PepTalkHer is an app that helps women track their career successes and negotiate better pay, and its founder Meggie Palmer works hard to increase equity in the workplace. We chatted with Palmer about her journey, inspirations, and more.

Meggie Palmer: For me, Women’s Equality Day is an opportunity for everyone to focus on the progress we've made and try to close the gaps that still exist in our society. I honestly think [equity] is a mindset that everyone in the workplace truly has a responsibility to embrace. What is that 1% change that you make? Is there someone in the office to whom you can say, “Hey, great job on that project?” Is there someone you can reach out to and just check in on today?

I always say, “You have a responsibility to ask the question [about pay] because you have to set yourself up. If you're entitled to be paid more, why not?” In asking for what you're worth, you're actually making it easier for the women and people after you in the workforce.

One of my mentors told me that she doesn't negotiate just for herself, she negotiates for her partner, her grandkids, and the next generation of female academics. Women are excellent negotiators, especially when we're negotiating with others in mind. Put yourself in the mindset to have a courageous conversation that will benefit all.

I've been a woman in the workplace my whole career, but I've never really framed it that way. As an individual I bring a lot to the table. Leaning into what makes you different is so powerful – that's your secret sauce. I was raised to be like, “You can do anything and you're equal,” and that's the mindset that I've always taken into my career. I had some bumps along the way, but I hope to help create a world in which the next generation doesn't have the same challenges.

I had experienced pay inequality back when I was a journalist, which really annoyed me. I wanted to make a change, so I jumped into the world of apps with no idea what I was getting myself into. Along with the rest of the PepTalkHer crew, my amazing product manager, Alex Tassone, came on my team and helped me figure it out.

We built the PepTalkHer app with the goal of helping professionals track their successes. When it comes time for performance reviews or time to negotiate pay, they have the data to back up those conversations. That way, it’s a more successful negotiation and they can ultimately get paid more and promoted faster.

Christy Laurence from Plann, which is an amazing social media scheduling app we use [at PepTalkHer]. It's because of the encouragement and the optimism of other app founders like Christy that I'm here today. Some people that I really admire as well are Shine [now part of Headspace] co-founders Naomi Hirabayashi and Marah Lidey; Ashley Sumner, the founder of Quilt; and Lucy Mort and Michelle Battersby, the co-founders of Sunroom. They’re great humans, trying to really make a difference in the lives of women through the apps and communities they've built.

I use the Nanit app a lot to track my baby's sleep time. I also use the RealReal app because I'm trying to only buy secondhand clothes and be more sustainable. Another app I like is the New York Times crossword. Doing the mini crosswords gives me a little dopamine hit. On Spotify, I listen to Ludovico Einaudi (the classical Italian pianist) to focus while I'm working, and finally, I use Hulu because I'm obsessed with Fleishman is in Trouble.