Girl math: What the salary gap is really costing us!

👀THIS ISSUE AT A GLANCE

• Salary gap girl math - How to stop making this $20K mistake!

• Free Miami blockchain conference tickets - Apply to be our Blockchain Futurist Conference ambassador for November 5-6, 2025

• Are you sleeping on Perplexity? - Save hours. Reduce overwhelm. Build smarter workflows with Darlyze August 19th

• Level up your skills with curated resources - From beginner AI projects to advanced blockchain development, plus that salary negotiation guide you actually need

What the pay gap is REALLY costing us!

We asked our LinkedIn community what's stopping them from negotiating their salaries, and the responses were eye-opening! The biggest barrier? Lack of salary data (at 56%), followed by fear of seeming pushy (17%) and not knowing how to bring it up (17%).

But here's the math that'll make you rethink staying quiet: every $1,000 you leave on the negotiation table today can mean $15,000-$20,000 in lost lifetime earnings once you factor in raises, bonuses, and retirement contributions.

Women in our community are already cracking the code. Marlaina Love shared how learning to negotiate after receiving an offer (not during the interview process) was a complete game-changer:

Amy Russ? She's playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers by thinking beyond just salary:

Her strategy? Start with smaller wins to build confidence for bigger negotiations later.

Whether you're dealing with imposter syndrome or just need the right scripts to start the conversation, you don't have to figure this out alone. We've compiled proven tactics from women who've been exactly where you are now. We’re turning those awkward money conversations into wealth-building opportunities.

Have advice for our community? Reply to this email with your negotiation tactics and get featured in our newsletter of 1000+ women in technology!

When AR/VR meets real impact: Meet the woman turning sign language into 3D avatars

What if the next breakthrough in AR/VR came from someone who looked like you? Meet Branice Kazira, the full-stack XR engineer who's proving that emerging tech is about solving real problems for real people.

From her base between Nairobi and Kigali, Branice saw 70 million Deaf Africans struggling with a shortage of interpreters and thought: "There has to be a better way." So she and her team built one. Introducing Signvrse! Real-time 3D avatars that translate speech into African Sign Language, powered by community-sourced data and Deaf-led validation.

The impact? $25,000 Imagine Cup prize, Google.org Accelerator backing, and partnerships bringing her solution into schools across Rwanda. Branice started where you are now—curious about what's possible when you combine emerging tech with authentic community need.

The future isn't happening to us, it's being built by us. Because when women who understand the problems get their hands on the tools, we don't just build better products. We build a better world. Watch the Signverse demo here!

Ready to be a buildHER too? We're planning our next hackathon series—sign up for the CreateHER Fest 2026 interest list to stay in the know for updates on timelines, prizes, and more.

WHAT’S COMING UP

Feel like you're always behind, but don't know what to delegate or automate?
What if you could turn hours of research into 10 minutes of clarity, with the right prompts, tools, and structure?

Join CreateHER Fest Co-Founder Darlyze Calixte for a hands-on workshop that'll transform how you work. We're talking about turning hours of research into focused insights in minutes and making confident decisions backed by data—not anxiety.

This isn't about AI replacing your brilliant mind. It's about amplifying your capacity so you can focus on the creative problem-solving that only you can do.

Unlike other AI tools, Perplexity delivers real-time answers with cited sources, making it perfect for founders, students, solo builders, or anyone managing ideas at scale.

What you'll master: 
✨ Research techniques that deliver results in minutes
✨ Project management without mental overload
✨ Decision-making frameworks with data support
✨ Apply templates that reduce mental overload (and overthinking)

You’ll leave with a custom AI research toolkit you’ll actually use.

🔌 Just bring your laptop, we’re using Perplexity’s free tier.

OPPORTUNITIES

CreateHER Fest x Blockchain Futurist: The Miami Edition

After an unforgettable run in Toronto, CreateHER Fest is returning with Blockchain Futurist for the U.S. edition in Miami, and this time were bringing you with us!

We’re positioning our community to step directly into visibility, opportunity, and influence. This space is full of funding opportunities, startup exposure, new tech launches, and direct access to investors, product leads, and founders across emerging tech.

If you've been waiting to elevate your presence and make moves in Web3, AI, or emerging tech, this is your signal!

Here's what being a CreateHER Ambassador gets you: 
✨ Free conference ticket (because access shouldn't be a barrier)
✨ Exclusive entry to our networking event with other incredible women in web3
✨ Your very own .her domain to start building your digital presence
✨ Limited edition CreateHER merch you can't get anywhere else

You coming with?

COMMUNITY WIN

Oh so you LIKE like us! 👀 

Rumor has it, you like what we're doing here at CreateHER Fest 🫢 . The feedback keeps rolling in and honestly? It's giving us all the feels. We appreciate all the love!

Feel free to reply to this email to let us know what resonated and what didn't, what we're doing well, and what you'd like to see more of! We read every email 😊. And if you're feeling generous, share this newsletter with a friend who needs these golden nuggets too!

THIS WEEK’S RESOURCES

Until next time,

Discover \ Design \ Deliver