Pure Leaf Iced Tea believes “No is Beautiful” and is in pursuit of a world in which saying “no” at work is both easier and more culturally acceptable for women everywhere. Unfortunately, the financial and personal costs of saying “no” are often too high for women. To understand how to best support women saying “no” in the workplace in favor of saying “yes” to themselves, Pure Leaf commissioned a first-of-its-kind nationwide survey to determine the qualitative and quantitative “Cost of No.” Here’s what the data showed:
- Nearly 3 in 4 women think they’ll experience negative outcomes when saying “no” at work, and 2 in 3 actually do.
- Guilt is the #1 emotion women experience when saying “no” to work, family, and social tasks and obligations.
- Across the millions of women in the workforce, saying “no” cost women a total of $55.3B in future earning potential.
- The underrepresented minority (URM) workforce loses almost 40% more for saying “no” than other racial groups.
- Each time an African America woman says “no” in the workplace, she loses $1,406 in future earning potential
- Each time a Hispanic woman says “no” in the workplace, she loses $1,403 in future earning potential
- Each time an Asian woman says “no” in the workplace, she loses $871 in future earning potential
- Each time a white woman says “no” in the workplace, she loses $731 in future earning potential
- On average, each time a woman says “no” in the workplace she risks losing $1,102 in future earnings potential
In honor of Women’s History Month, Pure Leaf is launching the “No” Grants to help give women the ability to say “no” to asks at work in the short-term without bearing the added financial consequences. In partnership with The SeekHer Foundation – a women’s empowerment and mental health non-profit – and Allyson Felix – the most decorated American Track and Field athlete in history and a renowned advocate for women’s post-partum and maternity rights.
“Too often, the ‘Cost of No’ is too high for women, particularly those in minority communities,” says Felix. “I’m partnering with Pure Leaf because we must help women say ‘no’ at work without the worry of financial repercussions.”
“The alignment of SeekHer’s mission to Pure Leaf’s mission and impact goals made this a natural alliance,” says Dr. Mo. “At SeekHer, we strive to build a better, healthier and more inclusive world for women.”
The “No” Grants launch comes at a time when women across the country are expected to say “yes” to everything and everyone but themselves (work, side hustles, childcare and more).
Each grant covers $1,406—the maximum amount women could lose in future earning potential each time they say “no” to an ask at work. The Pure Leaf “No” Grants program aims to reach 100 women in its inaugural launch, with the brand, Felix and the SeekHer Foundation awarding grants following each of three separate application periods (period 1: March-May, period 2: June-August and period 3: September-November).
To apply for a “No” Grant, women can visit www.PureLeafGrants.com and share how they would use the funds to say “no”. For more information on Pure Leaf and “No is Beautiful,” please visit www.PureLeaf.com or follow @PureLeaf on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
And this is just the first step—Pure Leaf is also committing $1 million over the next three years to funding partnerships and initiatives to support women who want to say “no” at work so that they can say “yes” to other personal, social, familial and cultural things in their lives.
