5 Strategies for BIPOC to Negotiate Equitable Pay

Despite all the research, advice, and efforts doled out to lessen and close the pay gap, the earning differential for people of color persists. Marginalized groups face biases during wage negotiations and receive lowball offers that put them at disadvantage and create a huge racial wealth gap. AAPI women, for example, working full-time, are still typically paid just $0.85 for every dollar paid to white men and they lose about $400,000 over the span of a 40-year career. If you’re a BIPOC currently facing this situation, there are strategies you can use to up your chances of getting the salary you deserve.

• Do your research: Before you accept a salary or quote one, you need to know three things: the fair market value of the position, broader information around the pay gap for people of color, and specific context for your role and skills. You should walk away from this research with a salary range in mind, as well as a salary you know that you won’t accept. Plan to suggest a higher range rather than a lower range. Negotiating down is often easier than negotiating up.
• Know your strengths: Think back to your former jobs or your time in school and make an exhaustive list of your accomplishments and strengths. Don’t just think about the outcomes. Think about the strengths and skills you had to use to achieve them. Finally, consider how your identity as a person of color has helped you in your past workplaces. This information will both give you confidence, as well as negotiation points.
• Know what you want: Don’t just focus on the compensation. Think through other facets of work that matter to you, such as a budget for skill development or educational courses, tuition reimbursement.
• Don’t accept the first offer: Most employers expect that you will negotiate. Most often, there will be flexibility, and they will follow up by asking what you’re looking for. This is where your research will come into play.
• Overcome implicit bias with directness: As a person of color, if you want to take the negotiation one step further, you can reference race, gender, and the pay gap based on your research and even your own experience in the workforce. If you’ve built a connection with the person you’re negotiating with, you can be explicit about the systems of implicit bias BIPOC often face in these scenarios.