Research hit the wires last week that shows the racial pay gap between white and BIPOC influencers … that is those who are black, indigenous and people of color … is 29 percent overall and 35 percent between white influencers and black influencers. To put it another way, for every $100 a white influencer is paid, a black influencer is paid $65.

I’m tempted to end the podcast right there and just angrily say to us all, press stop and go fix it. And that instruction includes me, by the way.

The research was conducted by MSL, which is a public relations firm, and an organization called The Influencer League. It is a digital platform that serves as an education resource for influencers.

The research took place from February to September 2021 and included surveys and interviews with over 400 U.S. influencers. Each were asked to report their follower count, race and income from brands. 

The insights below the top-line pay gap numbers just underlined the sadness of the reality. But what bothers me more is we’ve been talking about this issue in earnest for well over 2-3 years. And the numbers aren’t any better.

I’ll illustrate and share my thoughts on how to start to solve the problem, in today’s commentary.

The recommended podcast today is Code Switch on NPR.

This episode is sponsored by Tagger. It is a complete influencer marketing solution. You can find out more for yourself at jason.online/tagger. 

In this episode, we visit with T.J. Ferrara from Bubs Naturals, a health supplement company, about how they use Tagger. 

To start building your own experiences with my influencer marketing software of choice, go to jason.online/tagger today.

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