Black women stand to lose close to $1 million due to the pay gap
 CLOSING THE GAP Tuesday, August 3, 2021 
The average woman who works full time, year-round earns 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. For many women of color, this pay gap is even larger, with Black women earning 63 cents for every dollar earned by white men, and Native American women and Latinas earning 60 cents and 55 cents, respectively, for every dollar earned by white men.
This wage gap, which has only closed by 3 cents over the last 30 years for Black women, according to the National Women's Law Center, means that Black women must work until Aug. 3 in 2021 to reach the same pay white men earned in 2020. Over the course of a 40-year career, Black women stand to lose a staggering $964,400 due to this pay gap, with Native American women and Latinas losing even more, reports NWLC.
There is no question that bias and discrimination contribute to this ongoing pay disparity, according to reports. But, there are also things that individuals can do to help increase their pay at work.
For Black Women's Equal Pay Day, CNBC Make It spoke to six Black women career coaches about the tips and strategies Black women can use to ensure they're getting paid their worth.
"My first piece of advice will be to make sure that you are negotiating," says Angelina Darrisaw, CEO of C-Suite Coach, which is an organization that provides career coaching and inclusive professional development content for Fortune 500 companies.
While this may sound like a basic tip to some, Darrisaw says it's "especially critical for Black women and all people of color" to strategically negotiate their salary because oftentimes "due to the impact of systemic racism on us, due to how we've been socialized, a lot of times we have hesitancy to ask for things. So, there is a resocialization that needs to happen for us to gain comfort and confidence in pushing back and saying, 'No, that's not enough.'"
In addition to offering tips on how to negotiate your salary, career and leadership development expert Kimberly Cummings shares advice on how to properly articulate your value to an employer during the interview process. And Jacqueline Twillie, founder of ZeroGap, a training and development company for women who work in male-dominated industries, provides advice on how Black women can respond to a lowball offer if they receive one.
"Be willing to walk away," says Twillie, who also shares the exact words you should use when asking for more during a lowball negotiation. "What I typically find with Black women is they end up in a cycle where they think they'll get their foot in the door and then it will work out and it doesn't and they end up just looking for another job."
To read the rest of Twillie's tips, as well as those from other Black women career coaches about negotiating your value in the workplace head to CNBC Make It's website here. And, be sure to reach out to me via email at courtney.connley@nbcuni.com or on Twitter @ClassicalCourt with any additional methods you've used to ensure you're being paid your worth at work.
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