In this podcast, I interviewed Sonali Shah, the founder of Melbourne Lean In network, a thriving community helping women achieve their ambitions. As a Lean In Circles Regional Leader, Sonali supports a large network of women and men dedicated to gender equality. Leading a team of 17 volunteers and working alongside the Foundation and movement put in place by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Sonali organizes events, holds training and networking sessions, and work with the LeanIn.Org team to grow and engage the Lean In community in Melbourne.
Sonali starts by sharing her career progression and story, and the path that led her to be so passionate about supporting other women achieve in their careers. She candidly shares her conservative upbringing and the challenges she faced to pursue her university education, move to Australia, and have a corporate career. Sonali also reflects on her personal brand of feminism and how she has embraced new values and learnings along the way, as well as educated others to embrace diversity, women, and mothers in the workforce. Finally, we reflect on the effect on lockdown on women in the workforce and seek the silver linings. You will notice that Sonali is always looking for the positive paths to change, and ways to better structure work and life to support women and families. 
It is a delight to hear her story and learn from her experiences, cheer when she achieved her goals, and empathize with the roadblocks she experienced. It's an inspiring story that led her to found the Lean In network in Melbourne, and her long term passion to support women here and in India.
2020 is proving to be such a challenging year. Every day so much is changing, disrupting, and developing. It's especially hard for those whose jobs and livelihoods have been substantially affected by the pandemic, and most recently by the protests happening all over the world. Job hunters are in danger of feeling isolated in their struggles and issues. I hope this podcast, and this episode in particular, can support you in your job hunting and offer inspiration as you take the next steps in your career. 
In fact, we have more COVID-related episodes to support you: go to The Job Hunting Podcast website, where you can search for topics, and I recommend that if you are new to this Podcast, you search for the "COVID Series" of podcasts. This way you will get access to a great selection of expert interviews we’ve been able to compile for you to support your job hunting in these difficult times.
I hope this episode inspires you to also be persistent, resilient, and to achieve your personal and career goals. I look forward to hearing your feedback  -  please leave a comment wherever you heard this or on my social media, or simply write me a DM or email. I'd love to hear from you.  
Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a 5-star rating and ranking on iTunes. As I said in prior episodes, leaving a rating on iTunes makes an incredible difference for the podcast’s success and is a great way for me to know you are enjoying the content.
Here's to all the silver linings in life! 
Links and books mentioned in this episode: 
LeanIn.org website
Lean in Melbourne Facebook Page
Lean in Melbourne Instagram
Book: Lean in by Sheryl Sandberg
Book: The mother of all jobs by Christine Armstrong

 
About your host:
Hello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. 
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A free resource for job hunters: The Optimized Job Search Schedule.
Learn more about my career services: www.renatabernarde.com.
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Or please email me at rb@renatabernarde.com.       

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Host: Renata Bernarde
Contact us: rb@rena