The Covid-19 Job Pivot: Black Women Prep For New Gigs
We’re not going back to “normal.”
Kimani Jones had been happily working in the wedding industry in New York City as a content creator when news about Covid-19 broke. She, like many workers across the country, was sent home with her laptop and work file, assured her job was safe and told to return when the pandemic blew over. Shortly after, she received an email that the company was laying off the team, but would bring them back. But that never happened.
The unemployment program payouts were dwindling, and even with the stimulus payments, Jones and her chronically-ill husband needed more income to take care of their family. She had always been a self-published writer and had done some editing work in the past, but had transitioned to a full-time job for stability. After urging from a family member, she turned to her existing skills for a Plan B.
“I couldn’t depend on that (inconsistent income). I thought, ‘When are you going to wake up and realize you can’t depend on anybody but yourself to take care of yourself?’” she says. “That’s how I went back into editing, and I opened up my business.”
She adds: “I did the research on everything that I needed to do that will sustain me now. I have nothing but time to learn now, and that’s a luxury.”
