Cynthia Barnes's Recent LinkedIn Posts

They asked me to present my "diversity strategy" to the board. I brought a mirror. That was six months ago. Different company. Different city. Same mahogany table. Last week, it happened again. New CEO. New boardroom. New "commitment to inclusion." This time, I didn't bring a mirror. I brought a spreadsheet.…

Black women with a bachelor's degree earn less than white men with no degree at all. Read that again. A four-year degree. The student loans. The nights in the library. The graduation ceremony. The job applications requiring "Bachelor's required." And still. Less than a man with some college and no diploma. It ge…

A $10,000 contract just became a $450,000 federal lawsuit. I filed it this morning. A client hired me to build their training curriculum. I delivered every module. Documented. Copyright registered. Timestamped before delivery. They paid the invoice. Then they used the curriculum again. Then again. Then again. N…

They asked me to present my "diversity strategy" to the board. I brought a mirror. That was six months ago. Different company. Different city. Same mahogany table. Last week, it happened again. New CEO. New boardroom. New "commitment to inclusion." This time, I didn't bring a mirror. I brought a spreadsheet.…

I charged $2,500 for a strategy that made them $400K. And I said thank you when they paid it. I'd just left corporate. Fifteen years of building frameworks, leading transformations, and saving companies millions. I had the receipts. Just not on paper. So when my first consulting client asked about my rate, I pani…

Black women with a bachelor's degree earn less than white men with no degree at all. Read that again. A four-year degree. The student loans. The nights in the library. The graduation ceremony. The job applications requiring "Bachelor's required." And still. Less than a man with some college and no diploma. It ge…