Today we’d like to introduce you to Sofia Haq.
Sofia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in West Covina, CA to a Pakistani dad and Mexican/Spanish mother. Growing up, my mom worked in Human Resources and my dad worked in Operations. My parents loved the work they did and they loved people. I remember meeting people who worked for my parents and they always talked about how my parents created diverse and inclusive spaces for their employees, gave them opportunities to grow in the organization, and helped support them personally and professionally. When I went to work with my parents for “Bring Your Kid to Work Day” I would just watch my dad in awe give PowerPoint presentations to his associates thinking in the back of my mind, “What a boss. I want to be like my dad when I grow up.” My mom on the other hand, also embodied everything I aspired to be. She would show up to work in her tailored black suits and would be switching back and forth from Spanish to English every other call. Nothing ever phased her.
My mom is from Leon, Guanajuato and our family consist of successful entrepreneurs in industries like manufacturing and clothing. I’ve been surrounded by entrepreneurship all my life. Growing up, I watched my tios and tias start businesses and give back to others within the community especially since poverty is a huge issue in Mexico. When they made money, they always gave back. My sister and cousins started businesses early on– some as young as 20 years old back in the early 2000’s. I’ve seen my family members start something out of nothing, especially the women who knew they wanted financial independence. My older sister started her own successful business and my mom even at 62 has no plans of retiring anytime soon. Entrepreneurship and business were a part of my upbringing, diversity and inclusion were at the core of it all, and giving back was never not an option. It makes so much sense why I chose to pursue business specifically entrepreneurship.
The summer before I graduated from UCLA, I went to the London School of Economics and Political Science for an intensive International Business study abroad program. There, I got to learn about trade, management, and business. That solidified my love for the business sector. It also brought up another passion of mine: fashion. I always had a love for fashion but wasn’t sure if I would be able to pursue it. After returning, I worked at Austere Attire doing branding for the company and then got a job at Diane von Furstenberg. That role taught me so much about so many aspects of fashion: buying, visual merchandising, client relations, operations, and marketing. Around that time, I was in the midst of completing the Forte MBALauncher and Riordan MBA Fellows Programs at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Islamophobia was on the rise and after the murder of a Somali Muslim woman named Nabra Hassanen, I lived in fear as a Muslim Mexican woman. It felt like every single part of my identity was being targeted and I didn’t know what to do. Since 2016, I had the idea for Muslim Women Professionals (MWP) but never felt like I was ready to pursue it. In 2018, I left my job in fashion and started MWP.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As a first-generation American, there is always this pressure to build a life your parents never got to have. My dad was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan and worked throughout the Middle East at a young age before settling down in Zimbabwe. He came to the United States to visit my uncle and ended up meeting my mom shortly after and the rest is history. After losing my dad to leukemia in 2014, my whole life shifted. I watched my mom continue to work because she couldn’t afford not to. I worked three jobs while in college. All these ideas of how I wanted to help my parents shifted. To this day, I put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve the things he never could to create a legacy for our family. As an entrepreneur starting an organization, there is no playbook. No one I knew personally started a nonprofit and could give me the exact steps of what to do. A lot of it is learning as you go, trusting your instincts, and finding people who can share their expertise.
I started MWP in January 2018 and for a good 11 months, I was conducting research, gathering information, launching social media, and holding events. I used previous experience I had to start building it out. People would ask me, “How do I join your team?” and in my mind it was the most amazing feeling because I had no team for almost the first year, but had amazing friends who supported me because they believed in my idea. It was one of the most difficult times, but it also allowed me to see firsthand what MWPs wanted. It turns out that we all were navigating similar obstacles. We had our first Coffee Chat in LA with four people total followed by another in OC with double the amount. It was amazing to see the growth as we had multiple Coffee Chats within that first year. I met so many incredible MWPs. In November of 2018, I onboarded a team.
As an organization, we have dealt with a lot of islamophobia and sexism from vendors in Los Angeles and Orange County which is difficult and prevented us from carrying out events, but our response was that we would always find a way however long it took. I have to set an example to my team and to other Muslim women and women of color that despite the setbacks, we must keep going, be confident in our idea, and make sure to hold those companies accountable. Aside from MWP, I also balance a full-time job which can be challenging, but it allows me to continue to build my skills, foster change with an organization that aligns with my values, and also grow my brand. I love being able to make a huge impact as a part of a company while spearheading MWP. It is very fulfilling. As the leader of MWP, no one puts the pressure on me more than myself. It is something I see so many of my friends deal with, especially those who have also lost a parent or who don’t come from money. It’s like we want to make every sacrifice our parents ever made worth it by reaching new heights in honor of them which breeds a fear of settling. I deal with that every day, but it’s also what keeps me so motivated. There’s a lesson in everything both good and bad. If I fail at something, it’s about learning from my mistakes, dusting my knees off, and getting back up again. As a Muslim woman of color, imposter syndrome is real too, but I realize I need to stop doubting myself because I am fully capable.
Every time I am confident about my ideas and my needs and lead with them unapologetically, things have a way of working themselves out. I’ve felt pressure at times of having to label myself and only focus on one thing. So many people have told me “Why don’t you do this and then you can do that?” When I reflect, I ask myself, “Why can’t I be an entrepreneur, Founder, activist, Ambassador, etc. Who says I have to be one thing? Why can’t I talk about my identity as a woman, Muslim, Mexican, and Pakistani?” As women of color, we are used to asking for permission because there’s rarely any of us in leadership spaces. Sometimes we also just want reassurance. We’re afraid of making mistakes because what we are about to do has never been done before. I’ve realized that the real question is: Why do I have to limit myself? Why am I asking for permission? Why am I putting myself in a box when my identity in itself is so multifaceted and goes against the grain? If anything, I need to embrace my unique path, own my ideas, and continue to be unapologetic. I created the idea for MWP and looked at its growth in just a few years. We’re just getting started. I need to trust my instincts because clearly what I am doing is working and that is the advice I would give any entrepreneur starting out.
Muslim Women Professionals (MWP) – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Muslim Women Professionals (MWP) is an organization that educates, empowers, and mobilizes a global network of Muslim women. Amidst the rise in islamophobia, sexism, and racism in the United States and around the world, a community that does not really get discussed very much is the Muslim women community. Muslims are the most diverse religious group in the United States. We are growing at exponential rates globally, but many MWPs are struggling to find the balance between prioritizing their personal and professional lives especially amidst COVID. Since 2018, we’ve created resources that help Muslim women navigate their workplaces, learn how to build allies, build connections with other MWPs, and help promote diversity in their workplaces. Inspired by the five pillars of Islam our organization is based on four pillars: community, content, connection, and commitment. What sets us apart from other organizations is that we are building a global community of Muslim women and giving them the tools to be successful and confident despite the hate our community receives.
Our experiences as MWPs are so unique that an outsider looking in will never be able to truly understand because it is so specific and complex which is why everything we do is centered around our community and educating allies so they can learn about our experiences. A lot of people take advantage of our community because of how strong it is. Muslim women are some of the most loyal consumers, but we should not just be valued for how much money we are willing to spend. If you put that aside, our very existence is considered a threat to so many, but that is where MWP comes in. We want to continue to help Muslim women embrace their authentic selves globally, remind them of their value, and support other MWPs. Just last month, we saw that within a few months of having our website live, our content was viewed in over 60 countries. From a monthly newsletter to virtual events centered around topics like professional development and mental health, the work we are doing is so necessary and it is clearly resonating with people. We hope to create a better world for it. I no longer want to be the only Muslim woman in a company. I don’t want to see islamophobia normalized. I want the boards of mosques to be more diverse. I want people who commit hate crimes to be held accountable. I don’t want to see Muslim women competing with one another because there’s only room for one at a company. I want Muslim girls to be taught that they belong in any space they want to be in. We are powerful especially when we are united and we hope to continue to build a united community of Muslim women who support, respect, and uplift one another and who will build inclusive spaces for other communities, organizations, and future MWPs.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
One way I define success is by reaching goals I have personally and professionally without compromising my values or my character. It is so easy to compromise things like kindness and authenticity for an opportunity to get one’s foot in the door. The people who I deem as successful are those who never compromised their character for an opportunity. Another way is through the impact I have on others. I feel successful when I positively impact others around me through something I said or did. When my team members are texting me saying that they are inspired by something I said or that after speaking with me they felt inspired to pursue a passion of theirs, it is those moments where I feel so proud. Two years ago, a girl on my team applied for a position having little to no experience in the field, but what she did have was passion, diligence, and the willingness to learn.
Fast forward two years and she’s been promoted twice and recently got accepted into a Master’s Program in the same field as her position on my team. Because we believed in her and gave her an opportunity, she was able to explore this field in a way she would not have been able to otherwise build her skills, and ultimately, exceed expectations. Finally, success to me is the quote, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” I am learning to prioritize my mental, physical, and emotional health. I am reminding myself that if I am not in a good place mentally then other areas of my life will suffer. As entrepreneurs, we forget that we have personal lives and that the same passion and diligence we bring to our professional lives must also apply to our personal lives. The same way we take time to explore the possibilities of our work should also be applied to our personal lives. It is about always finding ways to improve, to explore, and to love oneself. At the end of the day, you only have yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sofiahaq.com & www.muslimwomenprofessionals.org
- Email: [email protected] & [email protected]
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sofia__haq/ & https://www.instagram.com/muslimwomenprofessionals/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muslimwomenprofessionals/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofiahaq/ & https://www.linkedin.com/company/muslimwomenprofessionals/
Image Credit:
Sofia Haq. Muslim Women Professionals (MWP). Zareen Rahman. Ryan Wimsatt.
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