Niani Tolbert recalled that the COVID-19 cases in New York were on the rise just around the time she lost her job as a tech recruiter. Following the murder of George Floyd, there were unplanned demonstrations against racial injustice at the same time frame.
According to CNBC Make It, Tolbert joined the protest by volunteering her time and recruiting skills to assist Black individuals who were having a difficult time finding work during the pandemic.
In commemoration of Juneteenth, she posted a request on LinkedIn with the hashtag “Hire Black” asking HR specialists to give a few hours to reviewing the resumes of 19 Black women. She organized more than 500 resume review meetings with Black women and recruiting managers after the post went viral in a matter of weeks.
Tolbert then made the decision to turn what had begun as a simple LinkedIn request into a business endeavor to assist hundreds of Black women in finding employment. Now, HireBlack provides blacks with job fairs, workshops on careers, job boards, and other tools.
Tolbert stated that she aims to hire, train, and advance 10,000 Black women with her eight-person workforce. She tries to find and hire Black women for multinational companies like Amazon, Uber, and Disney.
Black women’s earnings have increased by nearly $2 million thanks to Hire Black, according to CNBC Make It. Additionally, some women have experienced income increases of up to $60,000 as a result of their participation.
Tolbert stated that she and her team help Black women “examine their emotions in relation to money” and “develop a clearer understanding of their unique needs in terms of pay and non-monetary benefits, such as a robust health-care plan or additional PTO” through their summits, workshops, Slack groups, and coaching sessions.
Additionally, Hire Black provides a free crowdsourced database of salaries for employment in many industries on its website. According to CNBC Make It, Hire Black also provides free online classes outlining the numerous elements that affect pay, such as company size, geography, and the employee’s prior job history.
A research paper by the National Women’s Law Center shows that Black women working full-time, year-round make just 67 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. In this regard, HireBlack’s mission is to help close the stark pay gap Black women still face.