Deepa Purushothaman: How Women of Color can Redefine Power in Corporate America

Deepa worked in Corporate America for 21 years and left to co-found nFormation with Rha Goddess, which provides a brave, safe, and new space for professionals who are women of color. She is the author of “The First, The Few, The Only: How Women of Color can Redefine Power in Corporate America” which we discuss in this interview.

Tune in to hear now and access the show notes at https://thegoodlifecoach.com/177

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WE DISCUSS:

1️⃣ Why Deepa left a Big 4 Accounting Firm after 21 years to Launch nFormation.

2️⃣ The work she is doing with nFormation with Rha Goddess and the research they are doing with Billie Jean King and how that lead to their Ted Talk with over a million views.

3️⃣ Sorting through identity and challenges as a Woman of Color.

4️⃣ How 2 out of the 3 women of color she interviewed for the book are dealing with navigating health challenges and why.

5️⃣ The self-editing women of color do to conform in patriarchal corporate environments.

6️⃣ The delusions people in corporate are operating under.

7️⃣ Owning your power as a woman of color and defining that for yourself.

8️⃣ The micro-aggressions women of color experience in the corporate world.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Deepa Purushothaman is a co-founder of nFormation, a company for women of color by women of color. nFormation provides brave, safe, new space for professional women of color. Deepa is also a Women and Public Policy Program Leader in Practice at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Prior to this, Deepa spent more than twenty years at Deloitte and was the first Indian American woman and one of the youngest people to make partner in the company’s history. Deepa was also the US Managing Partner of WIN (Women’s Initiative), Deloitte’s renowned program to recruit, retain, and advance women.

Deepa has degrees from Wellesley College, Harvard Kennedy School, and the London School of Economics. She speaks extensively on women and leadership. She has been featured at national conferences and in publications including Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The Huffington Post, and Harvard Business Review. She is also an Aspen Fellow.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Deepa’s Book – The First, the Few, the Only
• Deepa’s Ted Talk with Rha Goddess
• Deepa’s website
• Michele’s Book: Design a Life You Love
• Michele on Instagram

Thank you for listening to the show!