Iman was angered by the race pay discrepancy in the modelling world.
Iman was angered by racism in the fashion world
The 67-year-old model first broke into the industry during the 1970s and explained how she turned down work after moving to the United States as she was getting paid less than white models.
Iman told TheWrap: "When I arrived here, one of the things that I was confronted with... was that there was a discrepancy in pay between black models and white models, I couldn't understand it."
Recalling a conversation with her agent, the Somali model continued: "I said to her, 'Listen, I know this is a racist act, but let me explain it in maybe something that you can all understand.'
"I want to be paid for services rendered, which means simply, I want to be paid for the same job she's doing."
Iman founded her own cosmetic line, Iman Cosmetic, in 1994 and explained how she made the move to make sure she had protection in the fashion industry as a black model.
The star - who was married to the late music icon David Bowie - said: "I understood right there and then I was barely 19 years old, that image is my currency in this industry.
"So I have to protect it and I have to come up with something because I will be faced day in and day out with a makeup artist who will not have anything for you."
Iman says that the fashion industry has made progress in terms of racial equality but warned that there is still more to be done as she recalled a minuscule number of black models being used in shows in 2013.
She said: "The dialogue is happening, and the changes are happening, but what I always say (is) do not take the foot off the gas.
"Trust me, before we know it we could be back in 2013 in a second."
Tagged in David Bowie Iman