Discerning Difference… Embracing Empowerment: Navigating Identity – An International Perspective
By Nakeena Covington Taylor • April 06, 2015 •Writers in Residence
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit offices for my corporation in the Asia-Pacific region. During my trip, I observed interactions, learned about practices, and heard from residents of the countries I visited about their own experiences and perspective on identity, citizenship and diversity. It was interesting to hear their experiences in comparison with my own observations and the overwhelming feeling of being an outsider in a foreign territory. Depending on the personal background of my colleagues or the socioeconomic status – perceived or otherwise, I found some commonalities regarding dealing with one’s identity in the work place or within…
Discerning Difference…Embracing Empowerment: To Protest or Not to Protest
By Nakeena Covington Taylor • January 05, 2015 •Writers in Residence
I hesitated to post this first installment of my column. I wondered: Is this the appropriate forum and audience? Does this support my personal brand? Will it resonate with anyone? Is this topic even on point? It’s ironic to fear exposing a portion of my identity politics in a column about embracing one’s complete identity. Yet, here I am fearing just that -- exposure. Although so much of our identity is based on social construction and perceived realities, one’s identity is an extremely personal thing. It’s one thing to list your qualities, characteristics, and beliefs at a high level; it’s…