What can we do to better support women entrepreneurs of color? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

It's simple: support women of color (WOC) entrepreneurs in person and with your dollars.

As an individual consumer, this often requires shopping local, shopping in-person, or doing more research online - utilize social media, slide into those DMs! Fortunately, WOC entrepreneurs and businesses are gaining more visibility. As an ecosystem builder and investor, this means getting out there to events aimed for WOC - and not just focused on business, looking into supplier diversity programs, and consulting diverse networks.

When you are in a position to hire a WOC entrepreneur, pay her what she is worth - don’t ask for discounts! Women, especially women of color, already face a significant wage gap. The wage gap is widely understood to be that white and Asian women earn 80 cents to every man’s dollar. Now, take away 21% of that if you’re a black woman and 32% if you’re Latina. Just today, it is reported that when factoring in the time women must take off to care for family members and children, the wage gap widens even further, down to 49 cents to every man’s dollar. Pay us what we are worth.

In 2015, I created a three-tiered system for all of my purchases. I would buy black (from a black-owned business) whenever possible. When I couldn’t buy black I would buy ethical ( a triple-bottom-line based company). When I couldn’t buy ethical, I would buy American or local. Since co-founding BEACON, I have applied a gender lens to this approach, buying from women or gender non-binary businesses whenever possible.

And of course, make sure to support organizations that support WOC entrepreneurs. Set up alerts to get news about developments in the WOC entrepreneurship world. If you have the means to invest, look into gender-lens investing and check out some of the founders I listed above.

This question originally appeared on Quora. More questions on Quora:

* Startups: What are the key components of a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem?

* Women Entrepreneurs: What challenges do women founders still face today that their male counterparts may not?

* Entrepreneurship: Who are some notable women founders to watch in 2018?

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