Urmi Hossain, Canada

Urmi Hossain is a Finance professional, author, speaker, and Co-Chair of Women in Leadership Montreal. She is passionate about mentoring and empowering women, and is involved with organizations like Women in Leadership and Dress for Success, where she supports women in building confidence, navigating their careers, and reaching their goals. 

In this episode, Urmi discusses how growing up in a culturally conservative South Asian household in Italy, and experiencing gender-based expectations, later sparked her passion for women’s leadership… her parents’ belief in education and in the importance of studying and getting good grades… early ideas about what she might want to be when she grew up… in her childhood and adolescence, the challenges and opportunities of being Italian Bengali, living one culture at home and a different culture outside her home… finally understanding that it was not about choosing one culture over the other, but rather embracing both… immigrating to Canada to attend university and successfully pursuing a career in Finance… learning about mentorship, choosing to mentor others, especially women, and understanding the importance of mentoring other women of color… the concept of “friendtors,” her term for women who have wanted to guide and encourage her… how we are all conditioned to strive for external validation without being encouraged to develop internal validation… realizing how important it is to make choices that bring us joy… creating Stories Beyond Borders Podcast as a platform for people to share their stories immigration and cultural identity…. and the reminder to us all that “you can be anything that you want. I think that's what I would have told to my younger self. And that's what I would tell to all the younger generation. You don't need anyone's validation for the choices that you make. If you're happy with it, go for it.”