In The Gap

Here's the overview of the podcast series "In The Gap by journalist Chandra Thomas Whitfield," a 2019-20 Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting. It's a podcast about how and why Black women aren't getting paid equally at work in America. Black women get paid 62 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-hispanic men. #BlackWomensLivelihoodsMatter #EqualPayDay #GenderPayGap #BlackWomensLivelihoodsMatter

In The Gap host and producer, award-winning multimedia journalist Chandra Thomas Whitfield, is interviewed by In These Times magazine Executive Editor Jessica Stites, reflecting on what Whitfield has learned and what she hopes listeners will walk away with from her inaugural podcast, including the backstory, behind-the-scenes details, final thoughts, aha moments and what she hopes is to come for Black women and the fight for equal pay. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

“Rest as resistance?” Womanist scholar and community organizer EbonyJanice Moore continues the history lesson and shares her perspective on internal empowerment, the shifts she says Black women should consider making deep within their hearts and minds, to break free from the mental and psychological bondage imposed by racialized trauma and stereotypes in the American labor force. Due to the pandemic, this interview was recorded by Zoom and/or phone. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

Veteran barista Hiwot Fekadu speaks about her personal experience at Starbucks—one of the locations highlighted by a national union survey that found Black baristas were routinely paid less than their white counterparts at certain locations of the coffee chain. Then, Gayle Hamilton, Interim Director of Labor@Wayne (located at Wayne State University in Detroit), recounts the role of labor unions, often led by Black women, in improving the lives of women and other disenfranchised groups in the American workforce. Due to the pandemic, this interview was recorded by Zoom and/or phone. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

Can I sue? When to sue? How to sue? And more importantly, should I sue? Many Black women struggle with those questions even after they’ve fallen prey to racial and gender-based pay discrimination. In this episode, Manhattan attorney and law firm partner Lisa Alexis Jones, who has won and settled multiple pay discrimination cases, outlines factors to consider when debating legal action. Due to the pandemic, this interview was recorded by Zoom and/or phone. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

It’s hard to demand fair pay when you don’t actually know you’re being underpaid. Data engineer Megan shares her eye-opening and humbling experience with the practice of pay transparency on the job and explains how it ultimately empowered her at the negotiation table. Newly elected New York Guild President Susan DeCarava speaks on the importance of taking collective action against pay discrimination, and how pay transparency benefits everyone in the workplace, especially Black women. Due to the pandemic, this interview was recorded by Zoom and/or phone. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

Is asking for good pay the key to getting it? Thirty-something media professionals LaShawn and Danielle share their real-life experiences on the frontlines negotiating—and not negotiating—their salaries and benefits in the workplace. Also, life coach, author and entrepreneur Valorie Burton provides insight on how to best address the internal barriers that too often keep Black women from pursuing the compensation they deserve. Due to the pandemic, this interview was recorded by Zoom and/or phone. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

Julianne Malveaux—an MIT-trained labor economist, social commentator and former president of Bennett College, the oldest historically Black college for women in the country—recounts the longstanding factors that often contribute to Black women feeling “stuck.” From being overburdened with financial and personal obligations to family and student loan debt to nonexistent generational wealth and limited access to financial education opportunities, the cycle of economic instability can seem endless. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

Veteran retail worker J., a mom of three and caretaker to her elderly dad, shares her experience battling negative stereotypes in the workplace. This episode also explores how discrimination often locks Black women out of opportunities for advancement, such as promotions and pay raises, contributing to the gender pay gap and adversely impacting the families that Black women often lead alone, with little or no financial support from a spouse or partner. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

After pregnancy comes parenthood, and the research shows women, more than male partners, are disproportionately burdened with balancing careers against household and child-rearing duties. Women are also more likely to take time away from the workforce or reduce their hours to do so. In this episode, veteran hospitality worker Tam describes her experience paying her dues and working her way up to management, only to be treated by her employer as if her pregnancy and subsequent single parenthood were one big inconvenience worthy of admonishment. Tam also discusses why she pursued a racial and gender discrimination lawsuit against a second employer, only to feel forced into a $30,000 pay cut—and that was before the Covid-19 challenges. Due to the pandemic, this interview was recorded by Zoom and/or phone. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

Working mothers, especially Black mothers, face systemic disadvantages in the workplace more often than their childless female counterparts—in terms of pay, perceived competence, benefits and opportunities for advancement. In this episode, mom and nonprofit worker Brandyn shares her heart-wrenching experience of not one, but two, incidents of what she believes was pregnancy discrimination—with two different employers—during the same debilitating high-risk pregnancy. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

Center for American Progress researcher Jocelyn Frye reflects on how the gender pay gap and gender pay discrimination persists today—and its historic roots, from slavery to segregation. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.

The statistics are clear: Black women in the American workforce are typically paid 62 cents on the dollar compared with white, non-Hispanic men. It’s a harsh reality to face on paper; it’s even harder in real life—especially when you uncover it by accident. In our inaugural episode, engineer Aja reflects on her heartbreaking discovery that a white male co-worker made an entire salary more than her for the exact same job—which she had been doing longer. But the biggest toll? Psychological. In The Gap host and producer Chandra Thomas Whitfield also reflects on what to expect from this, her inaugural podcast series. To view a full transcript of this episode, visit www.inthesetimes.com/inthegap. In The Gap was created with the support of the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and In These Times magazine. Contact the show at podcast@inthesetimes.com.