ISSUE #6 - March 20, 2019

Hello!

Based on feedback from readers, I’ve expanded the list of events to include happenings in Los Angeles and Seattle in addition to San Francisco Bay Area. Even if an event isn’t happening in your city, reach out to event organizers and speakers to learn how to bring resources to your city or do something virtually.

Let’s connect in person — I’ll be attending the Future for Us conference in Seattle, April 27, let me know if you’ll be there too. I’d love to meet in person!

Please invite all the women of color in your life to join Amplify!

Happy reading!

Audrey Galo
Creator & Writer of Amplify
Founder of AG Voiced

Resources

[Virtual] 10 Signs You are Ready to Be Your Own Boss - TH, Mar 21, Virtual, Free
Learn: why more women are leaving the corporate world to start a business; how your 9-5 job has prepared you for entrepreneurship; the keys to going from an employee to entrepreneur mindset; 10 signs you’re ready to take the leap.

[Skills] Improv for People of Color - TH, Mar 21, 7:00 PM, San Francisco, Free
Untold Improv seeks to: inspire uninhibited play and encourage failure through the art form (everything is made up on the spot!); create a safe and affirming space for self-identified people of color; honor our unique ancestral lineages and recognize the power of being in community together.

[Community] Women + Thrive presents: #FierceFriday - FRI, Mar 22, 4:00 PM, Seattle, Free
Come network with a group of women who are fiercely excited about supporting other women in their professional lives.

[Discussion] Breaking The Silence LA: A Town Hall on Girls and Women of Color - SAT, Mar 23, 11:00 AM, Los Angeles, Free
The purpose of this gathering is to identify opportunities to advance policy implementation and support to meet the needs of women and girls of color in LA.

[Discussion] Teatime with Women - SUN, Mar 24, 12:00 PM, Los Angeles, Donation-based
Meet two women who are shaping Los Angeles with the intention to educate their communities: Mary Lee and Roxana Dueñas.

[Discussion] Ladies First: A Conversation with Creative Women - SUN, Mar 24, 2:00 PM, Los Angeles, Free (donation suggested)
Candid conversation with inspirational women of color who are succeeding in various creative fields from acting, to painting, writing, and producing.

[Community] Authenticity at work as a WoC - TUE, Mar 26, 6:00 PM, San Francisco, Free
Showing up as our authentic selves is hard at work, networking or in difficult situations and certain dynamics. Share what challenges group can help with and collectively share lessons, tips and actions on how to show up as our best WoC selves.

[Discussion] Motherhood / Career Dreams Panel and Networking Event, WED, Mar 27, 12:00 PM, Berkeley, Free
Join a community of like-minded women and mothers for an informal but informative session featuring a panel of mothers who have pursued their career dreams and passions while balancing motherhood.

[Discussion] Women In Product @ Amazon: Harnessing your “Voice” to Advance your Career - WED, Mar 27, 6:00 PM, Seattle, $10
Women in Product and Amazon are teaming up to talk about how to leverage 'voice' to advance your career. A group of leaders in tech with diversified backgrounds will share their experiences about: finding your ‘voice’; how to speak up and out; what can you do to find your 'voice'; how to leverage 'written voice' to be heard.

[Community] All-Gender Book Club by Lesbians Who Tech - MON, Apr 8, 6:30 PM, San Francisco, Free
This club is an interactive safe space for Lesbians Who Tech community members to learn, unpack, question, and challenge ourselves and each other. We actively center the experiences of LGBTQ women, WOC, and trans/nonbinary people, and we welcome allies to see from this cultural vantage.

[Virtual] Vanguard: Conversations with Women of Color in STEM
A live, monthly web-series featuring a rotating panel of women of color in STEM discussing a wide variety of topics including their research interests, wisdom, advice, tips, tricks and commentary on current events. Watch past episodes.

Perspective

On April 2nd, your social media feeds will likely be full of Equal Pay Day messages and memes. I have a quick word of caution and an ask of each of you.

Equal Pay Day is a symbolic day dedicated to raising awareness of the gender pay gap. This date symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year.

As women of color, we need to take a closer look at Equal Pay Day and the false narrative it propagates. Equal Pay Day is based on data that the average woman makes only 80% of what a white man makes. The false narrative is that if we look at pay data for women by race or age, or city, etc the story is much more complex and to be honest, depressing.

For example, Latinas working full time, year round are typically paid only 54 cents for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. And if you only look at Latinas age 45–64 the number is lower, 49 cents for every dollar.

Black women nationally are paid just 63 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men and they can face even steeper wage gaps depending where they live. In Louisiana, the worst state for Black women’s wage equality, Black women typically are paid slightly less than half of what white, non-Hispanic men are paid.

I ask that each of you take a few minutes to learn about the wage gaps - knowledge is power! I’ve included links below to the National Women’s Law Center resources. I also ask that on April 2nd and throughout the year we advocate and work on closing the pay gap for all women of color across all ages, cities, industries, etc.

Wage gap data: Latina women, Black women, Native women, Asian & Pacific Islander women.

Share your thoughts about wage equality, tweet/DM me @audreygalo. Can’t wait to hear from you!

Inspiration