Fresh off an impressive WNBA finals run, Skylar Diggins-Smith is striving to level the playing field on a new court.

The Phoenix Mercury guard will be partnering with investment platform Public to steer conversations centered around women’s pay equity and building wealth. A partnership of this sort is nothing new for someone like Diggins-Smith, who has been a prominent advocate for the pay gap between men’s and women’s sports. She continues to place herself in positions to invest in a more equitable future for all women.

“During my time in the WNBA, I’ve thought a lot and spoken up about how to improve our pay equity as players. But this is an important conversation to have outside of sports, too,” Skylar Diggins-Smith told AfroTech exclusively. “Investing in the stock market can be a great way to build long-term wealth, and I’m excited to work with Public to help the next generation of investors, especially women of color, start investing in the public markets and themselves.”

As a mother of one, building generational wealth for her son is at the forefront. Her hopes and dreams of planting seeds of curiosity and responsibility for her son will be shared with Public’s inclusive community of over one million users. Diggins-Smith fans will have an opportunity to build knowledge in unfamiliar areas such as the public market, business and personal finance. New prospects who are unfamiliar with the investment arena can find a collaborative community to assist on the road toward financial literacy.

“A lot of financial platforms right now are using ‘diversity’ as a buzzword, but I believe Public is truly living it,” she said. “They have an inclusive community of 40% women and 45% people of color, and the approachable nature of the community and diversity of thought is what drew me to the platform. It’s been great to see a welcoming community and investors of all backgrounds and all levels of financial literacy.”

The WNBA star will give away free stocks throughout the partnership to all fans who begin their portfolio with Public. Fans can also expect to hear Skylar Diggins-Smith on an exclusive edition of Public Live — a live audio broadcast found on the Public app — where Diggins-Smith will share her story, dating back to her early days at Notre Dame.

Diggins-Smith’s former days as an athlete at Notre Dame was in an era where she could not profit from her name, image, and likeness (NIL). In light of new rules, permitting athletes to profit off their NIL, many athletes are tapping into unfamiliar yet promising business ventures. Diggins will serve as an advisor under Public’s One Team Program to educate student-athletes on how to invest in their future with their newfound earnings. Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner also joined the advisory board this past September, AfroTech previously reported.

“I hope my own experiences as a college player who went pro can help shed some light on what student-athletes go through and what we need to be successful,” Diggins-Smith said.

Skylar Diggins-Smith can now be found in the Public community. Follow her here: @SkylarDigginsSmith

Skylar Diggins

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