Think about your relationship to capitalism in the United States.

Capitalism is the economic system in the United States. When I reflect on my relationship with capitalism in the United States am a hard worker and now a student. I have times when I may struggle due to my job. In the United States, there is a saying that the rich stay rich while the poor stay poor. I feel like opportunities weren’t handed to me but I had to fight, struggle, and remain focused to get to where I am today. Being a woman of color, a woman with tattoos, and a bright personality it isn’t easy for me to just be placed in a box so my opportunities were all earned. I work in the tech industry and there is competition between women and men all the time due to it being a male-dominated industry. I have always had to work 10x harder to prove myself to get promoted and even sometimes change who I am when interacting with the higher-ups. But in order for me to get far in America “code-switching” is something I have gotten used to doing.

Have you been successful in the marketplace?  Why or why not?

According to the reading this statement “Capitalism structurally oppresses, restricts and inhibits the access of marginalized individuals, minority communities, and differently-abled persons by regulating the opportunities available to them.” When looking at this statement I will say I’m successful in my marketplace of the tech industry because I’m women of color, who had limited opportunities given to me, and I have made it to leadership status in my current role. I’m not responsible for a group of individuals entering the industry and I help lead out training. I have remained focused and resilient and it has gotten me to where I am today. I do still believe I have more ahead of me but with enough drive, passion, and remaining focus I will make it. Others looking in may say I’m not successful because I’m retail level instead of corporate America. Success may look different to others. I do believe your success is what you make of it.

What are your goals for your career? Are you confident you will reach those goals?

My goal for my career is to become a senior manager after I reach that level within retail I would want to join corporate. I want to learn as much as I can on a retail level so I can succeed within corporate. I’m confident I will reach these goals because I take every day as a learning opportunity for me to become a better version of myself. My ability to be able to learn from others and in a way “code switch” when appropriate I do think it will help me out. I have a saying that if you want to reach a goal you have to surround yourself around what you want to be and rub your shoulders. Our world is evolving so I do believe eventually it won’t be as hard for women in tech. I have been a part of women of wireless when I worked for Verizon which highlighted women in tech so I know major companies are trying to bridge the gap.

Finally, what would a feminist economy look like so that nobody is exploited?

Feminism is a socio-economic and political ideology focused on dismantling gender discriminatory structures. Women’s economic empowerment includes women’s ability to participate equally in existing markets, access to the same kind of work, control over their own time, lives, and bodies; and increased voice. There will be more women present in major corporations and, not just males.