12 Oct Real Series: Nayaelah Siddiqui

This month is Global Diversity Awareness Month so this interview entails discourse about women of colour in the workplace and the challenges they face in Canada. This interview has been conducted as a podcast and broken down into individual recordings.

Nayaelah Siddiqui is the creator of Empower’em and is its executive director. Empower’em focuses on providing women of colour with safe spaces, building their leadership skills and making all women of colour feel included. 

Trigger warnings: racism and sexism.

Could you please introduce yourself; what you do and what is your background?

Can you explain how your identity has shaped you?

What are some challenges you have faced because of your identity in the workplace?

From your perspective, how do you think Canadian society views women of colour in work and educational settings?

How can we encourage women of colour to pursue more male-dominated/predominately white careers? 

What role does diversity play in Canadian society and where do women of colour fit in?

In what ways have you helped your community?

What empowers you?

Do you have any advice for other women of colour?