Waheeda Ali grew up in a culture where women were taught that they should be seen and not heard. That women shouldn’t be educated. “And breaking free from that is something I’ve always found very difficult — I internalized a lot of it,” she said.
Despite becoming a program manager at CAYR Community Connections, she found herself questioning her abilities. Then Ali’s executive director proposed that she apply for the United Way Greater Toronto (UWGT)’s Next Leaders for Change, a competitive leadership development program that involves monthly sessions where participants learn about everything from diversity, equity and inclusion to data analysis.