I created a workshop for the Greenfield Intercultural Center, University of Pennsylvania: Building Your Leadership Capacity: Finding Your Voice and Taking Risks. I believe that women in academe are often marginalized because of their race and sex/gender identities. My research and experience shows that to be a leader, it is critical for women to "find their voice" and speak up to be heard in the workplace.
Women of color spoke of their difficulty speaking up because of the hierarchical structure of the university, their junior status and barriers of language, age, ethnicity, and gender. Because women of color are navigating multiple cultures: they are balancing their ethnic cultures, organizational cultures, and their intersectional identities as an international, Muslim, and gender identity. It was so exciting for me to see them come together as a group, network with one another, and their desire to carry the conversation forward by meeting again.
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