What is it about Girls and Color
Most women will tell you, fashion empowers!
Racial discrimination blends with gender inequality and affects women not just nationally but globally. Even the United Nations identifies gender equality for all women and girls as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals under the Agenda 2030 campaign. Goal #5 targets gender-based discrimination. Whereas it addresses isues of trafficking and sexual exploitation; forced marriage and female genital mutilation, it works to isnure access to sexual and reproductive health care forwomen around the world. It even goes deeper to address women’s economic rights, equal opportunities for leadership; equal rights to economic resources, and more. The United Nations Agenda 2030, in which I am deeply involved, continues lobbying for the adoption of sound global policies to promote gender equality and empower women and girls at all levels.
One area where we continue to see gross racial and gender based inequities is within the job market. During the pandemic, we have seen a seismic shift of women leaving the workforce, threatening the advancement we were beginning to see prior. In a recent study done by Mckinsey and Company, women’s jobs were 1.8 times more vulnerable to the crisis than men’s jobs. Although women currently only make up 39 percent of global employment, they account for 54 percent of overall job losses. Notably, women of color experienced higher rates of labor force exits than White women. These patterns are consistent with layoffs early in the pandemic that more severely affected Latina women and Black women. This gender and racial based regressive scenario is estimated to impact global GDP growth in the trillions by 2030. Conversely, taking action now to advance pay parity could add $13 trillion to global GDP by the same year.
In order to understand the current situation in the United States, I spoke with Marcela Berland from Latin Insights, an expert on the topic of the status of women in America and the Caribbean. Whereas she assured that we have witnessed tremendous progress for women citing,
“If you look at Fortune 500 CEOs, we have for the first time a record 41 female CEOs among Fortune 500 companies.”
She cautioned, that there is still much more to get done as the reality for women of color is daunting, adding that,
“The number of CEOS include only 2 Black women and no Latinas.”
When compared to men, Marcela stated that,
“The gender gap in pay has remained relatively stable in the United States over the past 15 years or so. In 2020, women earned 84% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. Based on this estimate, it would take an extra 42 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2020. This clearly has an effect on women’s earnings, but also on their confidence level.”
The realities of the last two years have had an adverse impact on women of color. She stated that,
“The pandemic has affected women at work more than men, given the fact that women tend to take on the role of caregivers and for many it was hard to balance work-family responsibilities during this period. And, Women of color suffer double discrimination at work, and therefore are more affected in terms of salary discrepancy and promotion opportunities.”
However, Marcela reported that there are signs of positive change.
“A positive trend that we are seeing is that among younger workers the gap discrepancy diminishes, with women ages 25 to 34 earning 93 cents for every dollar a man in the same age group earns on average.”
She added,
“At Latin Insights we have conducted many studies on women’s issues and how they are affected at the workplace. Our research indicates that discrimination continues to exist in the workplace against minorities, affecting women of color and other minorities. An online poll we conducted in 2021 among 500 underrepresented job seekers, shows that three in five diversity job seekers felt their salary offered to them was below their expectations. In addition, only 22% of new hires from underrepresented backgrounds say they have been connected to mentorship or sponsorship programs.”
Marcela and other experts emphasize that corporations need to do more to engage a diverse group of employees. They then work with equal diligence to create workplace environments that are supportive of a gender balanced workforce.
One organization engaged in this area is the Red Shoe Movement, a leadership development company dedicated to women’s career growth. Founded by Mariela Dabbah, a minority woman herself, the Red Shoe Movement specializes in providing resources and professional development to multicultural women. Its mission is to help increase female representation at the highest levels of decision-making in all kinds of businesses and organizations. Conversely, Mariela created the Red Shoe Leader Award to celebrate dedicated people doing valuable, game-changing, inclusion work in their organizations and companies.
Marcela also believes that there is very much a forward-focused movement offering that,
“I think there are tremendous opportunities for women and women of color. There is more awareness about their struggles and what needs to be done to assist them. Corporate America needs to take note of their critical contributions and make sure there is a fair representation of women and women of color in leadership positions. Those who commit to this, will see tremendous benefits since it has been proven that a diverse workforce increases profits and attracts a diverse group of consumers critical to the growth of any company.”
Perhaps one of the most exciting trends we are seeing is that women of color are taking the initiative to create their own businesses. It reported that 64% of new women-owned businesses were started by women of color last year alone. And, 40% of US businesses are women-owned.
Black women are among the fastest growing entrepreneurs, outpacing other ethnic groups, as reported recently by J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. Of course here again, the pandemic has had a negative impact on small businesses nation-wide.
Learning this, I set out to meet a few of these women and chat with them about their businesses and their related concerns.
I caught up with Norine Medas, Founder and Designer for Mon Petit-Coeur.Her story started over 23 years ago, when she got married and was working while carrying for her six-month-old baby. She was doing extremely well at the time, but like most women at the age of 30, she felt the tug to do something just for herself. She explained,
“My mom sewed, so I fell in love with fabrics, but she could not teach me. As an immigrant working two jobs, the time presented itself and I decided to launch a business of buying and selling children clothing. I used thoughts of my own children, the experience of a new mom as the setting for the home-based business. We had a baby registry with handmade layettes, bedding, baby accessories and gift sets.”
The business model proved very ambitious and labor became problematic. Her workforce of women who sewed for her had to work outside of the home and could not continue to work independently for her. Another factor,
“The cost of materials was increasing because I was purchasing in small lots and so I decided to focus on crochet, and by order. We created samples so we could create a website and share our work on a larger scale. I then found myself downsized during the mortgage crisis in 2007 and caring for two young children without any help, so the business sat dormant for many years.”
It wasn’t until her son became a senior in high school, that she decided to try again and resurrected the business.
“I learned of the Brooklyn Fashion Incubator in January 2016 and was shocked when the Founder, Maria Barraza, gave me an opportunity to participate in the program. I only had a set of patterns and a sample when I sat with her. Then everything changed.”
Networking with the other participants, she learned insider tips for best practices in the fashion industry.
“It was awesome!”
The opportunity to sell at curated events allowed her to not only prepare for pop up events, but taught her to sell with confidence. Her decor collection, which was imported from a female entrepreneur in Amsterdam, offers the benefit that it is eco-friendly. Although she admitted that production was a struggle, by shifting to a model in which her artisans create upon order, it became cost effective.
Norine’s story was very inspirational, so I asked her to leave a few thoughts behind for the budding entrepreneurs reading the article?
“Let your passion lead and you will never be disappointed. I had so many reasons to give up, it was extremely difficult having a high school and college student, working full time and launching a business. The right support is crucial if you are launching a business and I found that in the team at the BFI.”
Seeking other examples I spoke with Keisha Greaves. She is the Founder/CEO of a fashion brand called “Girls Chronically Rock,” and GCR Adaptive Project Non-Profit, both based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
This dynamic young lady has pushed past all boundaries by launching her business in the midst of being diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy in 2010. She was attending graduate school, at the time and receiving her MBA degree. Keisha shared with me,
“I always had a passion for fashion and I know I always wanted to be a business owner and fashion designer.”
When asked what inspires such a determined journey, she stated,
“Growing up, I looked up to fashion designers, such as: Tommy Hilfiger, Betsey Johnson and Kimora Lee Simmons from her Baby Phat stage. After being diagnosed, I wanted to create a t-shirt line to help inspire and motivate others in the disability community with inspirational quotes meaningful to me and my journey living with Muscular Dystrophy.”
In Keisha’s case she tackled the difficulties of learning how to start a business and run it by herself while dealing with the painful physical and emotional issues of this debilitating illness. She found help though Boston Business Women. She also embraced and owned her disability using hashtags as part of her branding. Through social networks she added key messages like: #musculardystrophy, #entrepreneurship, #disabledcreative, #disabledbusinessowner.
It contributed to her making connections and building brand awareness. She added,
“That’s how I got connected to other business individuals, and how I made connections with my public relations person, my business coach, and it started collaborations with other amazing people.”
Her perseverance paid off and ultimately one of the most rewarding moments was being featured on ABC Chronicle, Good Morning America, and the Today Show newsletter.
“Those accomplishments made me feel more empowered, motivated and made me feel like I can do anything. Of course, the challenge is not making the sales I would like and bringing in that revenue I would like and of course, not being sold in Target retail channels, yet.”
Keisha’s determination and upbeat can-do persona is inspirational and when I asked her for advice for budding entrepreneurs, she didn’t hesitate to state,
“If you have an idea or a dream, JUST GO FOR IT. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to and never give up. Remember to always network, go to certain events, walk with a business card, join different business groups on Facebook, and that will definitely help you along the way.”
One of the other women I reached out to was Lola Faturoti, Founder and Designer of “LOLA FATUROTI Loves.” Though she owns and operates her based fashion company in New York, I suspected she would have a truly worldly perspective based on her background.
Lola was born and raised in London, England. When she became three years old, her family decided to send her back to Ondo, Nigeria, where her grandmother was waiting for her to teach her Yoruba, the country’s official language. When she turned 17, she went back to London to continue her higher education in fashion. She later came to the U.S.A. to live and work in New York City. It was here, she informed me, she would eventually launch her business.
“My grandmother was a clothing designer, so since I was living with her, I was inspired by watching her doing her work. My mother traveled a lot at the time, and every time she came back to visit me in Nigeria, she brought me new clothing from international designers. Since I was living in an area where most of the kids were running around in their underwear most of the time, my clothing made me feel very special, and I was not afraid to show it!
Lola took a job as a clerk at Charivari, a popular boutique that sold all the well-known designer brands and appealed to celebrities during the 80’s and 90’s in NYC. However, even here she wasn’t shy of showcasing her own designs. As more and more people asked about her own clothing the store ended up showcasing some of her designs.
Lola admitted that she found that it was very difficult for her to work for someone else. She had a deep desire to find the time to do things her way and at her pace.
“I am a very independent woman, so some people might not be okay with my ways of operating.”
The biggest difficulty she encountered was finding a good business partner,
“It is very difficult for me to maintain the creative side of the business, and the marketing with social media, ‘that takes a lot of time,’ so having a business partner that can allow me to be my creative self, it would be very helpful.”
Her warm smile turned to a laugh as she added,
“By the way, I am still looking for one, do you know anyone?”
When I asked Lola what resources she used to start her business, she replied,
“My money! I saved all of it for the business so I could finance all the creative work.
Her experience in self-financing her business is typical of most women entrepreneurs. The Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee reports that female business owners account for less than 5 percent of all the capital lent to small companies and only 7 percent of all capital funded by venture firms. However, Lola and others are finding alternative resources. For example, during the Blacks Lives Matter demonstrations, a company called Resonance, invited for the first time, African Americans designers to an annual competition that provides designers with textile printing. Lola entered and was one of the winners that year. She also mentioned how much she appreciates the company’s efforts on sustainability, adding that,
“They only print on demand. They use only organic materials, meaning fabrics and inks. In addition, they manage to use very little water resources since they collect water from the rain to avoid waste of water. They are super sustainable and amazing!”
Lola described to me that the most rewarding part of her business is to bring happiness to others with her designs. It is even something she articulated in the business’ mission. Her brand blends her African roots with an international and contemporary vision that as she puts it:
“Can dress your soul!”
I asked Lola for her inspirational offering to readers and she immediately replied,
“They should do what they love to do! If you do what you love, that will be transmitted to the person receiving the product you created.”
She also quoted one of her literary heroines, Maya Agelou,
“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”
Like Lola’s designs, her undeniable radiance reminded me once again that colors bring beauty to our lives. “dress your soul!” Keisha’s determination to push beyond adversity of the greatest kind, combined with Norine’s persistence of vision allowing it to take the time it takes, were credos to take to heart. Let’s hope that when we go out into the world for that job interview, or even that loan to start our business, we are judged, welcome and supported based on the beauty and intelligence every woman of color brings to the table.