S6.E7 | Beyond Play: The Business of Belonging
What Does It Profit Podcast
In this episode of What Does It Profit?, explores what happens when a business begins with a simple question. Where do people go to belong? More women are starting businesses than ever before. Yet ownership does not always mean access. Women still face barriers to capital, growth, and recognition. In spaces like game store ownership, those gaps are even more visible. Whitney Wolfe did not set out to become an entrepreneur. She set out to create a place where people could gather, connect, and feel at ease. That idea became , a Brooklyn game store that opened just as the world...
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S6.E6 | Game Changer: Rewriting the Rules
What Does It Profit Podcast
A board game may look simple. A set of pieces. A set of rules. A way to win. But every game is a system. It teaches us what to value, how to compete, and what success looks like. In this episode of , we follow the unexpected journey of Elizabeth Hargrave, a health policy consultant turned award-winning game designer, whose hit board game Wingspan reshaped an entire industry. What began as a simple idea, a game about birds, became one of the most successful and celebrated board games of all time, selling over two million copies and opening the door for more women in game design. But this story...
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S6.E5 | Bridge Builder: Engineering Confidence
What Does It Profit Podcast
In Season 6 of What Does It Profit?, explores dignity at work by stepping inside industries where women are still underestimated and often unwelcome. In this episode, we meet Aine O’Dwyer, a civil engineer and the CEO of Enovate Engineering. Raised on a dairy farm in Ireland, Aine learned early the value of discipline, perseverance, and hard work. Those lessons carried her across the Atlantic to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where she pursued civil engineering while playing college basketball. Engineering classrooms were still overwhelmingly male, but Aine was undeterred. She...
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S6. E4 | Tools & Tiaras: Jobs Don't Have Genders
What Does It Profit Podcast
In Season 6 of What Does It Profit?, goes inside industries where women are still underestimated and often unwelcome to explore how they are reshaping the meaning and structure of work. In this episode, we meet Judaline Cassidy, a master plumber, union leader, and founder of Tools & Tiaras, a nonprofit that introduces girls to welding, carpentry, plumbing, and the power of the skilled trades. Judaline was one of the only women in her plumbing program in Trinidad. She later broke barriers within New York’s unions. Along the way, she developed a simple conviction that guides her work...
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S6.E3 | Long Haul: Driving Toward Freedom
What Does It Profit Podcast
Less than 10% of truck drivers are women. The open road has long been seen as a man’s world. But that is changing. In 2012, Jess Graham left an abusive relationship and enrolled in CDL training within days. Weeks later, she was licensed and on the road with her ten-year-old daughter, living together in the cab of a truck. For Jess, trucking was not just a job. It was a path to stability, speed, and self-determination. Every mile out there is different from your last mile. That’s a new opportunity. In 2019, she bought her own truck, a 1995 Freightliner known as the Black Widow....
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S6.E2 | Sparking Change: Women Fighting Fire with Fire
What Does It Profit Podcast
What happens when women enter one of the most dangerous, male-dominated professions... and change it from the inside? In this episode of What Does It Profit, goes from D.C. firehouses to wildfire lines to meet the women fighting fire with fire. At , Lieutenant Roshawnda Drake is building a pipeline for the next generation of women firefighters. Out West, Lou Bean, Heidi Leib, and Ashley Nalley are reshaping wildfire response and prescribed burning, often in systems never designed with them in mind. Together, they show how women are reshaping the fire service and why a more inclusive culture...
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S6.E1 | Women in Labor: Essential Work, Unequal Pay
What Does It Profit Podcast
Women have always worked. But when women entered the U.S. labor force in large numbers during the 1970s, equal pay did not follow. In this episode of What Does It Profit?, explores the history of women’s labor rights—from the rise of the Nine to Five movement to the equal pay fight led by Lilly Ledbetter. Through organizing, unions, and the law, women challenged workplaces that relied on their labor while undervaluing their work. Featuring labor historian and the cultural legacy behind 9 to 5, this episode examines why wage gaps persist, why voice still matters, and what economic justice...
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Season 6 Trailer | Women Redefining The Workforce
What Does It Profit Podcast
This season on What Does It Profit, host Dr. Dawn Carpenter steps into the worlds where women are least expected—and often least welcomed. From firehouses to funeral homes, construction sites to game design studios, meet the women breaking barriers and reshaping the meaning of work itself. Their stories reveal courage, solidarity, and the power to build a more inclusive future of work. Subscribe now to hear how these women are redefining what’s possible—and what’s profitable—for us all. Connect with us on to join the What Does It Profit community and keep the conversation...
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S5.E.5: Turbulent Thoughts | Flight Crew Safety
What Does It Profit Podcast
In this episode, we delve into the challenges faced by airline pilots and flight attendants, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a national pilot shortage and increased workloads, safety is at risk as pilots and cabin crew work longer hours without adequate rest. Former airline captain Mike Simkins shares his experiences with fatigue and the pressures of the industry, highlighting the misconception that safety is the top priority for airlines. Flight attendant Sybil Bryant discusses the struggles of being underpaid and overworked, emphasizing the need for fair compensation for all...
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S5.E4.: Health vs. Hustle | The Cost of Convenience at Amazon
What Does It Profit Podcast
In this episode, we delve into the harrowing experiences of Amazon warehouse worker Wendy Taylor, who suffered a serious injury while under immense pressure to meet unrealistic productivity quotas. Despite her injuries, Taylor was denied proper medical care and forced to return to work, highlighting the grueling conditions faced by Amazon employees. The episode also discusses the , aimed at improving workplace safety and workers' rights. As workers advocate for dignity and respect, the episode underscores the human cost of fast shipping and the urgent need for better protections in the...
info_outlineWelcome to WDIP Summer School. It’s not summer school for those who have failed. It’s summer school for those who want to catch up, and for those who want to get ahead.
Every two weeks throughout the summer, we’ll look back on lessons learned from Season 3 which was all about making change… right where you are.
In class today, we explain modern child labor. We are not talking about cutting the lawn or doing the dishes, or even the retail or food service work we associate with first-time jobs. We are talking about the hard-core stuff.
We urge you to rewind to Season 3, Episode 3 (March 29): Dangerous Business: Human Cost of the Meat We Eat to reconnect with the behind-the-scenes story. Take a listen and subscribe.
WDIP Summer School is powered by the Solidarity Economy Workshop at Georgetown University. Visit our website to learn more.