TLDR: We're launching 81grants to offer 81cents salary negotiation support to individuals of color for whom 81cents otherwise might be cost-prohibitive.
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81cents’ mission is to close pay gaps by providing individuals - primarily in tech - with the data, guidance, and support they need to negotiate successfully. The average 81cents candidate sees a 17% increase in pay! (More on our work here)
Since the beginning, we’ve understood the importance of supporting those who deserve more equitable compensation. In doing this, we've worked hard to spread awareness of 81cents and are proud of the racial and gender diversity of our user base - especially when compared to representation within the tech industry (s**ee 81cents clients by identity group here**).
However - over the past two years we've seen first-hand how much worse the pay gap is for certain marginalized groups, impacting everything from pay, to access, to confidence.
In particular, we know that the pay gap is substantially worse for womxn of color. Latina womxn make just $0.55 on the dollar compared to non-Hispanic white men, Native American womxn earn $0.57, and Black womxn earn $0.62 (source = Lean In).
So, today, we're launching 81grants - a community-funded initiative to provide complimentary 81cents reviews to Black and Brown womxn for whom 81cents otherwise might be cost-prohibitive. Recipients of 81grants will receive 81cents market value reviews completely free of charge.
Throughout the past year, dozens of candidates have requested pro-bono 81cents support. This signaled an opportunity to make 81cents services more accessible - while also addressing an even wider pay gap for womxn of color. We believe 81grants will enable us to do this and scale our impact.
Interested 81grants recipients will fill out a short application and, once approved, will go through the standard 81cents review process, but free of charge.
To fund this work, we are raising money from the broader 81cents community.
This is V1 of 81grants! Do you have ideas for how we can improve our process or expand our impact? 🧠 We'd love to hear them - our team can be reached at [email protected].
We also want to extend a special thank you to the advisors who've helped us bring 81grants to life: Attia Qureshi, Barbara Lee, David Kiger, Gary DeBerry, Leniece Brissett, Lindsay Konsko, Meena Ramachandran, Sean Rich, & Stephanie Heath. Thank you thank you thank you! 💙