Take a peek inside my ADHD brain, my late in life diagnosis and how the intersections of race, gender and being first generation Canadian make the process of coming to terms with such a diagnosis more complicated and nuanced. If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at shahzianoorally@gmail.com or learn more at shahzianoorally.comTranscripts of all episodes can be found hereLicensed intro music from NoMo

This first episode of the Equity Gap podcast is a sort of calling in to the white people in my circles of influence and any white person listening to this on how to engage, do the work and walk the walk.  With anything you’ll come to expect from this platform, it’s not designed for comfort. The work of dismantling the system of white supremacy is about challenging power structures that have kept equity deserving groups from advancing and living up to our fullest potential and it requires straight, raw and honest conversations to evoke some of the change. Many of us have a lot of unlearning to do around equity, so what I share on this platform is meant to challenge, and it will likely cause discomfort, but ideally it will make you think.  If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at shahzianoorally@gmail.com or learn more at shahzianoorally.com Licensed intro music from NoMo

Resilience should no longer be a point of celebration - too many of us carry the weight of expectations to work harder, do better and play a constant game of proving ourselves in workplace environments that aren't designed for us as Black, Indigenous and women of colour. In this dynamic and powerful conversation with Chivon John - Workplace Wellness Lead for Shopify, Board Member, Speaker and Entrepreneur, we dig into the power of true self care to move further towards being well at work and accessing and celebrating the fullness of ourselves to truly thrive in our lives.  More about Chivon - Chivon John is a Workplace Wellness Leader and Mental Health Advocate devoted to helping high achievers unlearn overwork and burnout as a necessary price of ambition.Inspired by her own journey of learning and unlearning what it means to be well at work, Chivon helps organizations and individuals re-define having a strong ‘work ethic’ as one that includes caring for their overall wellbeing. As a purpose driven leader, she regularly speaks on the topics of workplace wellness, burnout prevention and remote and hybrid work.In addition to her work in wellness advocacy, Chivon is the Global Wellness Lead at Shopify, serves on the Board of Directors for Taking It Global and is the founder of LightWork - a consultancy examining the things that weigh us down at work. You can learn even more about Chivon and connect with her below:www.chivonjohn.com Connect with Chivon on LinkedInSubscribe to her newsletter: LightWorkIf you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.com

Meet Moji Taiwo: Creator & Host - The Immigrant Experience Show, Author, Speaker, Coach, Facilitator and Retired Civil Servant Moji Taiwo is the author of - I GIVE because I’M BLESSED – I’M BLESSED because I GIVE – ‘A Chronicle of An Immigrant’s Journey’. Moji is also the Creator and Host of The Immigrant Experience Show (Tieshow) on Diversity TV's YouTube Channel. Tieshow is intended to be a platform to openly discuss matters of importance to the collective immigrant population (first and second generation), individuals and families.In this conversation we glean so many gems of wisdom and insight from Moji on her own journey to Canada, her experiences finding her voice and success and most importantly, how to honour the immigrant experience to take up all the space you desire and deserve.You can learn more about Moji through www.mojitaiwo.com and you can purchase Moji's incredible book through Amazon at https://www.amazon.ca/Give-Because-Blessed-Chronicle-Immigrants-ebook/dp/B07B44V2KB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1M53NF354DVUK&keywords=moji+taiwo&qid=1652677743&sprefix=moji+taiwo%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.com

Hustle culture feels outdated, archaic and unnecessary in a world that has shifted so deeply. So many of us have had awakenings around our relationship to work and labour in the last 2 years, yet reconciling that within ourselves is complicated. How do you work through the push and pull of unlearning what you once believed, of opting out of that which no longer serves you? Listen in to find out. 

"If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive" - Audre LordeSo much of the journey to finding career joy and a path that fulfils you is rooted in knowing ourselves and as Audre Lorde says "defining myself for myself" - leaning into the possibilities of what comes next for our pathways rooted in an uncompromised perspective of who we are in our hearts first.  Listen on to discover ways to get to a place of career joy, on your terms.If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.comThe Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.

I don't know, there is something I hate about the pressure to create and fulfill new year resolutions that are often rooted in fixing things we find flawed or imperfect about ourselves. The desire to fix what isn't even broken in the first place is such indoctrination from a society that deems us not being enough without hustle culture, discipline and perseverance. No more new year, new me BS. The latest episode of the podcast is a hopeful reframe for all those sick and tired of buying into the false reality of some flawed versions of ourselves.  If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.comThe Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.

If you stick around, what you'll find in this episode is a compilation of all my musings, learnings and ah ha moments that may help you see your path a little more clearly and ideally set you up for whatever is to come for your career in 2022. Whether starting your career or changing paths at any age and stage of your life, these sentiments ring such truth that I wish I had heard them and embraced them years ago - and with me, you will always get the unconventional viewpoint. If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.comThe Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.

When I started my career in HR, I somehow ended up in recruitment - truly by accidental happenstance. And boy did I learn a lot - about what it was like to be on both ends of the job searching process. I discovered so many things about how undermined the recruitment function can be, how few resources are dedicated for companies to humanize the experience for job seekers and the years I spent in the recruitment space sparked a passion project for me - a blog that was all about serving the job seeker, to help remove some of the mystery around the experience and that all led me to here - pivoting a few times to finally land on this podcast to relay insight, advice and my unconventional career strategy for other racialized women. In my brainstorming process for this episode, I came across an old blog post of mine that I thought I would resurrect. An open letter of sorts to job seekers to provide real perspective and insight on what it’s really like to be the recruiter and how to really master the game to connect in meaningful ways. At the time I was a tad frustrated with the hate rhetoric that I was seeing regularly on LinkedIn about how awful recruiters were, so I wanted to shed light and provide perspective on those recruiters that actually had integrity and good intentions, because not all of them do. To paint a picture of what we were up against and how to get inside the brain of a recruiter. So here it is, an open letter for job seekers from a former recruiter originally written and published by me in July 2014.If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.comThe Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.

Planning, visioning and setting goals should be my Capricorn selfs dream, yet they really aren’t. And naturally, the last 18 months have me rethinking, a lot, about what it means to be so focused on goals, career plans and making decisions based on other peoples roadmaps or expectations - how we’ve all been programmed to think in milestones, goals and achievements and how much I think we desperately need to move away from that, yes, really.Long term career plans limit you from accessing curiosity and an interdisciplinary approach to finding purpose, meaning and joy in your day to day work. Listen in to hear more on how you can lean into curiosity, core desired feelings and design a career to love, on your terms.References in the episode:Adam Grant - https://twitter.com/adammgrant/status/1429080982607519747Danielle LaPorte - https://shop.daniellelaporte.com/pages/the-desire-mapJoel Leon - https://www.instagram.com/iamjoelleon/If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.comThe Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.

I think it’s time we all get out of the scarcity mindset. You know the one - where you stick through, hang out where you’re not all that excited to be, stay in the job to collect that pay cheque or rack up that experience because we’re told we should, because we’ve been taught to be polite, thoughtful, not rock the boat and because we feel like we don’t have options.  Truth bomb - you do have options, plenty of them and your lack mentality is not serving anyone, especially yourself. In this episode, we chat through 3 signs it's time to break up with your job.  You deserve to thrive at work, don’t wait for the right time to put yourself and your dreams first. It’s 2021 and never has there been a better time to shake that scarcity mindset off, to rethink your programming and consider the possibilities of a life lived on your terms. If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.comThe Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.

I've felt for a long time that the happiest and most successful people amongst us have a gentleness in which they speak to themselves, in which they look at failure and move through adversity. Yet I wonder why so many of us struggle with self-compassion, with being kind to ourselves and showing up for ourselves in the same ways we show up for our nearest and dearest and what kind of detrimental impact this has on our careers and our ability to truly thrive at work.In this episode, we explore why you need to be kinder to yourself and more importantly, how. All that negative self talk, all the times you beat yourself up for being human  and the ways in which you don’t give yourself space to make mistakes is detrimental to your progress in ways that will hold you back from accessing the places and opportunities you really deserve. Let's change that together. If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.comThe Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.Research cited in this episode:Give Yourself a Break: The Power of Self-Compassion: https://hbr.org/2018/09/give-yourself-a-break-the-power-of-self-compassionThe power of self-compassion: https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/the-power-of-self-compassion

As women of colour, our sense of community, belonging and the ability to truly thrive in the workplace is limited immensely by the representation we see, by how many of us are in leadership, how differences are managed and how welcome we are made to feel. I suspect if you or I asked the women of colour in our circles of influence, most if not all would be able to quickly point to numerous defining moments within the workplace full of dangerously bad leadership, micro aggressions and carrying the emotional tax of being seen but not heard. In this episode, we explore the idea of workplace trauma for women of colour and walk through 4 ways to get to a place of healing if you're struggling through your own workplace trauma. If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.com The Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.Research cited in this episode:1.  https://www.thestar.com/business/2019/07/24/survey-finds-canadian-people-of-colour-carry-an-extra-weight-at-work-thats-so-significant-it-impacts-their-health.html2. https://humannatureatwork.com/article/the-hidden-cost-of-workplace-trauma3. https://www.mindaharts.com/rightwithin4. https://medium.com/surviving-ideo/surviving-ideo-4568d51bcfb6

In May 2020, I made the difficult decision to move on from a company I had an incredibly successful run with for nearly 6 years. I left because I was itching to do something new, to challenge and rebrand myself. I decided to not only leave the company, but take a big step back in order to eventually propel my career forward. Talk about a massive risk!Just this September, I accepted a promotion back into a leadership role and this episode is all about my journey of being a Covid hire - how I landed the job, how I made it work through the most difficult time in my life both personally and professionally and how I got promoted. All while working virtually and in under 18 months. What a ride it's been.I share some well earned and learned advice on the number one thing you can to land that next opportunity and 3 things you can start doing today to get noticed and get promoted (within Covid or beyond).If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.com The Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.

Today’s conversation is one I’ve been eager to bring to you all. It’s with someone I deeply admire and respect, whose expertise in personal branding is second to none. She’s thoughtful, engaging, genuine and full of practical and insightful tips and insight on the power and possibilities of investing in your personal brand. She’s Chanèle McFarlane and Chanèle is a multiple award-winning Certified Career Strategist, TEDx Speaker, Writer and Podcast Host. As the Founder of career advice website, Do Well Dress Well, she has built an international audience around her approachable and practical advice on personal branding and career strategy. Through her podcast, Careers Uncovered, Chanèle shares honest stories and practical advice to navigate your career.Chanèle is a sought-after public speaker who has spoken for several organizations, universities and colleges across North America. Her expert commentary has been featured in media outlets such as The Globe & Mail, Fast Company, Elle Canada, FLARE Magazine and more. She is also an on-air career expert who has appeared on Breakfast Television, The Morning Show, CHCH Morning Live and Rogers TV Ottawa.Chanèle serves as a Career Strategist in Residence for Accelerate Her Future and a member of the Professional Advisory Committee for Humber College’s Content Strategy program. She is also an accomplished communications professional specializing in talent marketing and thought leadership. Chanèle has been recognized as one of PR in Canada’s Top 30 Under 30, one of the Top 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada and one of the Top 25 Women of Influence.You can connect with and learn more about and from Chanèle at:https://www.dowelldresswell.com/ - OR - https://www.chanelemcfarlane.com/

I lost my beloved Papa on May 25, 2021 and his sudden death was a wake up call to life that I didn't know I needed. Here is my tribute to him and the lessons I've gleaned from the deep reflection I've done since then.  

In today's episode, we’re going to in deep on how authenticity is the key to levelling up in your career and my guest on this episode is someone who shows up as herself in each and every interaction, and someone who has an incredible career to demonstrate how this approach can and will work for you. Celinda Farias Appleby, (she/her/ella) is also known as Celly. She is the Director of Global Talent Attraction at Visa and passionate about employer branding. Diversity and inclusivity are major principles that guide her work in designing human-centered, talent attraction strategies.At the start of her career, Celly recruited in an agency setting, quickly falling in love with matchmaking and helping others make successful career moves.In 2010, she joined Hewlett-Packard and began to launch global, digital media strategies within Talent Acquisition. Celly advanced to Oracle, as the Head of Recruitment Branding. She successfully built and led Oracle’s global recruitment marketing arm. Nike then recruited Celly to join a newly created Talent Brand team, focused on crafting innovative, global digital and social media strategies.Buckle up for just over an hour of engaging, dynamic and thought provoking conversation with Celly and prepare to take notes. Follow Celly on her socials and find her at: https://celly-speaks.comInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/celly_speaks/Clubhouse:https://www.joinclubhouse.com/club/level-up-your-careeTwitter:https://twitter.com/celly_speaks/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/celindafariasappleby/

"How do we develop, or regain trust within ourselves and honour our experiences, as is without judgment? There is a gift in the process of unlearning, al be it a difficult one, that creates space for new, healthy, authentic ways of how we show up in the world. On the other side, there is comfort in remaining stagnant. Whatever we choose, consciously or not, this is the version that is then mirrored out into the environment and into the world around us. It can either propel us forward or hold us back.” - Nashina Merani Miranda, Registered Therapeutic Counsellor and owner of Harbour Counselling & Wellness and the featured guest on this episode of the Colour Gap podcast. The conversation you’re about to listen to goes in so many beautiful and deep directions and I’m so excited for you to have the opportunity to hear the insight and knowledge Nashina has on doing the work to live life on your own terms. For me, the conversation relates deeply to our career journeys and how exploring self care and doing the real introspective hard work to understand what holds us back, what our triggers look like in action and moving past intergenerational conditioning and trauma are incredibly important to accelerate our careers and our lives. A couple of side notes - Nashina is my therapist and I wanted to feature her on the podcast because in the short amount of time I’ve been working with her, I feel like the way I look at myself and the world is completely different. I want to give that gift to all the racialized women that this podcast is targeted towards because I think you all deserve the same. Nashina creates an incredibly safe space for me to be and thrive and I hope you will get to experience a small flavour of what she's capable of through this discussion. She also happens to have the most calming and beautiful voice that I could listen to for hours on end. Also you may hear some background noise throughout the conversations. Windows were open and we were so into the conversation that neither of us noticed until I got to the editing process. I hope it doesn’t take too much away from your experience. Regardless, I hope you enjoy and learn as much from Nashina as I did and continue to do. Her contact information and additional resources are included below:Nashina Merani MirandaCounsellor - RTC #2678Certified: Trauma-Informed Practice, Reiki PractitionerHarbour Counselling & WellnessGet to know Nashina: WEBSITE FacebookEmail Ph: 604-417-9513https://www.healingincolour.com/directoryAdditional resources from Nashina:1. Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42397849-burnout2. Brene Brown: Dare to Lead Podcast/Bookhttps://brenebrown.com/dtl-podcast/3. Professional Quality of Life assessment tool:  https://proqol.org/ProQol_Test.html

“In a gentle way you can shake the world.” - Mahatma GandhiYour introversion should be seen as your superpower, yet so many of us are taught that being quiet equates to shy, unseen, unheard. We get looked over for opportunities, may hold ourselves back from pursuing roles that push us out of our comfort zones and may not always allow ourselves to celebrate our quiet confidence.  If you yourself are unsure of how to navigate through this loud world and connect with people through your own brand of quiet confidence, listen on to learn more about how I do it.

Navigating being an only - the first, the only woman of colour in leadership, is exhausting, isolating and almost forces you to confront the things that make you uncomfortable about your lived experience, but you’re not alone and you deserve to have those experiences seen and heard and for spaces to be created where you can thrive in spite of the things that have systematically held you back. In this episode join me as I speak to my own experiences being an "only" in senior leadership and the work I did and do to this day to actively practise moving past the feelings of isolation  to navigate the experience in leadership and beyond.The incredible research cited by Dr. Kecia Thomas in this episode can be found here:https://gender-summit.com/images/GS3NA_ppts/Thomas.pdfSome women of colour who I follow and find solace and community in through their lived experiences and their storytelling include:https://www.instagram.com/itsviviankaye/https://www.instagram.com/iamjamgamble/https://www.instagram.com/_anishinaabekwe/https://www.instagram.com/thetransplanter/https://www.instagram.com/adi.barreto/https://www.instagram.com/celly_speaks/https://www.instagram.com/sunshineblackbird/https://www.instagram.com/statuesse/https://www.instagram.com/latesha_byrd/https://www.instagram.com/michellekimkim/Some communities that serve to connect and engage BIWOC:Accelerate her Future Canadian Women of Colour Leadership Network