Toya Talks Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this dilemma episode, we will be discussing x2 dilemmas. How to inform your employer that you are unwell and unable to work and in the case of the first dilemma unwell having caught covid.  I use to have the mentality that I will work through my sickness to hold onto my job too afraid to call in sick to protect my job. But I soon realised if I dropped dead tomorrow my role will...

Send us Fan Mail The suffering of Black Women is not the anthem of our existence. The last two weeks have been a lot and honestly, I recognise that whilst my current workplace is the gift that keeps on giving the gift is heavy. When we discuss workplace bullying we have a common understanding of the definition of bullying but do you realise that some of these racist white males we work with discri...

Send us Fan Mail It is not often that we discuss white MALE fragility. 'Kevin' like his 'Karen' counterpart operates in the same way but as many of our work constructs are white male-dominated their white fragility takes the form of aggression that seeks to dehumanise Black Women in a way that is both dangerous and harmful. In this episode, I discuss 'Kevin' and his l...

Send us Fan Mail I have as many can relate, struggled with centering myself.  This has often resulted in not celebrating my wins and then becoming uncomfortable in centering myself.  We are never taught to recognise and celebrate our wins because we are preoccupied with the wounds we have endured on the journey. Email me:  hello@toyatalks.com    Twitter: @toya_w (#ToyaTalks)    Snapchat: @toyawash...

Send us Fan Mail 'Why do white women always 'remind' Nick Minaj how nice & supportive they've been toward her. It's a white privilege power play. They expect her to be grateful & retaliate when she doesn't show the difference they expect. She  has every right to check this behavior when it surfaces.' Tweeted by @craigspoplife Let's discuss and break...

Send us Fan Mail Often the fear of standing up, speaking up, and challenging unfair treatment at work is layered in fear, fear of losing our jobs. The reality is very real that often a consequence of challenging poor behaviour and treatment leaves us vulnerable often with a target on our back to be managed out, sacked or made to feel so uncomfortable that you choose to leave. I will never pretend...

Send us Fan Mail How many of us are comfortable admitting mistakes at work?  - There is a grace we need to afford ourselves in understanding mistakes doesn't make us any less capable nor does it erode our ability to do our jobs.  When we pursue perfection we do not give ourselves the grace to make mistakes and learn from them. We know we are constantly judged and under the microscope, this pr...

Send us Fan Mail It's time I share with you why I left the church.   When I was rock bottom I looked to the church to save me, I was lost confused, unemployed, and without a clear understanding of self and purpose, the church let me down.  Monday to Friday I was suffering at work unclear of where I fitted in struck with grief and unable to navigate properly because then, the workings of the w...

Send us Fan Mail Honestly, today was a day I was so appreciative to be able to consider myself a remote worker. Many of us did not have the capacity to walk on eggshells during England's 7 days of mourning losing the UEFA Euro.  However, it did stop Malcolm and Sindy's macro and microaggression campaign to me on Friday before and Monday after. 'Black people in the workplace may not...

Send us Fan Mail ' One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in and where you want to go' - By Sheila Murray Bethel In developing our identities we are shaped by our upbringing (nature & nurture), culture, and dare I say it society. Many of us Black Women have experienced being questioned at work about the characteristics th...

Send us Fan Mail The irony of the government questioning privacy and launching an investigation into the recent exposé by The Sun newspaper exposing the extra-marital affair of UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock (he has since resigned). In this episode, I share my views on Matt Hancock's extra circular activities and breaking covid rules.  It cannot be overlooked that the current government thi...

Send us Fan Mail We are all UNDER-CONSTRUCTION learning and growing through and from our experiences. As we build and grow in character we cannot overlook how we have all been conditioned as Black Women often allowing the constructs of the workplace to use fear to oppress us. As we break through the fear and find our voices our fellow Black sister found her voice following her dilemma on last week...

Send us Fan Mail Returning from a 1-week break we have x4 dilemmas that need to be discussed.   In this is a dilemma episode please get a drink, grab a notepad and a chair, our fellow black sisters have written in for advice, and in this episode, we address their work-related dilemmas.   Email me:  hello@toyatalks.com    Twitter: @toya_w (#ToyaTalks)    Snapchat: @toyawashington    Instagram: @toy...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we discuss how to use your Burn Folder. Last week Dominic Cummings answering questions in front of a Select committee voluntarily became a whistleblower. He answered every question and sprinkled some of the contents of his burn folder. In doing so he set the tone of single-handedly detailing the inner workings of a sitting government and the mishandling of the Cov...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we discuss Colin Kaepernick a mixed-race/bi-racial man. He decided to commission, approve, and agreed to put a Black Woman on the front cover of his book in the manner that he did to center us Black Women as a sacrifice on the frontline of his cause. It is violent, dangerous, and irresponsible. Black Women are not human shields. We also unpack how we cape in the w...

Send us Fan Mail Society will have you believe you are running out of time. Society will tell you, you are not good enough. Society will attempt to judge you and still use your age as a weapon to control you. This episode has x2 dilemmas Email me:  hello@toyatalks.com    Twitter: @toya_w (#ToyaTalks)    Snapchat: @toyawashington    Instagram: @toya_washington & @toya_talks    www.toyatalks.com...

Send us Fan Mail My Black Sisters, grab your helmets of salvation because it's time we speak candidly and honestly about how we navigate dating. Dear Black Women heterosexual, Gay, and Non-Binary in teaching, guiding, and advising you how to navigate work .... and life we need to use some of those transferable skills, tools, and learnings in the dating scene. Kevin Samuels is going up and dow...

Send us Fan Mail I discuss the new online series 'Blue Therapy'. We work so hard and often use work as an avoidance mechanism to avoid dating. As we navigating the world of work we are navigating life this includes relationships. In this episode, I discuss the themes in Blue Therapy. We work so hard and have to adapt how we navigate work to attain success but how do we navigate relations...

Send us Fan Mail It is really important that we accept that although your boss may be crap or incompetent there is a reality ... you do not have to like your boss but you should respect their position. Why I hear you ask,....., well because ultimately someone placed your boss in the position they are in and once you understand this you will navigate accordingly.  My boss recently demonstrated her...

Send us Fan Mail Another episode to shake the tables and encourage you to explore your relationship with money. As we navigate the world of work and understand the need to position ourselves for success there is the financial aspect that we don't speak about enough because, money remains a taboo subject attached to this is often shame, confusion and a lack of financial education. This is the...

Send us Fan Mail The irony of this episode title during Easter. I believe Judas was a white man, controversial? Not really.  Judas seemingly a non-threat an allie ended up being a double agent. Every office has one and often more than one. Let me introduce you to a recent Judas I encountered on Good Friday, however, because I know the historical backdrop of how white people operate I was not surpr...

Send us Fan Mail The use of white fragility is violent because some white people use fragility as an oppressive tool to oppress Black People. White fragility is used to evoke sympathy and protection and villainise Black people.  It is the assumption that white people need comfort and protection based on their weaponised and often violent fragility. We have seen Karen do this as part and of her wom...

Send us Fan Mail Gary is the gift that keeps on giving... In this episode, we discuss the results of not aligning yourself correctly and the inevitable consequences of being used as a pawn within a workplace.  Remember the episode 'Allegiances & Alliances' , consider this episode a continuation. I am currently on several interview panels and the weaponisation of tears and white fragi...

Send us Fan Mail Every office has a Martyr and my office is no different only Cindy took her martyrism a step further and has now placed herself in a vulnerable position, her martyrism has been met with judgment. Her objective is to be the deputy director and she thought her martyrism would place her in that position, she calculated wrong and now 'Gary' is sullying her reputation. Cindy...

Send us Fan Mail We cannot have this episode and not touch on the Oprah, Meghan & Harry interview. Meghan asked Human Resources 'The Firm' for help and they said whilst they understand it would not look good. Racism, colorism, and discrimination are entrenched into the fabric of this society.  What happened to Meghan is a classic case of, we will let you in but this is the condition...