Key Points: Empower Yourself Now: Reclaim Your Identity With Farzana Nayani
In this session of our Gateway Professional Development series, we welcomed DEI consultant, coach, and author: Farzana Nayani to discuss the topic of identity and what we can do to reclaim what parts we might have lost.
Haven’t seen it yet?
If you missed the live stream, you can now view it on YouTube here:
* We’d like to recognize the Native lands that we are occupying today — please visit https://native-land.ca/ to learn more.
Key Points
Exploring identity
Identity is unique to each of us — our ethnicity, nationality, gender, affiliations, hobbies, personalities, etc. all play a part in shaping how we identify as individuals. Farzana asked participants what some of their cultural values and communication norms were, and how they were perceived by others. While there were certainly shared responses, there were also unique variables that led to discussions around the diversity of the Asian identity and the complexities of intersectionality.
Discovering community
Asian communities have typically been overlooked throughout history. Farzana dove into topics like the model minority myth, as well as the concept of the ‘perpetual foreigner’ and how these influence the way Asians are perceived in American society. These stereotypes have caused issues not only within the realm of individual identity, but also by impacting relationships with other groups.
Moving forward, each of us can certainly leverage our communities, especially Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), to:
- Start a conversation
- Advocate for our communities and causes
- Create safe spaces to share
- Establish a sense of care and inclusion for all Asian identifying
Defining & empowering ourselves
The legacy that we’d like to leave for future generations of our communities lie in our hands, in shaping how we would like the future state of our communities to be and empowering ourselves to take leadership in driving that vision forward.
Note: Farzana also highly recommended checking out the show Asian Americans on PBS — https://www.pbs.org/show/asian-americans/
Contact
If you’d like to connect with Farzana, her contact information is below:
Farzana Nayani
Email: farzana@farzananayani.com
Website: http://farzananayani.com/
Stay tuned!
We have more events coming up in our Gateway webinar series.
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About the 3 Organizations
Asian Business League of San Francisco
The Asian Business League of San Francisco
The Asian Business League of San Francisco (ABL-SF) was founded in 1980 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of Asian Pacific American leadership in business. Through seminars, workshops, and social and networking functions, ABL-SF provides its members with opportunities to develop and enhance leadership and management skills and to build relationships with other Asian professionals. ABL-SF also provides its members with opportunities to meet business leaders in the community and to address issues facing Asian professionals and Asian-owned businesses.
Asian Leaders Alliance
Asian Leaders Alliance
Asian Leaders Alliance (ALA) is a self-organized group founded in 2017 consisting of leaders from 70+ Asian Employee Resource Groups (“ERG”) in the San Francisco Area. ALA empowers members and allies to grow as civic leaders and foster collaboration. Since its inception, ALA has held numerous professional networking events, shared best practices of ERG programs, and annual summer leadership programs with the Southeast Asian Development Center (“SEADC”) and Chinatown YMCA. ALA continues to further explore opportunities to positively impact the community, celebrate culture, and support D&I efforts.
National Association of Asian American Professionals
National Association of Asian American Professionals — San Francisco Bay Area
NAAAP, the National Association of Asian American Professionals, inspires, cultivates, and empowers Asian and Pacific Islander leaders for professional excellence to make meaningful impacts in the workplace and in the community. Founded in 1982, NAAAP is a non-profit organization with over 30 chapters in the USA & Canada.
