The Defiant Career | Professional Growth & Career Advice – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Defiant Career | Professional Growth & Career Advice

Dr. Qaali Hussein | Career Strategy & Leadership Coach

Business

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/72d. Total Eps: 36

The Defiant Career delivers expert career advice and strategies for professional growth, especially for women facing gender, racial, and/or religious discrimination. Host Dr. Qaali Hussein, a double-board-certified trauma surgeon, mom of six, and Founder of Defiance Academy, shares interviews and hard-won lessons from women leaders who have navigated career pivots and broken barriers. This podcast offers actionable insights for overcoming burnout, hostile workplaces, and bias, empowering listeners to redefine their career path with confidence. The Defiant Career is the evolution of the Professional Muslim Women Podcast (2019–2022). The original archive of 33 guest interviews remains available — the research that contributed to the strategy you'll hear taught here.

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🇨🇦 Canada - careers
29/07/2026
#55

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https://www.defianceacademy.com/
18 shares
https://www.defianceacademy.com/defiance-career-diagnostic
3 shares
https://www.defianceacademy.com/the-strategy-room
3 shares

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Score global : 68%

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S3E3 Toxic Work Environment: 5 Things to Stop Doing

Season 3 · Episode 3

Monday, July 6, 2026 • Duration 01:04:48

Every piece of advice about a toxic work environment tells you the same thing: shrink, cope, keep your head down, and get out. That is survival. It's not a strategy. And while you're surviving, the environment keeps costing you your health, your confidence, and your wealth.

This week I talk with Muna, a Black Muslim woman engineer who lived through it. Her field is different from mine, but the machine underneath was identical: a workplace that was never built for her, that drained her and then made her doubt herself for noticing. Her story is proof this isn't a medicine problem or an engineering problem. It's a strategy problem.

Together we name the 5 things to stop doing in a toxic work environment.

None of them are about making yourself smaller. They're about seeing clearly what you're walking into and equipping yourself, because you cannot out-excel a system that was never built for you.

If your job is breaking you right now, hear this: you're not the problem. The strategy you were handed is. There's another way to move, and I call it the Defiant Career Strategy.

Two invitations:

Take the 2-minute quiz to see what your workplace is costing you → What's really going on at work?
Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Have a question? The best ones become full episodes → SUBMIT A QUESTION

Dr. Qaali Hussein is a double board-certified trauma surgeon, mom of six, and founder of Defiance Academy. New episodes every other week.

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S3E2: "I Don't Do Race": Why High Achieving Women of Color Walk Away From Careers They Spent Years Building

Season 3 · Episode 2

Monday, June 22, 2026 • Duration 16:08

I had a patient bleeding to death at two in the morning while my team ignored my orders. So I went to a women in medicine conference looking for help on how to lead through it. The keynote speaker, a diversity expert, had just named every gap women face. I asked her about mine. She said, "I don't do race," ended the Q and A, and walked away.

Fifteen women followed me out of that room. Every one of them asked the same thing: did she give you an answer? Women of color from every specialty in that building had come looking for the exact same solution, and not one of us got it.

This is the episode about what happens when the rooms built to help you have nothing for you. I name the three reasons high-achieving women of color leave careers they spent years building. I take apart the advice that gets handed to us, the advice that quietly makes everything worse. And I tell you what I did instead of quitting.

Two invitations:

Take the Career Diagnostic
Join The Strategy Room

Have a question? The best ones become full episodes →The Defiant Career

Dr. Qaali Hussein is a double board-certified trauma surgeon, mom of six, and founder of Defiance Academy. New episodes every other week.

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S2E2 Expectations vs. Reality

Season 2 · Episode 2

Tuesday, July 26, 2022 • Duration 17:50

After you prove yourself and surpass all expectations, you're given the respect you deserve and opportunities to advance in your career, right? Sadly this expectation is inconsistent with the reality of the workplace, especially for the minoritized and underrepresented. In this week's episode, we discuss the importance of developing a strategy early in your career and how you can take control of your career trajectory.

Check out Defiance Academy for more information.

https://www.defianceacademy.com/

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S2E1 Muslim Women, Leadership and Why We Need a Defiant Career Strategy

Season 2 · Episode 1

Tuesday, July 19, 2022 • Duration 32:33

Welcome to Season 2! We're so excited to be back. We're picking up right where we left off after a two-year pandemic break. Our personal and professional lives have significantly changed since the start of the pandemic. So in this season, we'll be doing things a little differently. We'll introduce the new format of the podcast, our respective roles, and new exciting segments and projects we have in store for you. Happy listening!

Check out Defiance Academy for more information.

https://www.defianceacademy.com/

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Episode 24: Covid Comeback; The pandemic, struggle for racial equality and the 2020 Election

Season 1 · Episode 24

Monday, October 26, 2020 • Duration 35:12

Welcome back! The ladies of The Professional Muslim Women podcast sit down and catch up on all that 2020 has dropped into their lives. As front line healthcare workers in the pandemic, their personal lives have been deeply affected and they discuss what they have been up to in the intervening months.

They also discuss the protests for racial justice and the ongoing struggle for racial equality, particularly through the lens of the healthcare system. They discuss the impact Covid19 has had bringing into stark relief the racial disparity in health outcomes. .

They give their take on the upcoming Election and discuss how voting is a powerful tool for progressive change. We are not powerless and they offer some ideas on how to use our power to improve our lives and our communities.

For details on how and where to vote go to https://iwillvote.com/

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Ep 23: Finance is a Mindset Game: How to Build Wealth and Improve your Financial Wellbeing with Saima Ali

Season 1 · Episode 23

Monday, April 6, 2020 • Duration 45:33

Building wealth is not as hard as you think. The secrets have been out years ago. We just have to remind ourselves again and again and make a conscious effort to follow it.

What comes to mind when you hear terms like the stock market, bonds, investment, and other financial jargon? It sounds intimidating and scary, right? And you feel like you'll just lose money if you invest it, so you never really bothered. But it doesn't have to be.

After listening to this episode, you'll learn useful financial information to get you moving towards building wealth!

Our guest is Saima Ali, a neurologist who has a deep passion for finance and teaching others the financial skills they needed to improve their financial wellbeing. She shares important resources to manage your debt and make saving money easier.

Saima talks about the difference between halal and haram investments, and things you need to know about life insurance. She also speaks about what it means to live below your means and pay your future self first and how to set your mindset for financial success.

Her goals are to have every woman retire as a millionaire. She created a free introduction to the stock market training, which can be accessed below.

In this Episode, We Talk About:

The story behind Saima's finance projects
Resources to improve your financial wellbeing
Managing debt wisely
Building your credit score
What it means to live below your means
Why finance is a mindset game
Instant pleasure vs. delayed gratification
How to make saving money easier
The FIRE movement
How to ensure your assets
What you need to know about life insurance
Halal vs. Haram investments

Ep 22: The Journey from Employee to Entrepreneur with Samira Ali

Season 1 · Episode 22

Monday, March 23, 2020 • Duration 48:53

Quitting your job to start your own business is probably one of the riskiest paths you'd ever take. It's full of uncertainties. What if you fail? You will surely scratch your knees along the way but once you get past the trying times, the results are going to be gratifying! Join us in this episode as Samira Ali shares her inspiring journey of entrepreneurship and how she left her secured employee position to start her own company. She shares her experience being in the field of HR and how it is like to do volunteer work for a charitable organization. We also touch the topic of self-worth and how you can stand up for yourself. Find out what compelled Samira to leave her secured work and follow the risky path of being an entrepreneur.

In this Episode, We Talk About:

How Samira got into the field of HR
Volunteering for a charitable organization
Samira's journey to entrepreneurship
What the star method all about
Self-worth

Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women?

Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out!

Let us know what you think and what part of the podcast conversation you enjoyed the most by leaving us a review and rating here! And don't forget to join us on our Facebook group Professional Muslim Women to continue the conversation and connect with a community of Muslim women like you!

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Ep 21: Faith, Science, and Islam with Marium Husain MD, MPH

Season 1 · Episode 21

Monday, March 9, 2020 • Duration 30:00

Science and faith are often in conflict but our guest for today has integrated both science and faith into her own life that created the synergy to accomplish her aspirations.

Join us in this episode as we discuss the rich tradition of faith and science in Islam with Oncology Hospitalist Marium Husain! She is a hematology-oncology at The Ohio State University. She actively works on community service projects and has volunteered with the WHO on nutrition-related projects.

Religion is the opposite of scientific principles, but Marium will educate us about the impact of Islam and the contributions of Muslim scientists to medicine and science in general.

Marium also talks about the importance of finding your talents and pursuing a career that you love to enjoy life and fulfill your purpose!

In this Episode, We Talk About:

What led Marium to the field of hematology-oncology
Marium's experience working in international medicine and abroad
Sustainability, science, and faith
The role of Islam in relationship to Medicine and Science
Finding your talents and pursuing a career that you love

Where to reach Marium Husain

Resources:

Ep 20: Small Actions Lead to Greater Things with Deqa Gelle

Season 1 · Episode 20

Monday, February 24, 2020 • Duration 28:11

Know that you will fail. Know that you will scrape your knees but you will be okay and you'll be so much stronger. ⁠— Deqa Gelle

To get to where you need to be, you must take the initiative and take action to get there. You won't learn how to run unless you learn how to walk.

In this episode, we explore Deqa's journey in finding her path and how she started One Stone HR.

Deqa is an experienced Recruitment Manager with 10 years of experience in the recruitment industry. She helped build successful and harmonious teams for corporate organizations and she currently helps individuals and corporations in cultivating their brand. She talks about how taking action - big or small helps her show up every day for herself and others.

Find out how Deqa overcame her adversaries and what motivates her to push through and take continuous action.

In this Episode, We Talk About:

Deqa's journey to HR Recruitment
What drives Deqa to keep pushing on
Making the leap and getting over self-doubt
The stigma around divorce
Action, action, action

Where to reach Deqa Gelle

Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women?

Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out!

Ep 19: Making Your Mark with Dr. Samira Hassan

Season 1 · Episode 19

Sunday, February 9, 2020 • Duration 41:57

"Make your mark and don't be afraid."

-Dr. Samira Hassan

Dr. Hassan, General Practitioner, Family Medicine Specialist and vice president of the British Somali Medical Association shares with us her unconventional path to medicine.

On this episode, we explore Dr. Hassan's journey of finding her self through the culture shock of being transplanted in the Somali community as a teenager, her meandering path to solidifying her interest in medicine including turning down an offer of admission to medical school, and dealing with the agony of rejection after re-application and how she learned the importance of seeking feedback in the face of it. She also shares her passion for community outreach in addressing health awareness and literacy including mental health awareness as well as creating career fairs for the youth. She has certainly made a mark and has influenced Somali youth globally with the spread of her Careers Fair platform on a global scale.

In this Episode, We Talk About:

Dr. Samira's journey to medicine
The value of listening to your inner voice
The value of finding yourself and what your true passion really is
Community outreach
Hidden blessings

Where to reach Dr. Samira Hassan

Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women?

Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out!

The Defiant Career | Professional Growth & Career Advice – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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The Defiant Career | Professional Growth & Career Advice – Details, episodes & analysis

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