9 to 5ish with theSkimm

When Emily Ratajkowski was asked to appear in a music video in 2013, she didn’t expect it to catapult her to overnight fame. Since then, she’s appeared in movies like ‘Gone Girl,’ walked the runway at New York Fashion week and launched her own swimwear line. And last year, Emily’s essay for ‘The Cut’ about objectification and power imbalances she experienced went viral, landing her a book deal for her new essay collection, ‘My Body.’ This week, she’s joining us to talk about how she learned to advocate for herself. In this episode, Emily talks about: How her career trajectory shaped her politics Recovering from moments where she felt professionally undermined Deciding to disclose others’ bad behavior — and dealing with the backlash Learning to take her time with decisions How motherhood has changed her relationship with herself and her work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s impossible to know how Hillary Clinton’s life would have run without Huma Abedin. From the late '90s through 2016, Huma occupied a central role in running Hillary’s life as an aide and personal advisor. She remained private even when both her personal and professional lives were embroiled in simultaneous crises, from her previous husband’s infidelity to Hillary’s emails. Now, she’s setting out to define herself in her own words.In this episode, Huma talks about: Staying connected to her roots Working her way up in the White House Keeping her professional and personal lives private Seeking help for her mental health  Creating a reputation of her own Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When she was in college, Alexa von Tobel realized she knew nothing about personal finance. And she couldn’t find any good tools out there to learn. So she set out to learn about managing her own money — a journey that led her to dropping out of Harvard Business School after just one semester, writing two books, and starting two multi-million dollar businesses. We spoke to Alexa about the basics of business, money management, and what makes a successful start-up.In this episode, Alexa talks about: The pros and cons of business school How to get investors to buy into a business plan How venture capital funding works Taking care of your mental health as an entrepreneur Running a company as a parent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode mentions sexual assault, which could be triggering to some listeners. Tarana Burke coined the phrase “me too” to help young Black girls in Selma, Alabama talk about sexual assault over a decade ago. But when #MeToo went viral overnight in 2017, Tarana had to figure out how to share her life’s work and its resources with a broader audience. Today, Tarana’s facing new challenges: how to offer sexual assault survivors the resources they need over the internet, and learning to balance her own needs alongside her work.In this episode, Tarana talks about: How “me too” began How she keeps going when personal and professional overlap How she approaches burnout and recovery Why rest is important for work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julianna Margulies went from pouring G&Ts and filming commercials in Manhattan to being one of the most-awarded actresses on television. She’s famous for roles on “E.R.,” “The Good Wife,” and “The Morning Show” — and despite always having a backup plan, Julianna’s biggest decisions have been guided by her intuition. We spoke to Julianna about making big life decisions, taking risks and turning down lucrative offers.In this episode, Julianna talks about: Planning for the future  Trusting that the right work will find you Saying no to professional opportunities (hi, E.R.)  Clarifying your career focus How she stopped people pleasing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes from last year. Erica Williams Simon is a writer, host, and the CEO of Sage House media. Her new book reveals how she re-wrote her life story and shares how you can do the same. She walked us through how she makes tough decisions, starting with how she quit a perfect-on-paper job and changed her life.  In this episode, Erica shares:  What growing up in a church community taught her  How she made the decision to quit  How to navigate the financial burden of leaving a job  How to craft and tell your career story  How to learn from an unfulfilling job Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rea Ann Silva spent two decades working as a makeup artist for music videos, movies, and television. And on the side, she started developing a tool to make her work easier: the Beautyblender. Little did she know, she would end up transforming the beauty industry. And what helped her along the way - from movie sets to becoming CEO - was her relationships and her network. So this week, we’re getting her advice on how to start - and grow - your own.  In this episode, Rea Ann shares:  How she climbed the career ladder How she tapped into her industry’s networks How to work up the nerve to cold-call What it was like to see Beautyblender in the Smithsonian Museum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gabrielle Union hit her big break as an actor more than 20 year ago. Today she’s a household name in pop culture, as well as an advocate and author. And along the way, she’s had to learn one of the biggest (and hardest) career lessons: how to stand up for yourself. From navigating toxic workplaces, to challenging inequity and bias in Hollywood, to speaking out about pay parity, Gabrielle’s a hero to many for standing up to broken systems - and for how open and honest she is with her fans and her readers. In this episode, Gabrielle shares: Realizing when vulnerability can be a superpower Standing up for yourself — and others — at work Navigating your professional reputation Knowing your value in pay negotiations Why you need to talk about money  Using preparation to counter anxiety Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to a special bonus episode of 9 to 5ish with theSkimm. A few weeks ago, theSkimm's co-founders and co-CEOs Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg hosted a Back to "Normal" power panel, talking about what a return to “normal” in the workplace looks like amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We were joined by… Tina Tchen, then-president and CEO of Time’s Up Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance And, Tami Forman, CEO of Path Forward It’s no secret that women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic: One in 10 moms with young kids quit their job — with half of them saying it was because of school or daycare closures. Gender equality in the workplace was set back more than a decade. And women were feeling burned out at faster rates. Now, as women head back into the workforce and office, it’s important to make sure they’re equipped with the information and tools they need to make their work-life balance real. Hit play to hear from the experts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Morgan DeBaun was one of the only Black women working in Silicon Valley when she quit her job and started Blavity, a news media company focused on serving Black Americans. But as Morgan started to learn, raising money isn’t easy - especially when so little funding goes to women and women of color in the first place. This week, we spoke to Morgan about raising capital, overcoming obstacles, and selling your story to investors.In this episode, Morgan shares:  Bootstrapping your business and delayed gratification Defining your company mission Learning how different types of funding works Staying true to your vision when pitching it Bringing Black creators into the spotlight in the tech space Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices