Episode 32: Interview: Otegha Uwagba - We Need to Talk About Money

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Show notes

Otegha Uwagba is a writer, speaker and consultant. She was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018 for Media and Marketing in 2018 and between 2016 and 2020 she set up and ran a platform for women in creative industries called “Women Who”.

She joined us to discuss her third book, a combined memoir and cultural commentary, called “We Need to Talk About Money”, which was published in July 2021.

We talked about why it’s important to talk about money. Otegha points out how employers use their staff members’ discomfort around discussing money to discourage salary negotiations and how this disguises and perpetuates pay discrimination. We mentioned the need to Show the Salary.

We also discussed the pressure to make every public statement a personal branding exercise and the need to be authentic but boundaried when telling your story, especially around a topic as personal as your feelings about money.

We also discussed the pressures on Black and other POC writers to sell their traumatic experiences of racism for clicks.

Finally, we talked about Otegha’s own journey with money and how she went from anxiously underspending to comfortably in control and able to enjoy her money knowing she has real financial wellbeing.

Otegha’s advice to other people who feel anxious about money is to write down exactly what is happening that is making them anxious, focusing on the facts of the situation to enable them to separate facts from their scary imaginings.

She advises young, ambitious Black women to do everything they can to find out what their white/male colleagues are being paid. She suggests that disclosing your own salary first can encourage sharing. She also suggests speaking to recruiters who will know what is typical paid for similar roles in your industry.

You can find out more about Otegha and her work at otegha.com and follow her on Twitter @oteghauwagba and Instagram also @oteghauwagba.

Her podcast is called In Good Company and her newsletter is called The Roundup.

Otegha’s previous books are also published by 4th Estate.