Break Concrete: Black Women At Work – Details, episodes &amp; analysis

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The Immigrant Experience: Challenges, Opportunities, and Impact in the Workplace with Jackie Glenn

Episode 53

mardi 14 décembre 2021 • Duration 47:45

From a newly immigrated nanny to CEO, Jackie Glenn has embraced life’s challenges with boldness and humility, always being true to herself and giving back to those who come after her. It’s this commitment to helping others, which led Jackie to write her instructional biography, Lift As I Climb: An Immigrant Girl’s Journey Through Corporate America. Jackie discusses how she climbed her way up the corporate ladder and the character gems that brought her and other immigrants professional success in the American workplace.

Topics Covered:

Why Jackie decided to write Lift As I Climb: An Immigrant Girl’s Journey Through Corporate America
Workplace challenges Jackie faced as an immigrant in the U.S.
How your accent can impact you in the workplace
Defining authenticity
How to turn your unique attributes into an advantage
Jackie’s experience moving to the U.S. as a young single Black woman from a predominantly Black country
Confronting microaggressions in the workplace
Getting out of your head
Resilience in the workplace
How to address being passed over for a promotion
Soliciting feedback from others

Find links and show notes at https://breakconcrete.com/bc053.

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Motherhood Comes in Many Different Forms with Tomi Akitunde

Episode 44

dimanche 9 mai 2021 • Duration 44:13

Motherhood and mothering can be complicated, but Tomi Akitunde has built a much needed resource for Black moms: mater mea also known as Black Mom Google. Tomi is an award-winning journalist who founded mater mea, the #1 destination for thoughtful, high quality content that celebrates, supports, and empowers Black moms. mater mea helps Black moms get the answers to their motherhood, life, and career questions through sincere storytelling, expert advice, and community. In today's Mother's Day special episode, Tomi opens up about her experiences with infertility, why she decided to create an online space for Black moms, how she confronted insecurities as the founder of mater mea, and more.

Topics Covered:

Why Tomi started mater mea, an online magazine for Black moms
How mater mea grew to be known as the “Black Mom Google”
Why Tomi created a space for Black moms specifically
How mater mea builds community for and empowers Black moms
Challenges Tomi faced as an entrepreneur
Tomi’s experience dealing with infertility
How Tomi has dealt with imposter syndrome and gaslighting culture
How for years Tomi had been hiding behind mater mea and why she wrote Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself to confront her insecurities as the founder of mater mea
Tomi’s relationship with her mom
Celebrating Black motherhood

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Deepening Our Inhales, Lessening Our Stress with Jasmine Marie

Episode 43

mardi 30 mars 2021 • Duration 44:27

Understanding that Black women experience higher rates of chronic stress and anxiety, Jasmine Marie, a breathwork practitioner, founded black girls breathing, a safe space for Black women to nurture their mental, emotional, and spiritual health through guided meditation, breathwork, and community. In 2020, as racial tensions mounted and many Black women struggled with higher unemployment rates, increased childcare responsibilities, feeling less supported at work, and the devastating health impacts of COVID19, Jasmine adjusted her business structure to provide free and accessible mental healthcare to hundreds of Black women. In this final episode of Season 3, Jasmine shares how she helps women own their bodies and reclaim their power to heal themselves through black girls breathing.

Find links and show notes at https://breakconcrete.com/bc043.

Topics Covered:

Defining breathwork
Understanding the health benefits of breathwork including stress and anxiety reduction
How Jasmine was introduced to breathwork and built black girls breathing
Barriers for Black women in accessing breathwork and mental health therapy
How Jasmine combines breathwork, meditation and community with black girls breathing
Incorporating breathwork into your daily routine
What to expect when trying breathwork for the first time
Deciding whether to try breathwork individually or in a group setting
Selecting a breathwork instructor who speaks to your needs
Jasmine’s crowdfunding campaign to provide free breathwork sessions to Black women for one year
How Jasmine collects and uses data about Black women with house of bgb
Jasmine’s vision for black girls breathing

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Confronting Biases within Philanthropy with Kishshana Palmer

Episode 42

mardi 23 mars 2021 • Duration 47:51

It’s no secret that problems around diversity, equity, and inclusion permeate all sectors, including the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Whether it’s disparate funding for Black and women-led organizations, failure to promote women of color to leadership, or foundations using money as a weapon to dictate the direction of organizational efforts, Kishshana Palmer breaks it all down. Kishshana is an international speaker, trainer, and coach with nearly two decades of experience in fundraising, marketing, and talent management. She is also the founder of The Rooted Collaborative, a global community focused on the holistic evolution and advancement of female leaders of color in the social impact sector.

Find links and show notes at https://breakconcrete.com/bc042.

Topics Covered:

How Kishshana started in fundraising and development
Adopting a more collaborative approach to fundraising
Defining donor-centric fundraising and its shortcomings
Disparities in funding between white-led, minority-led, and women-led organizations
Increasing support for minority-led and women-led organizations
Setting priorities when fundraising
Using fundraising to build power and amplify marginalized voices
Re-centering how we think of money when fundraising
Challenges facing the nonprofit sector with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion
Why Kishshana started The Rooted Collaborative and how she hopes to redefine philanthropy

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Tailoring Your Image with Krysta McGowan

Episode 41

mardi 16 mars 2021 • Duration 38:13

Dressing the part is only one step in your journey toward professional success. Equally important is understanding and controlling your image, which includes your communication, your personal brand, your wardrobe style, and more. In today’s episode, Krysta McGowan, the founder and visionary behind Critique Consulting, an image consulting firm, discusses how an image consultant can positively impact your career. Through Critique Consulting, Krysta provides services such as brand development, wardrobe styling, and personal shopping to professional women across the country.

Find links and show notes at https://breakconcrete.com/bc041.

Topics Covered:

Defining image consulting
How image consultants can help you with enhancing your personal image and wardrobe styling, personal shopping, communications, and professional development
Why Krysta started Critique Consulting and how she built her company
Understanding your body type and shape
Finding clothing that accentuates your body (patterns, prints, shapes)
How company culture and corporate aesthetics influence norms around professionalism
How Krysta coaches and empowers women of color to embrace and accentuate their physical attributes in the workplace
Natural hair politics in the workplace
Developing and defining your personal style
Timeless staples for your professional closet
Common fashion faux pas that women should avoid
Costs to hire an image consultant
How Krysta is working with women through COVID-19

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BONUS - The Rise of Modest Fashion and the Black Women Behind It with Rayya Ansari and Sumayah Ansari

Episode 40

jeudi 11 mars 2021 • Duration 37:57

Cries for equal treatment and representation billow across all fields, including the fashion industry, and especially in the booming modest fashion industry. Yet, although Black women have made significant contributions (in fact, some may argue that they are the backbone of modest fashion), many go unrecognized and unseen. In today’s episode, sisters Rayya and Sumayah Ansari, join to discuss how they created spaces for themselves and other Black Muslim women in fashion. Rayya is a popular modest Muslim fashion blogger and influencer who speaks about current events and style. Sumayah is the owner of A.SumayahShop, which offers “modest chic” clothing for the contemporary woman.

Find links and show notes at https://breakconcrete.com/bc040.

Topics Covered:

Defining modest fashion and misconceptions and myths about modest fashion
The intersection of fashion and religion
How Rayya and Sumayah became fashion influencers and how they get inspiration
How Rayya created her own space in fashion
Why Sumayah opened A.Sumayah shop and how her fashion stands out in the market of modest fashion
Spotlighting Blackness in the modest fashion industry
The (in)visibility of Black Muslims
What the hijab represents
How modest fashion became a multi-billion dollar industry and the increased visibility of Muslims in fashion
The push for diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry
Contributions of Black Muslim women on trends in modest fashion
How Black women have been excluded in the modest fashion industry
How Rayya and Sumayah #breakconcrete
The pay gap between Black and white influencers

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The (In)Visibility of Black Muslim Womanhood with Vanessa Taylor

Episode 39

mardi 9 mars 2021 • Duration 29:32

“As a Black Muslim woman, it gets very exhausting to exist in a world that projects onto you.” In this episode, Vanessa Taylor, a Philadelphia-based writer and the founder and editor-in-chief of the Drinking Gourd, a Black Muslim literary magazine, discusses the paradox of Black Muslim womanhood - being simultaneously hypervisible and invisible. Within that nuance, Black Muslim women carve out spaces where they embrace their multiple identities as Black, Muslim, and women while resisting the impulse of others to reduce their multi-dimensionality. Vanessa chats about this spirit of resistance: how Black Muslims challenge anti-Blackness within the Muslim community and Islamophobia within the Black community, and how she, as a Black Muslim woman, navigates her multiple identities to take up space and create spaces where she and other Black Muslim women can thrive.

Find links and show notes at https://breakconcrete.com/bc039.

Topics Covered:

Why Vanessa converted to Islam
The history of government surveillance of Black Muslims and Islamophobia in the United States
The paradox of hypervisibility and invisibility of Black Muslims
How Muslims have created their own spaces to resist surveillance
Questions of authenticity and legitimacy of Black Muslimhood
Anti-Blackness within the Muslim community
How Black Muslim women navigate their multiple identities (race, gender, religion) to take up and create their own space
Defining modest fashion and Black women’s contributions to modest fashion
The co-optation of Black Muslim style
Why Vanessa developed the Drinking Gourd
The meaning of the title the Drinking Gourd
How Vanessa breaks concrete

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Selfishness - The Ultimate Act of Self Love with Dr. Marcuetta Sims

Episode 38

mardi 2 mars 2021 • Duration 52:59

From as early as childhood, we have been taught to be generous with our time and energy. Any hint of selfishness is frowned upon. Even with our careers, we learn that being a team player is critical to our success. Today, Dr. Marcuetta Sims, a licensed psychologist specializing in helping Black women and people from marginalized identities heal from trauma, develop a healthier sense of Self, and enhance their overall wellness, discusses the costs of this generosity. Dr. Sims has created an online platform empowering Black women to care for themselves, The Art of Being Self-ish. She is also the founder of the The Worth, Wisdom, and Wellness Center. We chat about setting boundaries in personal and professional settings, addressing violations of those boundaries, and reframing underlying beliefs that cause us to deprioritize ourselves.

Find links and show notes at https://breakconcrete.com/bc038.

Topics Covered:

Defining selfishness
How selfishness may serve the collective good and help us to develop a healthy sense of Self
Why Dr. Sims started the online platform, The Art of Being Selfish
Understanding and setting boundaries
Consequences of failing to set boundaries
Communicating your boundaries to others
Counteracting feelings of guilt when putting yourself first
How to say “No” and prioritize your interests
Recognizing your limitations and asking for help
Addressing violations of your boundaries in the workplace
How remote work can challenge our boundaries
Being selfish about salary negotiations
Reframing inhibiting underlying beliefs

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