IM20: How to Navigate Power Structures in Male-Dominated Workspaces
02/21/25 • 8 min
Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we are featuring one of the most impactful moments from episode 47, with guests Fabia Ogunmekan, Zanele Khanyile, and Mai Khidir. How do you navigate power structures in male-dominated workspaces? That’s what we’re exploring in this episode.
Fabia is a lawyer and corporate executive passionate about the pursuit of development in Africa. Zanele is a strategic collaborative leader with experience in cooperative banking, corporate governance, and small enterprise development. Mai is driving change forward via the Al-Sudaniya mentoring program. They are all How Women Lead Fellowship graduates.
This episode is just a short snippet that highlights the best and most powerful learning moment from a past episode. You can listen to the full episode (filled with more wisdom) here: Episode 47: Embrace your fierceness.
Key Discussion Points:
01:00 Navigating Power Structures: Mentorship, sponsorship, female allyship, and having a strong support system are all integral to navigating power structures in male-dominated workspaces.
03:48 The Value of Mentorship: Don’t underestimate how important it is to be surrounded by inspiring women who can support and help move you forward.
04:42 Mentorship vs. Sponsorship: We need to do more than just help shape other women's journeys. We need to raise our hands and pull them up in the invisible spaces they don't have access to yet.
07:26 Moving Beyond Mentorship: A formal mentor-mentee relationship is a structured process. Sponsorship moves beyond this.
In Summary: Fabia, Zanele, and Mai urge us to move beyond mentorship and into sponsorship. Don’t just guide others behind closed doors, fully support those individuals and help them access spaces they don’t have access to yet.
Resources from this episode:
Follow Fabia on Linkedin.
Follow Zanele on Linkedin.
Follow Mai on Linkedin.
If you happen to be a woman of color and you are looking for a community of like minded women, join Olivia here: https://www.mysistersshoulders.com/
Ready to make a change?
→ If you are struggling to navigate your corporate career but are ambitious and have goals you want to accomplish quickly, Olivia is the coach for you.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit oliviacream.com.
→ If you are ready to leave corporate or you want to start a profitable side brilliance, Archita can guide you through a successful transition to entrepreneurship.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit architafritz.com.
Connect with your hosts:
Follow Archita on Linkedin or check out her website.
Follow Olivia on Linkedin or check out her website.
Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook, or check out the website.
_________
Produced by Ideablossoms
Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we are featuring one of the most impactful moments from episode 47, with guests Fabia Ogunmekan, Zanele Khanyile, and Mai Khidir. How do you navigate power structures in male-dominated workspaces? That’s what we’re exploring in this episode.
Fabia is a lawyer and corporate executive passionate about the pursuit of development in Africa. Zanele is a strategic collaborative leader with experience in cooperative banking, corporate governance, and small enterprise development. Mai is driving change forward via the Al-Sudaniya mentoring program. They are all How Women Lead Fellowship graduates.
This episode is just a short snippet that highlights the best and most powerful learning moment from a past episode. You can listen to the full episode (filled with more wisdom) here: Episode 47: Embrace your fierceness.
Key Discussion Points:
01:00 Navigating Power Structures: Mentorship, sponsorship, female allyship, and having a strong support system are all integral to navigating power structures in male-dominated workspaces.
03:48 The Value of Mentorship: Don’t underestimate how important it is to be surrounded by inspiring women who can support and help move you forward.
04:42 Mentorship vs. Sponsorship: We need to do more than just help shape other women's journeys. We need to raise our hands and pull them up in the invisible spaces they don't have access to yet.
07:26 Moving Beyond Mentorship: A formal mentor-mentee relationship is a structured process. Sponsorship moves beyond this.
In Summary: Fabia, Zanele, and Mai urge us to move beyond mentorship and into sponsorship. Don’t just guide others behind closed doors, fully support those individuals and help them access spaces they don’t have access to yet.
Resources from this episode:
Follow Fabia on Linkedin.
Follow Zanele on Linkedin.
Follow Mai on Linkedin.
If you happen to be a woman of color and you are looking for a community of like minded women, join Olivia here: https://www.mysistersshoulders.com/
Ready to make a change?
→ If you are struggling to navigate your corporate career but are ambitious and have goals you want to accomplish quickly, Olivia is the coach for you.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit oliviacream.com.
→ If you are ready to leave corporate or you want to start a profitable side brilliance, Archita can guide you through a successful transition to entrepreneurship.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit architafritz.com.
Connect with your hosts:
Follow Archita on Linkedin or check out her website.
Follow Olivia on Linkedin or check out her website.
Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook, or check out the website.
_________
Produced by Ideablossoms
Previous Episode
IM19: How to Overcome Self-Doubt and Keep Moving Forward with Joyal Mulheron
Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we are featuring one of the most impactful moments from episode 43, with guest, Joyal Mulheron. We all face challenges in our lives. Joyal shares three key pieces of advice to help you get through the harder times.
Joyal is a policy and strategy expert with over 20 years of service to the United State’s governors, the White House, and some of the most distinguished nonprofit ventures. In 2014, Joyal founded Evermore, a nonprofit dedicated to making the world a more livable place for bereaved families. Her work has been featured in Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, and others.
This episode is just a short snippet that highlights the best and most powerful learning moment from a past episode. You can listen to the full episode (filled with more wisdom) here: Episode 43: The light in the darkness.
Key Discussion Points:
01:00 The Power of Community: Seeking community is a powerful way to help you feel less isolated and less angry about your own experiences.
03:14 Defensible Over Perfection: You can’t be perfect so stop trying. Rather, focus on being defensible.
04:18 Taking Things One Day at a Time: Everything is temporary, the good and the bad. Taking things one day at a time will help you to face the hard days with bravery.
08:11 Finding the Problem Solvers in Your Life: We all face problems in our lives, but surrounding yourself with people who can help you solve those problems and believe in you will make those problems so much easier to face.
In Summary: Joyal Mulheron urges us to be brave, aim for defensible rather than perfection, and take it one day at a time. She encourages us to surround ourselves with people who cheer us on.
Resources from this episode:
Follow Joyal on Linkedin or check out her website.
If you happen to be a woman of color and you are looking for a community of like minded women, join Olivia here: https://www.mysistersshoulders.com/
Ready to make a change?
→ If you are struggling to navigate your corporate career but are ambitious and have goals you want to accomplish quickly, Olivia is the coach for you. She can help you reach your goals.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit oliviacream.com.
→ If you are ready to leave corporate or you want to start a profitable side brilliance but you’re unsure of the next steps, Archita can guide you through a successful transition to entrepreneurship.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit architafritz.com.
Connect with your hosts:
Follow Archita on Linkedin or check out her website.
Follow Olivia on Linkedin or check out her website.
Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook, or check out the website.
_________
Produced by Ideablossoms
Next Episode
83: How to Thrive Amidst Challenges
Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we have a spicy topic that is a little more vulnerable than what we typically share. We’re taking a second to back off the career talk and check in and ask how you are doing. In the spirit of vulnerability, we also share what we are wrestling with at the moment and how we’re navigating through these things.
Key Discussion Points:
02:04 Self-Worth Check-In: High-achievers often tie their self-worth to their achievements. They also rarely stop to acknowledge all that they have accomplished.
05:16 Building Joy: Find the things that make you happy and intentionally build them into your day.
07:21 Cultivating Emotional Awareness: We are always holding space for others, sometimes we need to hold space for ourselves and identify what we want and need.
14:28 Psychological Flexibility: A way of being that gives you the ability to respond to what is happening to you in a more fluid way.
20:05 Feeling and Learning from Your Emotions: How can you open up to painful emotions rather than be overwhelmed by them? And once you allow yourself to feel these emotions, what can you learn from them?
28:29 Rewriting Trauma: Choose to focus on what you gained from past traumatic experiences rather than what you lost.
39:25 Affirming Others: Remind the people in your life that you are closest to that they are enough, regardless of what they can provide or do for you.
In Summary: We’re challenging you to build joy into your day, take the time to acknowledge your self-worth, hold space for yourself, and feel your emotions. We urge you to rewrite your trauma focusing on the gain rather than the gap.
Resources from this episode:
The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy
If you happen to be a woman of color and you are looking for a community of like minded women, join Olivia here: https://www.mysistersshoulders.com/.
Ready to make a change?
→ If you are struggling to navigate your corporate career but are ambitious and have goals you want to accomplish quickly, Olivia is the coach for you. She can help you reach your goals.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit oliviacream.com.
→ If you are ready to leave corporate or you want to start a profitable side brilliance but you’re unsure of the next steps, Archita can guide you through a successful transition to entrepreneurship.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit architafritz.com.
Connect with your hosts:
Follow Archita on Linkedin or check out her website.
Follow Olivia on Linkedin or check out her website.
Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin,
Ready to make a change?
→ Struggling with your corporate career but have big goals?
Reach out to Olivia on LinkedIn or visit oliviacream.com.
→ Ready to leave corporate or start a side venture? Archita can guide your next steps.
Reach out to her on LinkedIn or visit architafritz.com.
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