A few months ago, I quit another job. Some of my friends were confused why I would give up this stability, income, and seeming step towards adulthood. This disconnect is because some of my friends are white and do not understand the stress that working in a predominantly white place where no one listens to you (or the few other BIPOC who also mention the same concerns daily) brings. These were the same friends that had questions when I fled my first full-time job, with benefits, in Chicago as well or the part-time one in what was supposed to be my dream theatre. Much like the job I ran away from in June, those were also hellish nightmares that had taken a toll on me emotionally for very similar problems.
I know for a fact that I am not the only woman of color who often has to quit and put up with a ton of questions. There are so many memes and collected data on the internet tracking the cycle of femmes of color being hired in places that do not want to support us, hear us, or create a safe work environment. Here is a short list of reasons why I quit these specific jobs, and I am struggling to decide if I want to work a full-time job or go back to the gig economy where I was poorer but at least respected myself. Not referring to us as, “strategic hires,” to our faces without unpacking your company’s history of not hiring people who look like us is a freebie.
- Circling the Drain. I cannot tell you how many times I have had the same conversation with a supervisor for them to pretend every time is…
