As part of a range of events that Kingston University is holding for Black History Month, Toya Washington will hold a talk for KU students about “navigating the world of work as a Black woman”.
Washington rose to fame after appearing on season 15 of Channel 5’s Big Brother. Since then, Washington has started her own podcast called ‘Toya Talks’ which has over 70,000 downloads on Spotify, covering a range of topics, including Career v Family, can you have both? Mummy issues and Identity politics.
She draws from her own experiences in and out of the workplace to help Black women navigate these situations. She says Toya Talks “speaks to Black women. I chose Black women first because we are under-represented and often not picked first or at all”.
Born in London, where she grew up on a council estate in Tottenham with her siblings and parents, who had immigrated from Nigeria. Washington obtained a law degree, followed by a Legal Practice Course (LPC). After her career success Washington wants to help other Black women be just as successful.
Washington said: “In a social media age where many influencers sell fantasy to their followers, I have taken the opposite approach and stripped back the veil using my social media platforms.”
She has over 14,000 followers on Twitter and 4,000 on Instagram. Washington uses her platform to “teach, educate and demonstrate how to navigate the oppressive and often aggressive construct of the workplace”.
Today, she is invited by the Union of Kingston Students, to speak at the University. All students are encouraged to go to the hour-long talk, held in Kingston’s Penrhyn Road campus.
Amelia Jones 
Hermione Marszalek