The First, the Few, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America

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Women of color are one of the fastest-growing segments in the corporate workforce, yet often we are underrepresented—among the first, few, or only ones in a department or company. For too long, corporate structures, the social zeitgeist, and cultural conditioning have left us feeling exhausted and downtrodden, believing that in order to “fit in” and be successful, we must hide or change who we are.

As a former senior partner at a large global services firm, Deepa Purushothaman experienced these feelings of isolation and burnout. She met with hundreds of other women of color across industries and cultural backgrounds, eager to hear about their unique and shared experiences. In doing so, she has come to understand our collective setbacks—and the path forward in achieving our goals.  

Business must evolve—and women of color have the potential to lead that transformation. We must begin by pushing back against toxic messaging—including the things we tell ourselves—while embracing the valuable cultural viewpoints and experiences that give us unique perspectives at work. By fully realizing our own strengths, we can build collective power and use it to confront microaggressions, outdated norms, and workplace misconceptions; create cultures where belonging is never conditional; and rework corporations to be genuinely inclusive to all.

The First, the Few, the Only is a roadmap forward for us to make a profound impact within and outside our organizations while ensuring that our words are heard, our lived experiences are respected, and our contributions are finally valued. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deepa Purushothaman spent more than twenty years at Deloitte and was the first Indian American woman and one of the youngest people to make Partner in the company’s history. She was also Deloitte’s national WIN (Women’s Initiative) leader, the firm’s renowned program to recruit, retain, and advance women. After leaving Deloitte in 2020, she co-founded nFormation, a membership-based community for professional women of color, and is a Women and Public Policy Program Leader in Practice at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her work has been featured in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the Huffington Post, and Harvard Business Review, and she holds degrees from Wellesley College, Harvard Kennedy School, and the London School of Economics. She and her husband Manoj live in Los Angeles with their four dogs.

The books for this giveaway are being provided by Harper Business, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. We have 20 copies available. The giveaway ends on Sunday, March 6th.