About

Introducing Jo Berlowbo :-

Woke On No Sleep is a place for me to gather the creative fruits and friends of yesteryear and sort through the thoughts and gems of this moment.

I’ve worked in diversity and wellbeing forever. My first gender studies dissertation was grounded in intersectionality and explored how inter-cultural relationships changes white women’s experience of race. My most recent thesis explores how ambitious women with fertility issues strategise towards the multiple goals of bio-parenthood, career success and emotional wellbeing in the work place.

Do I think I’m woke?

I’m pretty woke in that I know that being woke is work. Like any type of enlightenment; it’s the journey and not the destination. As soon as you think you have arrived – you are back to the start. Though this is started as a personal blog, an extension from my fertility journey and transformation into motherhood; it is decidedly not-woke (pretty much flippin’ unconcious actually) to speak on behalf of all marginalised people when I am boob deep in privilege (how long and sloppy my glorious boobs are in this analogy, you can decide as you get to know me) – I am after-all a cisgender, middle class (through education), heterosexual (current relationship) white woman.

I am going to make mistakes here. Publicly. I will make sweeping statements and have to backtrack. I will exclude people accidentally. While my ego would love to get everything right first time, there is no progress in that. When I deliver workshops and training around diversity and inclusion, I remind everyone (and especially those with lots of privilege) that if you don’t make mistakes, well, quite frankly, you just aren’t trying hard enough. When we make mistakes we allow the power to shift hands. Some of it is going to be uncomfortable but surely, being uncomfortable is the least I can do when black, brown, poor, queer and disabled folks have been and are being killed* by the oppressive systems at work.

*Like actually killed – by austerity, limited access to health care, education, employment, Covid-19, police brutality etc.