contributing to every paycheck. Fast-forward years later, when I hit a stint of unemployment.
My mom asked, “Hey what happened to your 401K funds? You need to check.” Sure enough, there were thousands of dollars in an account at my disposal due to that company matching my contributions. The money had just been sitting there for years. Luckily, by the time I’d inquired about the funds, I was just in time before missing the cutoff date for dormant accounts.
While you might think you’re too young (or too far from living that life), it’s always good to plan ahead to save for retirement even if it might not come for another couple of decades. Also, retirement or investment funds can come in handy way before it’s time for you to clock in for the last time. Some people have been able to use investment funds to start their first business, travel, or take a break from working for months or years at a time.
And if you’re up for a job that requires a lot of travel, physical exertion, time away from your family, or use of technology, ask whether there are stipends, discounts, business credit card accounts, or funding options to cover expenses related to those things. Again, making sure you’re financially, mentally, and physically able to not only support yourself but the duties you need to succeed in the role is key.
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3. "How is my salary broken down: hourly or annual?"
This is key because, though some companies offer a “salary,” they’re really paying you for a certain number of hours, and those that do this also typically offer overtime pay. Again, you want to be clear on this because if you find yourself working 10-12 hours but only getting paid for 8, you’ll need to really either reevaluate your time management or face the tough reality that your managers might be requiring effort from you for work that you aren’t being compensated for. Hey, sometimes a certain project or task takes more time than your work shift–no matter how great you are at time and project management, and depending on the company culture, you might be expected to just suck it up and get the job done.
If you’re paid the same amount, regardless of the hours it takes to complete a task or job, and there’s no overtime pay, consider whether the way the company might pay you will impact your quality of life or happiness in that role.
I once had a salaried job, for example, that paid a flat rate (not by the hour at all) but the workload required me to complete tasks throughout the night, well after my office hours, with no overtime pay. (The job also had a sales component, and while I was selling thousands of dollars in said product a month, I received nothing for my prowess in doing so.) Once I calculated how much I was working versus what I was being paid, the numbers just didn’t add up, and while I loved the job, I couldn’t justify the return on my time and energy investment. I was making the company thousands of dollars a month, on top of doing my other duties, yet I was being paid peanuts.
True, you could wait and discuss this with your manager once you’re at the job, but why not get ahead of things by asking, during the interview, about the salary breakdown, and then, make a decision, based on the type of job you’re applying for, on whether it’s a good idea to take the offer.
While there are still prevalent issues related to systemic sexism and racism that pose challenges for Black women in getting our fair pay, at the end of the day, you can take charge of getting the salary you deserve (if not more) and you can plan ahead to earn the money that will help you reach your financial and lifestyle goals.
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Featured image by Ariel Skelley/Getty
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So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
Then there were those who gave up their zip code altogether and found a permanent home in the skies. After years spent recruiting students for a university, Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare became a full-time travel influencer and founded her travel company, Shakespeare Agency. And she's not alone.
These stories mirror the experiences of women across the world. For millions, the pandemic induced a seismic shift in priorities and desires. Corporate careers that were once hailed as the ultimate “I made it” moment in one's career were pushed to the back burner as women quit their jobs in search of a more self-fulfilling purpose.
xoNecole spoke to these three Black women who used the pandemic as a springboard to make their wildest dreams a reality, the lessons they learned, and posed the question of whether they’ll ever return to cubicle life.
Answers have been edited for context and length.
xoNecole: How did the pandemic lead to you leaving the cubicle?
Randi: I was becoming stagnant. I was working in mortgage and banking but I felt like my personality was too big for that job! From there, I transitioned to radio but was laid off during the pandemic. That’s what made me go full throttle with entrepreneurship.
Gabrielle: I moved around a lot for work. Five times over a span of seven years. I knew I needed a break because I had experienced so much. So, I just quit one day. Effective immediately. I didn’t know what I was going to do, I just knew I needed a break and to just regroup.
Lisa-Gaye: I was working in recruiting at a university and my dream job just kind of fell into my lap! But, I never got to fully enjoy it before the world shut down in March [2020] and I was laid off. On top of that, I was stuck in Miami because Jamaica had closed its borders due to the pandemic before I was able to return.
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xoN: Tell us about your journey after leaving Corporate America.
Randi: I do it all now! I have a podcast, I’m an on-air talent, I act, and I own a public relations company that focuses on social media engagement. It’s all from my network. When you go out and start a business, you can’t just say, “Okay I’m done with Corporate America,” and “Let me do my own thing.” If you don’t build community, if you don’t build a network it's going to be very hard to sustain.
Gabrielle: I realized in New York, there was not a lot to do for Black lesbians and queer folks. We don’t really have dedicated bars and spaces so I started doing events and it took off. I started focusing on my brand, Raw Honey. I opened a co-working space, and I was able to host an NYC Pride event in front of 100,000 people. I hit the ground running with Raw Honey. My events were all women coming to find community and come together with other lesbians and queer folks. I found my purpose in that.
Lisa-Gaye: After being laid off, I wrote out all of my passions and that’s how I came up with [my company] Shakespeare Agency. It was all of the things that I loved to do under one umbrella. The pandemic pulled that out of me. I had a very large social media following, so I pitched to hotels that I would feature them on my blog and social media. This reignited my passion for travel. I took the rest of the year to refocus my brand to focus solely on being a content creator within the travel space.
Gabrielle
xoN: What have you learned about yourself during your time as an entrepreneur?
Randi: [I learned] the importance of my network and community that I created. When I was laid off I was still keeping those relationships with people that I used to work with. So it was easy for me to transition into social media management and I didn’t have to start from scratch.
Gabrielle: The biggest thing I learned about myself was my own personal identity as a Black lesbian and how much I had assimilated into straight and corporate culture and not being myself. Now, I feel comfortable and confident being my authentic self. Now, I'm not sacrificing anything else for my career. I have a full life. I have friends. I have a social life. And when you are happy and have a full quality of life, I feel like [I] can have more longevity in my career.
Lisa-Gaye: [I'm doing] the best that I've ever done. The discipline that I’m building within myself. Nobody is saying, ‘Oh you have to be at work at this time.’ There’s no boss saying, ‘Why are you late?’ But, if I’m laying in bed at 10 a.m. then it's me saying [to myself], 'Okay, Lisa, get up, it's time for you to start working!’ That’s all on me.
xoNecole: What mistakes do you want to help people avoid when leaving Corporate America?
Randi: You have to learn about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. You have a fast season and a slow season and I started to learn that when you're self-employed the latter season hits hard. Don't get caught up on the lows, just keep going and don't stop. I’m glad I did.
Gabrielle: I think everyone should quit their job and just figure it out for a second. You will discover so much about yourself when you take a second to just focus on you. Your skill set will always be there. You can’t be afraid of what will happen when you bet on yourself.
Lisa-Gaye: When it comes to being an influencer the field is saturated and a lot of people suffer from imposter syndrome. There is nothing wrong with being an imposter but find out how to make it yours, how to make it better. If you go to the store, you see 10 million different brands of bread! But you are choosing the brand that you like because you like that particular flavor.
So be an imposter, but be the best imposter of yourself and add your own flair, your own flavor. Make the better bread. The bread that you want.
Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare
xoNecole: Will you ever return to your 9 to 5?
Randi: I wouldn’t go back to Corporate America. But I don’t mind working under someone. A lot of people try to get into this business saying, “I can't work under anyone.” That’s not necessarily the reason to start a business because you're always going to answer to somebody. Clients, brands, there’s always someone else involved.
Gabrielle: I went back! I really needed a break and I gave myself that. But, I realized I’m a corporate girl, [and] I enjoy the work that I do. I’m good at it and I really missed that side of myself. I have different sides of me and my whole identity is not Raw Honey or my queerness. A big side of me is business and that’s why I love having my career. Now I feel like my best self.
Lisa-Gaye: I really don’t. For right now, I love working for myself. It's gratifying, it's challenging, it's exciting. It’s a big deal for me to say I own my own business. That I am my own boss, and I'm a Black woman doing it.
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Featured image courtesy of Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare
Originally published on February 6, 2023