Founding Members
Bhavana Smith, Founder
“Leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.”
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Ryan Anderson
“You don’t get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate.”
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Tamara Neufeld Brown
“If you have something to say, speak up and don’t apologize.”
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Carly Feinstein
“You were given two ears and one mouth so listen more and talk less.”
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How It Started
Like many women, Bhavana did not receive guidance during her career that she could negotiate compensation much less have the know-how to approach the discussion.
However, as she progressed in her 25+ year career, she picked up various approaches to negotiating from her mentors, which she enacted while interviewing for a role.
Later, when a close friend asked Bhavana how she handled the compensation discussion, Bhavana shared the play-by-play conversation between her and the recruiter to which her friend responded “oh that’s good, remember that for me when it’s my turn.”
That gave Bhavana the idea to start a “support group” of close friends/colleagues that could ask each other for guidance during compensation discussions. It was only many years later that Bhavana put the idea into action.
After doing some research on pay inequity, she learnt that reluctance to negotiate is a significant reason for the gender pay gap. She knew then that their individual efforts could only assist a few women at a time, and to achieve a greater level of impact, empowering women at scale required a team.
As the mother of a young daughter, she was inspired to advance women’s equality and valuation at work, so her daughter’s generation wouldn’t have to.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”
She began building the concept of Until There Are Nine™ and recruiting a closely held group of accomplished professionals to join her on the journey. The founding members brought a diverse set of skills and backgrounds - attorneys, business executives, transformation leaders and marketing experts.
Together they would create a platform that changed how women were paid and promoted at work.
Many of the founders hadn’t previously worked together, but were all connected by a common goal - guide women to achieve the compensation they deserve. They were unified against an inequity that could be defeated and they would collectively step forward to get it done.
Our Name’s Meaning
Inspired by the foremost champion of equity, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was often asked by reporters how many women justices would be considered enough on the Supreme Court. Her response was “when there are nine” because there had always been nine men and no one ever questioned that!
Our mission isn’t complete until there are nine.
Nine = Equity.