Women of Color in the Workplace with Deepa Purushothaman

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My guest on the podcast this week, Deepa Purushothaman, shared a really interesting statistic in our conversation that I’ve been thinking about since we spoke. 

Deepa is the author of best-selling book “The First, The Few, The Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America” – so it’s probably not surprising that a lot of our conversation centred around the experiences of women of color in corporate America, racism, and the problems that are inherent in the system as it exists currently. 

During our conversation, Deepa shared that 74% of Black HR leaders believe racism is still happening in the workplace, while only 18% of White HR leaders believe the same. 

While, intellectually, I recognize this number is not surprising because of the different experiences of White and Black leaders, I am still wildly disappointed that so many of the leaders surveyed (to get that statistic) are completely unaware of the lived experiences of people working today. 

Despite all the conversations these past few years around racism, and systems rooted in racism and patriarchy, there is still a deep disconnect happening in the corporate world when it comes to the actual experiences of people of color – let alone women of color – that it feels like we haven’t even scratched the surface of what is going on. 

One of the interesting things that Deepa brought up was the importance of advocates and co-conspirators when it comes to changing the stories in the corporate world. At the end of the day, if we want to make change we need to make it together. It can’t be only people of color who are making the change, it has to involve White people as well (especially White men), if we want it to be successful. 

The harsh reality is that these changes will take years, if not decades to get right. There will be missteps and new challenges that come our way, but we have to continue the conversation that we have just started. And, we need to find places to start moving things forward, consistently, to ensure progress is made. 

If you’re a White co-conspirator, how do you want to show up in the world? And, what can you do to center and create space for typically marginalized folks (particularly women of color)? 

If you’re a person of color (or member of another minority group), how do you want to respond or react when people aren’t getting it or say/do something offensive?

Just like anything else, it helps when we have thought about it ahead of time and are prepared to take action. Deepa says, “do it however YOU do it – but you have to be prepared.”

This episode is a great place to start and Deepa’s book is a wonderful next step or deeper dive.

I hope you'll listen and share your takeaways!

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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 the needs and experiences of Women of Color.

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 and can be purchased at all major booksellers.

To find out more about Deepa and her work, visit https://www.deepapuru.com/. You can also find her on social by searching, Deepa Puru.