The Other - How to Own Your Power at Work as a Woman of Color

"Women of color and children of immigrants have a different experience when climbing the ladder toward success. Throughout her career, bestselling author and MSNBC producer Daniela Pierre-Bravo was driven to land a good job, achieve the American Dream, and make her family proud. As an undocumented immigrant from Chile, she went through her high school and college years in the shadows, working in the back of kitchens and selling cosmetics door-to-door to help her family make ends meet. When she got called for an internship in New York City, she traveled overnight roundtrip from Ohio to interview in-person to prove her worth and prevent any prejudices or biases about Latinas getting in the way of that opportunity. She moved heaven and earth to be a great employee and not let her undocumented status define her future. Paying close attention to her mostly white and male work environment's cues, she adapted her fashion style and vocabulary, being careful not to mispronounce words, to gain inclusion. Eventually she was able to flourish at her company and rise through the ranks. When she became a DACA recipient, she finally felt that she'd made it. But then she hit a wall. Daniela realized that she'd been living in survival mode and was overcompensating to prove her worth. She associated this as much with growing up undocumented as she did with her identity as a child of immigrants. It was time to make a change, and she wasn't alone in needing to. The unyielding feeling of inadequacy or a sense of not belonging in traditional workplaces for women of color and children of immigrants are what often drives you to follow the unspoken rules of inclusion, to fit in, to adapt, to make yourself "useful", keep your head down, and stay in your lane in order to hold on to the job you worked so hard to attain. Often, once you're in the door, once you've rolled up your sleeves and put in the long hours, and finally carved a space to grow in your field, you are often treated as and feel like "the other," and it starts to get in your way. In THE OTHER, Daniela pushes you to reckon with this feeling and guides you in recognizing your power through your own eyes instead of a traditional white gaze in the workplace. She aims to help you clear your path toward advancement without losing your sense of identity and learn how to embrace your differences with confidence and use them to your advantage. By the end you will become your biggest believer and truly own your multidimensional narrative to take charge of your destiny, create your own box, and achieve your own version of success. This book is a framework for how to take back your power, master how to effectively advocate for yourself, and claim the spaces in your career that are rightfully yours"--

About the author

Daniela Pierre-Bravo is a best-selling author, speaker and reporter for MSNBC's Morning Joe. She is a contributor for NBC’s “Know Your Value” platform and co-author of Earn It!. Her work has been featured on the Today Show, CBS This Morning, Telemundo, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, and more. She lives in New York City with her rescue dog, Benji.

Summary

2023 Int'l Latino Book Award Honorable Mentions

This important book focuses on how women of color, children of immigrants, and other minoritized groups are predisposed to workplace imposter syndrome—and charts a path forward for self-advocacy and advancement.​

For women of color and children of immigrants, who are the “the other” at work, there's a different threshold of belonging that creates a false feeling of inadequacy. It can lead to being overwhelmed, overworked, and overlooked. The Other shatters the unspoken expectations for you to stay in your lane and gives you the tools to build unshakable confidence and a career that excels--on your own terms.  

Bestselling author and MSNBC reporter Daniela-Pierre Bravo spent many years undocumented and in the shadows as an immigrant from Chile, working odd jobs to pay her way through school. Like many other women of color she became an expert shape shifter in order to chameleon her way around professional environments that felt out of reach. When Daniela became a DACA recipient, she finally felt that she’d made it, rising through the ranks in her career. But she quickly realized that no matter how much success she achieved, she always felt she had to prove her worth as “the other.”

In The Other, Daniela shares her journey and those of other women to help you recognize your power in the workplace outside of the white gaze. She drives you to reshape the way you think about career advancement without losing your sense of identity and helps you see how to use your differences as an advantage. Smart, revealing, and loaded with practical steps, The Other is a framework for how to effectively advocate for yourself, become your biggest believer, claim the spaces in your career that are rightfully yours.
 

Foreword

From MSNBC producer Daniela Pierre-Bravo with Mika Brzezinski and a young undocumented Latina, comes a book on how women of color, children of immigrants, and minoritized groups who are deemed "other" are predisposed to feeling like workplace imposters, and how we can overcome obstacles to success and show that differences are our winning assets.

Product details

• Authors: Daniela Pierre-Bravo
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 23.08.2022
• EAN: 9780306925443
• ISBN: 978-0-306-92544-3
• No. of pages: 256
• Dimensions: 236 mm x 160 mm x 27 mm
• Weight: 438 g
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Guides > Law, job, finance > Training, job, career; Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet; Ethnic Studies, Biography: general, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Careers / General, Relating to Latin / Hispanic American people