The Colour Gap

How many of us have had that experience of knowing our otherness through our names? It’s interesting to think of all the ways we quiet ourselves to make it comfortable for other people in our lives. We laugh off jokes about our names, we sit in silence as some make zero attempts to ask or clarify pronunciation and we even go as far as to remove any semblance of ethnicity from our identities to avoid the inevitable awkwardness....

When you really break it down, it’s more than a name and in this episode I break down why you should correct them, every single time.

The mentorship program mentioned in this episode is Accelerate her Future - an early career accelerator program for self-identifying Black, Indigenous, Women of Colour and applications are now open for the Summer 2021 cohort for both mentee's and fellows. Check out the details of this incredible, life changing program here to see if you qualify:

https://accelerateherfuture.com/fellowship-circle/become-a-fellow/

“There is a difference in being nice and being kind.” Niceness is rooted in pleasing other people and kindness, though baked in thoughtfulness, has boundaries and allows you to put yourself first. 

Now that is a novel concept for me and dare I say, probably a number of other racialized women. How many of us are taught to live our lives on autopilot operating out of a desire to please, to never ruffle feathers and always say yes despite any core desires to listen to ourselves, our gut feelings and our instincts?

Join Shahzia Noorally in this intimate conversation on boundaries, learning about the roots of our "niceness" as women of colour and what we can do to move beyond our natural, conditioned state to ask for what we deserve, say no to things that don't serve us and stand fully in our worth.

The incredible therapists I mentioned in the beginning of this episode include:

Dr. Saira Sabzaali - Transpersonal Psychotherapist, http://talktosaira.com/

and

Nashina Mirani Miranda - https://harbourcw.com/

The quote was from Taylor Poindexter who can be followed on Twitter @engineering_bae

“Your playing small does not serve the world.” - Marianne Williamson, a Return to Love

Our journeys as WOC look and feel different, but that does not mean that our worthiness is any less. Imagine the possibilities for your life if you stopped playing small. 

I believe in the core of my being that if you’re struggling to come across work that fulfills you, if you’ve found yourself chasing career paths that paid you a lot of money but left you feeling empty or fulfilled your parents expectations of what you should do, but failed to give you that feeling of being lit up at the thought of going to work each day, that there is inner work to be done. 

I truly believe that if something doesn’t come easy for you - be it love, relationships, career fulfillment, financial freedom, health, that it means you have to embark on a journey that requires you to do the inner work, and that’s why it’s important for me to start our time together on this journey to career fulfillment in a place of reflection and connection to something beyond that which you can immediately control.

The conversation in this episode lays the foundation for what's to come on this podcast and our journey together. Listen on to discover the connection between spirituality and your path to finding fulfilling work. 

If you haven’t taken a moment, I would love for you to be a part of the conversation with me for the long term. Hit subscribe on your favourite podcast player and tune in every 2 weeks for new episodes and conversations. If you’re so inclined, I would love for you to leave a review or for you to connect with me to tell me how I can be of further service to you (follow me on Instagram @thecolourgap or connect with me through e-mail at thecolourgap@gmail.com). 

We shouldn’t have to be extraordinary to be recognized and acknowledged, yet despite countless examples of impact and influence, so many of the stories of racialized people in Canada’s history have been omitted in our education curriculum. Cinde Adegbesan, Nicole Dodd and Pam Tzeng are working to change that for current and future generations of our province's children by calling on the Minister of Education to alter the curriculum and address racism in schools across Alberta through their work on the Alberta Antiracism Education Advocacy Initiative.  And we’re excited to dig into the conversation and their cause for so many reasons. For us it’s the story of:

• How three passionate, informed, everyday citizens have been able to enact meaningful conversations and change around the real history of our country
• How three racialized women, through the bonds of their otherness, have demonstrated what the power of friendship and purpose look like in action
• How easy it can be to enact change and start conversations in a political system that can often feel overwhelming and inaccessible 

More on their work and how you can get involved:

https://linktr.ee/abantiracismedu/

Follow the Alberta Antiracism Education Advocacy Initiative on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/abantiracismedu/

As referenced in the conversation, : The "Problem" Women of Colour in the Workplace (https://coco-net.org/)

https://coco-net.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/WoC-in-Organizations-Tool-FINAL-EN.pdf

6 months and counting into the global pandemic and our new normal and yet nothing seems normal. When you have the President of the United States tweeting about Covid-19 calling it the "China virus" - that kind of validation of hate only further perpetuates divide, is highly irresponsible, racist, hate based and normalizes the othering of racialized minorities. What isn’t new is the blame game that often comes from universally crippling experiences  and the "othering" of minorities to place blame and find a scapegoat to relieve anger and fear.

In this episode (recorded in September 2020), we dig in on the impacts of Covid on the Asian community, the concept of Xenophobia and what we can all do to better educate ourselves on the language we use and the critical thinking required to push through rhetoric that only further divides and pushes us further apart from the lessons we all need to learn through this global pandemic. 

UN Human Rights - Office of the High Commissioner: 

https://www.standup4humanrights.org/en/covid19.html

"The best things in life are on the other side of a difficult conversation." - Kwame Christian

2020 has given us a lot to talk about. We’ve got a global pandemic, quarantine and isolation, we even had a potential for killer bees at one point and most importantly and most hopeful - we’ve got a real moment of pause in history for race relations with the black lives matter movement that is finally getting a collective uprising - all from the incredibly inhumane and vile murder of George Floyd, may he rest in peace, and so many more Black and Indigenous people across North America. Something that we can’t ignore or pass by in Canada yet something that us polite Canadian’s get so very uncomfortable talking about. 

We spend this episode dissecting why race is so difficult to talk about - it's not political, it never has been. It's about human rights, yet talking about race still proves to be hard. Let's dig in on Season 3, Episode 1. 

Article mentioned in the episode: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/05/how-to-thoughtfully-talk-about-racial-inequality-with-your-coworkers.html

BIPOC creators we love to learn from (instagram handles):

@shaunking
@mindaharts
@elainewelteroth
@sineadbovell
@_anishinaabekwe
@sunshineblackbird
@cheekbonewarrior
@staceyabrams
@osopepatrisse

Too many women of colour are opting out of vital conversations on the importance of being fully seen, and are ok with the equity and equality conversations not going beyond gender. This is our call to action to the WOC in our lives to start standing fully in their identities and asking for more - to be fully seen and heard and recognized for their differences in ways that will lift them up.

Join us for our last episode of Season 2 to do some reflection on all the learning, the ah ha moments and what we're hoping to call in for the experiences of women of colour moving forward. 

Just as women have been fighting for centuries to be seen for their smarts, expertise and all that they bring to the table, the intersectional layers of experiences that are unique to you as a women of colour also deserve the same level of recognition. For you to be truly seen for who and what you are - all of you. For so long, we've been working off the playbooks of how to navigate our careers designed for and by white men - our stories and our experiences don’t quite match up, so why are we using the same roadmaps? How do we get to a place of advancement without all the blood, sweat and tears? Our secret - build your tribe, your community to accelerate your success. In this episode, we'll dig into all the ways you can find like minded role models, mentors and community that will advance your career and beyond.

In this episode, we're so excited to introduce you to the deeply inspiring, Dr. Golnaz Golnaraghi. Dr. Golnaraghi is an inclusion + belonging advocate, the Founder of Divity Group & Accelerate Her Future as well as a Founding Activator with SheEO and a TedX Speaker. She joins us in conversation about her life's work, her passions and the incredible impact she has made in advancing the conversation around the lived experiences of self-identifying women of colour and on the work she’s done to empower and ignite real change in this space.

You can connect with Dr. Golnaraghi through instagram @golehgolgol, Twitter @GolnazG and through https://golnazgolnaraghi.com. You can learn more  about Accelerate Her Future through: https://accelerateherfuture.com and watch her inspiring and thought provoking TedX talk through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgcQiLM5rSk

Being a parent, the worry and fear of being able to help our children - especially our daughters, find their place in this world and be able to feel a sense of belonging and confidence in who they are can feel overwhelming. Adding in the extra layer of being a “girl of colour” in a world that may not look like them or the family that surrounds them, creates a whole different experience and consideration that we have to take on as mothers. How do we raise strong, proud and resilient girls...especially girls of colour?

In this episode, we're so proud to feature the amazing Dr. Saira Sabzaali - a therapist with a Ph.D. who helps people incorporate their cultural backgrounds and spiritual beliefs into counselling.  Saira is a mom of 2 strong, proud and resilient kids, and we focus this episode on her experiences raising the beautiful and spirited Rabia. Full of nuggets of wisdom and lived experience, we highlight the layers and complexities of being a mindful and purposeful parent and what it takes to make the right impacts on our children. 

Dr. Saira can be found and connected with at www.talktosaira.com or on Instagram and Twitter @drsairacares 

As we close off 2019, we wanted to take the opportunity to explore the many ways in which the conversation around the advancement of women and people of colour has progressed. 

It's the biggest elephant in the room. As HR practitioner John Sumser says, "HR is a 47 year old white woman." and this leaves little room for women of colour to ever feel like they can find their places within the profession. When the HR departments of corporations don't actually represent the faces of team members for which they build policies, programs and experiences, they fail women of colour from advancing and being truly seen within corporations. 

In this episode, we explore why we believe immigrants and people of colour have the upper hand when it comes to navigating all the change that is to come with the future of work and automation.

"So many women have a hard time liking themselves because they don’t see themselves reflected in the norms." - Michelle Obama

In our second episode of Season 2, we explore beauty narratives for women of colour and how a lack of representation leads to idealizing westernized beauty over our own.

In our first episode of Season 2 we dive into the many reasons we need to celebrate the uniqueness of being women of colour - all the layers of beauty, character and magnificence that can often be forgotten.

Our last episode of the season where we explore the journey of embarking on uncovering uncomfortable truths. An episode about reflection, learning and discussing what's to come next. 

In this episode we explore the story and experiences of Bontu Galataa who immigrated to Canada as a political refugee at the young age of 10. She's turned into an unapologetic, confident and trailblazing woman of colour despite never having leaders and mentors in her world that could connect or relate to her stories, and she offers deep insight and perspective on how to overcome being "the other" in a world that hasn't always represented her. 

What does it feel like to consistently have to play the part of two distinct identifies - the one your parents see and approve of and the one you show up with in the rest of your life. Join Susy and Shahzia as they discuss their experiences of being children of immigrants, first generation Canadian and women of colour and how these dual identities have hindered and helped them as they navigate their present lives.

We've explored all the ways in which women of colour navigate the world differently than those in the majority, and in this episode we dive into how those in the majority can show up as great and impactful allies to women of colour

Being the "other" is something we need to start using to our advantage. When we're different from the majority, how do women of colour stand out and shine?

Stop apologizing for the things that make you different. How do women of colour own their stories and shine in a world that doesn't always lift them up.

What does it mean to be considered the model minority? In this episode we unpack  the experiences of Asian women in Canada and the many layers of conscious and subconscious events that shape the way many of our Asian female friends, family and co-workers navigate their worlds both within work and at home. 

There is a deep sense of loneliness being a woman of colour in leadership that very few people talk about. You feel isolated with no roadmap to success and no one who looks like you to navigate the journey. In this episode we unpack the leadership colour gap and dig into the ways in which we can all show up better to be allies and supporters of women of colour to pave the way forward. 

A gap exists for women of color when it comes to advancement and opportunity in corporate environments and this podcast is intended to start the dialogue on the lived experience of two women of color who became fast friends through the bonds of their otherness. We weave in storytelling, humour and first hand insights of navigating the corporate world as women of color who also want to see change in the world for all women now and in the future. We hope for a future where diversity of thought in all its forms is celebrated and sought out in the corporate world and we hope you’ll join us in the dialogue to get us there. 

Are we crazy? Is it all in our heads? Are the experiences we have had as women of color simply a reflection of us as individuals or is there a larger pervasive and systemic issue at play? Join us as we dig into the data and dig deeper into why we feel the need to justify our lived experiences.

Today is a bittersweet day as we announce the departure of our dear Susy Ko from the Colour Gap podcast. 2020 certainly did a number on all of our lives, but brought Susy closer to a focus on her priorities which include her family first and foremost. 

Susy will be dearly missed, but her voice and impact carries on so much. At the heart of what we set out to do with the Colour Gap was bringing stories to the surface and shed light on the unique experiences of women of colour, and we hope you were able to always feel her heart and energy in everything she brought to the table the last 2 years and the past 2.5 seasons.

Today I'm also excited to announce the pivot I'm taking with the Colour Gap - a career strategy podcast for women of colour by women of colour....

As women of colour, our career paths and roadmaps to success look a little different than everyone else, so why should our career advice look and sound the same? We have unique challenges, identities and experiences that make our pathways to finding fulfilling and engaging work unlike that which traditional career advice can solve for. 

We deserve to have career advice tailored to us and I sincerely hope this is the place you’ll find advice that speaks to your unique experiences as a woman of colour.

As a person of colour, my entire existence has been defined in some way by the white people in my life. White leaders, white politicians, white beauty standards and white voices have been at the forefront of my important influences, and as I’ve come to find value in my own voice, presence, identity and worth as a woman of colour, what I struggle with now is reconciling the depth of that influence and its impact on me, both the good and the bad...

Join Shahzia Noorally on a journey of personal reflection to reconcile the influence of white privilege in her own life and career, a timely conversation to explore. With all the race related and political atrocities in the US at the hands of white supremacists that have turned 2020 and 2021 upside down, the inner conflict as a person to colour to not "go low" and to not pit ourselves against those in the majority is difficult, but the conversation focuses on challenging ourselves to turn to inner reflection and the opportunity to "go high," changing the narrative to focus on humanity, empathy and compassion.