Unmasking Patriarchy & Internalized Oppression Episode #23

Episode 22: Finding Power When You Feel Powerless w/Deepa Purushothaman

What happens when you're in a leadership position or a position of power, but you struggle with owning that title, that authority? How do you feel, find, and forge it when you've been conditioned not to? In midlife, most women go through an honest reckoning, a fundamental questioning of self and what's important to them and how they want to be in the world but rarely have the tools and process to discover the answers to those critical questions. Today on the podcast, my guest shares her research with other 500 women of color in unique and influential positions in corporate America but still struggle to find their full authentic voice. Women of color who have muted themselves or conformed to external expectations are now in search of not only redefining power but securing their own.

In this episode of the Midlife Career Rebel Podcast, you'll discover...

• What it means to hold positions of power as women of color.
• How to identify the delusions that hold us back and how to overcome them.
• Why it’s critical to permit yourself to go after what you want.
• What to do when faced with naysayers.
• Why it’s essential to be part of a community of support.
• The questions to ask yourself to reclaim your voice and power.

Featured On the Show:

• Join us in Career Rebel Academy: https://bit.ly/3mZ7Mwm
• Read The Few, the First, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America: https://www.amazon.com/First-Few-Only-Redefine-Corporate-ebook/dp/B0968BW9P9
• Check out nFormation: For the Firsts, the Fews, and the Only: https://www.nformation.io/
• Deepa Purushothaman: https://www.deepapuru.com

Send me an email at [email protected].

Check out my FREE three-part video series 10 Minute Career Jumpstart.

About Our Guest Deepa Purushothaman

Deepa is a former senior executive and a corporate inclusion visionary. She challenges and redefines the status quo of leadership, success, and power by centering on the needs and experiences of Women of Color.

As a senior partner at Deloitte, Deepa spent more than 20 years helping clients transform and grow. She also focused on women’s leadership and inclusion strategies as the Managing Partner of WIN, Deloitte's pioneering, globally renowned Women's Initiative, and the first Indian-American woman and one of the youngest people to make partner in the firm's history.

After leaving Deloitte in 2020, Deepa co-founded nFormation, a membership-based community for professional Women of Color, offering brave, safe, new space and placing them in C-suite positions and on Boards. She is also a Women and Public Policy Program Leader in Practice at the Harvard Kennedy School, and a founding board member of Avasara, India's first leadership academy exclusively for young women.

Deepa’s book, “The First, The Few, The Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America”, was published in March 2022 to international acclaim.

Deepa is a TED and SXSW speaker and has been featured across multiple publications such as TIME, PBS, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, and Harvard Business Review. Her TED talk has over 1M views.

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