Simmons University B-School WOC Book Talk Series | Deepa Purushothaman

If you are a woman of color building your career in corporate America or planning to do so in the future, this is an event for you! If you want to help create corporate environments where we can all belong, this event is for you, too! While companies talk about how far we’ve come, traditional power structures are still underserving women of color —one of the fastest-growing segments in the workforce today - at a time when business success hinges on talent and retention.

Join Simmons University School of Business in an interactive discussion between Deepa Purushothaman, a former senior partner at a large global services firm, and Špela Trefalt, Diane K. Trust Associate Professor in Leadership Development, about Deepa’s new book: THE FIRST, THE FEW, THE ONLY: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America. Many women of color feel that they need to hide or change who they are to “fit” into the corporate cultures. But businesses must evolve—and women of color have the potential to lead that transformation. Deepa’s call to action is for women of color to find power from within and to join together in community, to make the needed change.

The first 75 participants will receive a free copy of Deepa’s new book.

About Deepa Purushothaman [per-shot-a-man]

AUTHOR | LEADER | SPEAKER

Deepa Purushothaman was a “first” senior partner at Deloitte, where she spent more than 20 years focusing on women’s leadership and inclusion strategies to help women of color navigate corporate structures. She was the first Indian-American woman and one of the youngest people to make Partner in the firm's history.

After leaving Deloitte in 2020, Deepa co-founded nFormation, a membership-based community for professional women of color, offering brave, safe, new space and helping place women of color in C-suite positions and on Boards.

Deepa’s book The First, The Few, The Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America, published by HarperCollins comes out March 1, 2022. She is also a Women and Public Policy Program Leader in Practice at the Harvard Kennedy School where she concentrates on research to combat systemic racism in corporate structures to help women of color rise.

Deepa is a founding board member of Avasara, India's first leadership academy exclusively for young women. She has degrees from Wellesley College, Harvard Kennedy School, and the London School of Economics. She lives in Los Angeles.