IM20: How to Navigate Power Structures in Male-Dominated Workspaces

Embracing Only: Workplace Culture & Career Development for BIPOC Leaders

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.

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Produced by Ideablossoms