In this episode, we delve into the concept of being "qualified" in the workplace, examining who gets labeled as such, who doesn't, and the underlying reasons. We explore "competency checking"—the practice of scrutinizing individuals' abilities—and how it disproportionately affects underrepresented groups, often going unnoticed or unchallenged. Our discussion aims to redefine qualifications in a fair, equitable, and actionable manner. Our guest, Shari Dunn , is an accomplished journalist, former attorney, news anchor, CEO, university professor, and sought-after speaker. She has been recognized as Executive of the Year and a Woman of Influence, with her work appearing in Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, and more. Her new book, Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work , unpacks what it truly means to be deserving and capable—and why systemic barriers, not personal deficits, are often the real problem. Her insights challenge the narratives that hold so many of us back and offer practical solutions for building a more equitable future. Together, we can build workplaces and communities that don’t just reflect the world we live in, but the one we want to create. A world where being qualified is about recognizing the talent and potential that’s been overlooked for far too long. It’s not just about getting a seat at the table—it’s about building an entirely new table, one designed with space for all of us. Connect with Our Guest Shari Dunn Website& Book - Qualified: https://thesharidunn.com LI: https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/sharidunn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesharidunn Related Podcast Episodes: How To Build Emotionally Mature Leaders with Dr. Christie Smith | 272 Holding It Together: Women As America's Safety Net with Jessica Calarco | 215 How To Defy Expectations with Dr. Sunita Sah | 271 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music…
‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ by John Donne is an incredibly famous poem. In it, Donne uses one of his famous conceits to depict the steadfast nature of his love. A Valediction : Forbidding Mourning is a personal poem showing the pure love and devotion of the poet to his beloved. John wrote this poem on the occasion of parting from his wife, Anne More Donne, in late 1611. Donne was going on a diplomatic mission to France, leaving his wife behind in England. A "valediction" is a farewell speech. This poem cautions against grief about separation, and affirms the special, particular love the speaker and his lover share. Like most of Donne's poems. It was not published until after his death, appearing in the collection Songs and Sonnets. ”A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ is divided into sets of four lines, or quatrains . Author : John Donne (born sometime between Jan. 24 and June 19, 1572, London, Eng.—died March 31, 1631, London), was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London. He is considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message…
Rajmohan's Wife by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay is the first ever English novel in India. Apart from that, this novel is the novelist's first novel ever. Published in 1864, Rajmohan’s Wife is infact argued to be an allegory of modern India, of the kind of society that can rise out of the debris of an older, broken social order and of the new, albeit stunted, possibilities available to it under colonialism. To explicate this allegory, Rajmohun’s Wife provides a backdrop a traditional Indian society and all its complex ideological, political, social, and cultural aspects. He then places the protagonist of the story, Matangini, who is the flesh and blood equivalent of Bankim’s vision of Modern India in her courage, strength, spirit and righteousness, against the limiting, unjust and socially judgmental society of old India. This contrast beautifully illustrates the differences between confining, patriarchal Indian society of that day and age and the newly emergent, liberating Modern Indian society of the kind that Bankim envisions. About Author - Bankim Chandra Chatterjee also known as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was one of the greatest novelists and poets of India. He is famous as author of Vande Mataram, originally in Sanskrit, the national song of India, personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring activists during the Indian Independence Movement. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message…
This story is written by Vijaydan Detha. This is a very interesting story about a boy and his search for a companion & a guide with himself. the author has beautifully crafted the plot, here everyone can relate a bit of this story to themselves as, though for an instance, we all experience somewhere a moment of it in our journeys called life. hope you will enjoy listening to this story. About Author : Vijaydan Detha (1 September 1926 – 10 November 2013), also known as Bijji, was a noted Indian writer of Rajasthani literature.[1] He was a recipient of several awards including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award. Detha has more than 800 short stories to his credit, which have been translated into English and other languages. With Komal Kothari, he founded Rupayan Sansthan, an institute that documents Rajasthani folklore, art, and music. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message…
Birthday is a short story which was originally written in Malayalam by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and later translated to English by the original author himself. Published in July 1979 by DC Books (first published April 1945) The use of humor that Basheer employs in "Birthday" is to present a reality diametrically opposed to the conventional understanding surrounding one's special day. Hope you will like the story. About Author : Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), also known as Beypore Sulthan, was an Indian independence activist and writer of Malayalam literature . He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, down-to-earth style of writing that made him equally popular among literary critics as well as the common man. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message…
This poem was published in 1933 AD. Maithilisharan Gupta wrote this Peom at the request of his younger brother Siyaram Sharan Gupt . This poem is about the story of Gautam Buddha 's great sacrifice. But, special importance has been given to the spiritual suffering of Yashodhara , the wife of Gautam Buddha. Overall, Yashodhara is presented as an ideal wife, superior mother and a strong feminine character. But the poet has also protected and kept intact Buddha's traditional and noble character. About Maithili Sharan Gupt (3rd August, 1886 - 12th December, 1964), he was one of the most important modern Hindi poets. He was a recipient of the third highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Bhushan (1954) and also he was given the title of Rashtra Kavi by Mahatma Gandhi. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message…
George Herbert’s metaphysical poem, ‘The Pulley’ is one of his best-known. In this poem, the conceit revolves around the pulley. God uses it to depict humanity’s restless nature and the reason why human beings are incapable of being satisfied. When considering this conceit, think about the way that a pulley creates force and leverage. God kept “rest” to himself in order to always be able to pull mankind back. But, this choice means humankind is continually running from place to place seeking out satisfaction. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message…
This is a simple story about the power of forgiveness. this is a story written by one of the 20th century most famous Indian Hindi novel writer Munshi Premchand. hope you will like it. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message
Pygmalion is a play by George Bernard Shaw , named after a Greek mythological figure . It premiered at the Hofburg Theatre in Vienna on 16 October 1913 and was first presented in English on stage to the public in 1913. Its English-language premiere took place at Her Majesty's Theatre in the West End in April 1914 and starred Herbert Beerbohm Tree as phonetics professor Henry Higgins and Mrs Patrick Campbell as Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle . While In Greek mythology Pygmalion ( /pɪɡˈmeɪliən/ ; Ancient Greek : Πυγμαλίων Pugmalíōn , gen .: Πυγμαλίωνος) is a legendary figure of Cyprus , who was a king and a sculptor. He is most familiar from Ovid 's narrative poem Metamorphoses , in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message…
This is my first podcast, please have fun listening and give feedback :) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/happy-literature/message