10 Questions with Sage Quiamno

Co-Founder at Future for Us

Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno is a passionate women’s rights and pay equity advocate, diversity champion and community builder. She is the co-founder of Future for Us, a grassroots initiative dedicated to accelerating the advancement of women of color through community, culture & career development. She has provided close to 4,000+ women with the tools and resources they need to advocate for themselves at work and has spoken on panels for the Women’s March, Starbucks, Hired, Microsoft and more.

Her drive and enthusiasm to fight for pay equity, especially for women of color, has launched her to the forefront of the the women’s rights movement and she continues to advocate for the advancement for women in the workplace.

1. When did you know that you wanted to work in tech?

For most millennials, we were raised by the Internet. Technology continued to be a constant in my life from the day I had my first typing class in first grade, to building my first webpage on Xanga in fourth grade, to even today as I use my iPhone to do nearly everything. It was a mode and means of mass communication and a primary vehicle for storytelling. Technology was everything to me.

2. Who is a role model that you look up to?

I looked up to my great grandmother because she was my primary caretaker when I was a child. She taught me the value of hard work, dedication, and perseverance but also kindness, empathy and compassion. The number one skill she taught me was the art of negotiation and how I could use that skill for the rest of my life. She raised me to be the woman that I am today.

3. Where is your hometown?

Honolulu (Kalihi), Hawai’i

4. What is a struggle that you’ve faced and how did you handle it?

There was a time that I realized that I was being deeply underpaid at a company. I was raised to believe that if you worked hard, received the right education, and went to the right schools you were going to be successful and make a lot of money.

“I was raised to believe that if you worked hard… you were going to be successful and make a lot of money. However, I learned throughout my career that for women, especially for women of color, that is not the case.”

However, I learned throughout my career that for women, especially for women of color, that is not the case because of the inequities in our society and in business in general. When faced with this situation, I needed to decide whether to negotiate and/or leave the company. In the end, I successfully negotiated my salary at the time but still decided to leave the company.

5. What is something that you are immensely proud of?

I come from a strong working class family, full of incredible hard working, gritty women. My great grandma was the eldest daughter of a large Chinese immigrant family and she worked at the Dole Cannery in Hawai’i canning pineapples for 10 cents an hour. She knew that with her current wage, she wouldn’t be able to continue supporting her parents and eleven brothers and sisters. However, she knew that since she spoke Cantonese, she could use this skill to convince more Chinese immigrant workers to work with her at the cannery. She pitched this idea to the supervisor and leveraged it for a higher wage and a newly promoted position. Needless to say she helped feed, clothe and house herself and her family. She realized right then and there her own worth and value.

As her great granddaughter, she has told me this story a million times over and it did instill in me the values that I hold true today. This is what drives me. This is what motivates me to travel across the country to teach salary negotiation classes to women from all backgrounds, industries and levels. I’m proud to say that within one year I’ve been advocating for pay equity, coached about 2,500+ women across the U.S., helped negotiate $500K in salary increases, and positioned 150 women for successful promotions. Yes, I am damn proud and I hope I’ve made my great grandmother proud.

“Within one year I’ve been advocating for pay equity, coached about 2,500_ women across the U.S., helped negotiate $500K in salary increases, and positioned 150 women for successful promotions.”

6. What’s something that’s been on your mind a lot lately?

What’s been on my mind is the current state of women of color in this country. According to a new case study by McKinsey and Lean In, women of color in corporations only make up only 4% in the C-suite, upper management, and middle management levels. We also make up only 12% of entry-level jobs, and the rest are in service/low wage jobs. These numbers really rock me to the core.

7. Favorite food?

Hawaiian-Chinese food

8. Favorite book?

Game of Thrones

9. If you could try another job for a day, what would it be?

Senator

10. If you could give your 18-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?

1. Trust your instincts.
2. Follow energy.
3. Stand up for something.

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