Written by Dr. Golnaz Golnaraghi, Founder and President of Accelerate Her Future
Career conversations, structured, meaningful dialogues between employees and their managers or mentors who share the same work environment, hold the potential to transform lives, particularly for those who have historically been marginalized in workplace advancement.
At Accelerate Her Future’s Virtual Summit Flourish, the importance of these dialogues took center stage during the panel From Career Conversations to Career Growth: A Human-Centred Approach That Propels Indigenous, Black, and Racialized Women in the Workplace. This vibrant discussion offered powerful insights into breaking barriers and paving equitable paths for career growth.
Among the inspiring voices was Farzeen Foda, Founder of PeopleStrategy.ca, whose extensive experience in human resources and organizational effectiveness has equipped her to champion inclusive workplace practices. Farzeen’s nuanced perspectives illuminated how human-centered career conversations can serve as critical tools for empowerment and change.
For Indigenous, Black, and racialized women, these conversations are pivotal moments to articulate their aspirations and unlock opportunities for growth, enabling them to fully leverage their talents and contributions in environments where they can excel.
Farzeen acknowledged the difficulty of initiating career conversations, particularly in environments that don’t feel supportive.
“We’re always told to own our development,” she explained. “And a supportive environment acknowledges that this job is one step in a longer journey. It has to be a two-way street between you and your organization and people leader.”
Farzeen notes that career conversation can feel uncomfortable where women may feel a lack of loyalty for bringing up their career growth and advancement goals. She advocates for a reframing—approaching the conversation with gratitude for current opportunities while expressing aspirations to extend one’s impact. For example: “I’m now looking for ways to deepen my impact even further.”
A human-centred approach to career conversations, Farzeen elaborated, requires understanding the person—their unique journey, aspirations, and challenges. This contrasts sharply with the generic approach, which often assumes uniform starting points and overlooks the distinct realities individuals bring to the workplace.
“The generic approach comes in with assumptions about what a person has already experienced or even their career development aspirations,” Farzeen explained. “The human-centred approach starts with breaking down those assumptions and understanding where the person is today and where they want to be in the future.”
Farzeen emphasized that factors such as being the first in one’s family to complete university or lacking examples of corporate success in their community significantly shape how individuals navigate their careers.
“For some of us, our invisible backpack is filled with maps, guides, and scripts that may not be relevant in a corporate context,” she said. For those without these guides, even articulating career goals can be a challenge.
“Sometimes, understanding the possibilities available in the workplace is often the first hurdle, not even knowing what to ask for,” Farzeen observed.
We often hear the advice for Indigenous, Black and racialized women to ‘be more visible’ in the workplace. “While visibility is important, when our invisible backpack lacks the roadmap for how to be more visible,” Farzeen explains. “It’s critical for managers to provide tangible opportunities for Indigenous, Black and racialized women to showcase their skills and contributions in meaningful ways, helping us develop our maps and scripts.”
Farzeen emphasized the pivotal role of managers in building trust and lending privilege.
“When you’re in a leadership position, the privilege you hold—access to networks, resources, and influence—can be a powerful tool to uplift others,” she explained. “Proactively sharing that privilege by opening doors, recommending team members for opportunities, and advocating for their growth can be transformative.”
It’s important for managers to recognize that their role carries weight and intentionally use it to create pathways for others who may face systemic barriers. This is really about proactive sponsorship and allyship, connecting team members to influential networks and advocating on their behalf for growth and advancement opportunities.
Farzeen also addressed the importance of accountability mechanisms, such as 360-degree reviews and skip-level 1:1s, to ensure managers’ actions align with fostering morale and engagement.
These takeaways are designed for both leaders and organizations striving to create equitable and inclusive workplaces, as well as for individuals seeking to navigate and grow within such environments.
Farzeen’s contributions at the panel not only illuminated the systemic challenges but also offered a hopeful and actionable vision for change.
As she aptly put it, “Career conversations are critical to the development of all people, but particularly for Indigenous, Black and racialized women who may not always encounter environments that highlight clear pathways for what’s possible.”
Accelerate Her Future® was founded on land and waters of the traditional territory of many nations including the Haudenosaunee, Anishnaabeg, the Attawandaron, and the Metis within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum agreement. We respect Indigenous peoples’ deep connections to the land and waters, and affirm our commitment to continued learning while engaging our head, heart and hands to advance the TRC Calls to Action 92 and the MMIWG2S+ Calls to Justice 6.1, 11.1 and 15. We invite you to learn more about the history and presence of the Indigenous communities on the land and waters you gather on and work to build a better future for all. We encourage visitors to our website to learn about the land they are currently on.
