MADEUS
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MADE BY ASHLEY WHITE
In this edition of Founder’s
Row, MADE had the opportunity to
chat with two innovative women:
Georgene Huang, Founder, co-
founder and CEO of Fairygodboss,
the largest career community for
women and Chichi Eburu, owner
of Juvia’s Place, the fastest growing
black-owned cosmetics brand on the
market. Check out their inspiring
journeys here…
WHAT IS FAIRYGODBOSS? HOW
DID FAIRYGODBOSS COME
ABOUT? I founded Fairygodboss a
few years ago, when I was suddenly
fired from my executive role at a major
company as part of an unexpected
management shakeup. At the time, I
was two months pregnant and hadn’t
yet told anyone. So I was in this position
of Iooking for a job and going on
interviews — and feeling quite pressured
to hide my pregnancy.
While interviewing, I wanted to ask
certain questions — like, is work-life
balance enabled here? Are women
paid and promoted fairly? What’s the
maternity leave policy? — but feared
being judged as less than fully committed
to my career if I asked. So, I turned
to the internet for answers, and was
surprised by the lack of information I
found, given how crucial this information
is to women’s careers. It was then that
I decided to start an online platform
where women could anonymously
crowdsource this information, and that’s
how Fairygodboss was born. Today,
we’re connecting millions of women
each month with job reviews, salary info,
GEORGENE
HUANG
FAIRYGODBOSS
maternity leave intel, career advice, and job
postings at partner companies that believe
in gender equality.
WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR
YOU TO LAUNCH THIS PLATFORM?
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED
SINCE YOU STARTED? My personal
experience informed my decision to
launch Fairygodboss, and I knew that if I
wanted information around leave policies
and corporate culture, other women
likely wanted the same thing. Information
around paid leave, workplace flexibility,
the number of women in management,
equal pay—all really impact a woman’s
decision on whether to stay at her current
company or take a new job. The system
was so opaque for me while researching
these questions, and I wanted to make it
easier on other women and bring more
transparency to the workplace.
I’ve learned so much since starting
Fairygodboss. I started my career in
corporate law, transitioned to finance,
worked in product, and now as an
entrepreneur (and CEO!), I find that it
takes all of the skills I developed through
my various work experiences in order
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