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Why "Psychological Safety" Is a Corporate Lie
Everyone expected her to be angry. What Tawana actually felt was harder, and she explains exactly why disappointment hits differently than rage when institutions betray you.
Tawana is Meta's APAC lead, a senior Black American woman who came to Asia expecting the familiar challenges of race and gender and found something more complex: new forms of privilege she'd never noticed, the slow crushing weight of DEI being rolled back at the company she leads, and a personal philosophy that refuses defeat. This episode follows a rise-fall-rise arc: from a cold-start hook that redefines the emotional register of the entire conversation, through a brutal midpoint metaphor ("the weight of a ship, not a hammer"), and up again to a quiet, defiant resolution - "that bravery is the agency you give back to yourself." The back half opens into practical inclusion tools, personal rituals, and a thesis about community that Jingjin lands in a single sentence.
Chapters
00:00 | Not Anger - The Weight of Disappointment00:55 | Being a Black American Woman in Asia
03:36 | Women Who Throw Their Hat Over the Wall
05:31 | English Fluency as Privilege
08:03 | Speak Last - Asian Leadership Redefined
09:41 | "My Voice Had a Quiver"
13:05 | Inclusion Tools That Actually Work
18:15 | The Weight of a Ship
23:39 | Clarity Is Care
26:15 | Brave Space vs. Psychological Safety
28:30 | Advice to a Young Black Woman Today
32:52 | Music, Quiet Spaces, and the Hidden Introvert
36:00 | Asia Leadership Hacks
39:09 | Creator Economy, Pachinko, and Staying in Your Lane
42:14 | AI Is Not New - the Pivot You Need Right Now
About Tawana
Tawana, a former management consultant turned startup employee and entrepreneur, has most recently spent the last 5 years as a global strategy and commercial leader at Facebook helping over 10 million advertisers and 3 billion monthly active users find space to connect, build community, and find value together.
Prior to Facebook, Tawana led brand and product teams at Intuit, LeapFrog, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, building and launching hundreds of new and innovative products for brands such as QuickBooks, Listerine, Advil, and ChapStick. She’s served on numerous Diversity and Leadership councils focused on developing Women and Black Leaders.
Featured in Adweek’s 2019 Women Trailblazers for her strategic advisory and investment in over 15 companies founded by women and women of color and a participant in the groundbreaking #biascorrect campaign aimed to help correct bias and elevate the discussion of women in leadership positions.
She holds a BA in English Literature from Rutgers University, an MA in Instructional Technology & Media from Columbia University, and an MBA from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia.
Raw With Uma
Do you feel like you're working harder than everyone around you but still getting overlooked for the opportunities you deserve? Take the free Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage assessment and find out what's actually standing between you and being seen. → https://form.jotform.com/252218729975470
Follow RAW with Uma:
📱 On Instagram → https://instagram.com/rawwithuma
Follow Elevate Asia:
📱 On Instagram → https://instagram.com/elevateasiaorg
💻 On LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevateasia
Follow Uma Thana & Jingjin Liu:
📱 Follow Uma on Instagram → https://instagram.com/uma_raw
💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana
📱 Follow Jingjin on Instagram → https://instagram.com/jingjin_liu
💻 Connect with Jingjin on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jingjin-liu
Listen on:
🎧 Apple Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/id1821559768
🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e
View all episodes
By RAW with UMAEveryone expected her to be angry. What Tawana actually felt was harder, and she explains exactly why disappointment hits differently than rage when institutions betray you.
Tawana is Meta's APAC lead, a senior Black American woman who came to Asia expecting the familiar challenges of race and gender and found something more complex: new forms of privilege she'd never noticed, the slow crushing weight of DEI being rolled back at the company she leads, and a personal philosophy that refuses defeat. This episode follows a rise-fall-rise arc: from a cold-start hook that redefines the emotional register of the entire conversation, through a brutal midpoint metaphor ("the weight of a ship, not a hammer"), and up again to a quiet, defiant resolution - "that bravery is the agency you give back to yourself." The back half opens into practical inclusion tools, personal rituals, and a thesis about community that Jingjin lands in a single sentence.
Chapters
00:00 | Not Anger - The Weight of Disappointment00:55 | Being a Black American Woman in Asia
03:36 | Women Who Throw Their Hat Over the Wall
05:31 | English Fluency as Privilege
08:03 | Speak Last - Asian Leadership Redefined
09:41 | "My Voice Had a Quiver"
13:05 | Inclusion Tools That Actually Work
18:15 | The Weight of a Ship
23:39 | Clarity Is Care
26:15 | Brave Space vs. Psychological Safety
28:30 | Advice to a Young Black Woman Today
32:52 | Music, Quiet Spaces, and the Hidden Introvert
36:00 | Asia Leadership Hacks
39:09 | Creator Economy, Pachinko, and Staying in Your Lane
42:14 | AI Is Not New - the Pivot You Need Right Now
About Tawana
Tawana, a former management consultant turned startup employee and entrepreneur, has most recently spent the last 5 years as a global strategy and commercial leader at Facebook helping over 10 million advertisers and 3 billion monthly active users find space to connect, build community, and find value together.
Prior to Facebook, Tawana led brand and product teams at Intuit, LeapFrog, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, building and launching hundreds of new and innovative products for brands such as QuickBooks, Listerine, Advil, and ChapStick. She’s served on numerous Diversity and Leadership councils focused on developing Women and Black Leaders.
Featured in Adweek’s 2019 Women Trailblazers for her strategic advisory and investment in over 15 companies founded by women and women of color and a participant in the groundbreaking #biascorrect campaign aimed to help correct bias and elevate the discussion of women in leadership positions.
She holds a BA in English Literature from Rutgers University, an MA in Instructional Technology & Media from Columbia University, and an MBA from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia.
Raw With Uma
Do you feel like you're working harder than everyone around you but still getting overlooked for the opportunities you deserve? Take the free Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage assessment and find out what's actually standing between you and being seen. → https://form.jotform.com/252218729975470
Follow RAW with Uma:
📱 On Instagram → https://instagram.com/rawwithuma
Follow Elevate Asia:
📱 On Instagram → https://instagram.com/elevateasiaorg
💻 On LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevateasia
Follow Uma Thana & Jingjin Liu:
📱 Follow Uma on Instagram → https://instagram.com/uma_raw
💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana
📱 Follow Jingjin on Instagram → https://instagram.com/jingjin_liu
💻 Connect with Jingjin on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jingjin-liu
Listen on:
🎧 Apple Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/id1821559768
🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e