Episode #129: Apartheid to Empowerment

Apartheid to Empowerment with Wendy Alexander

What happens when life keeps pushing you to start over? For Wendy Alexander, every new beginning became an opportunity for transformation and growth.

Wendy’s journey begins in apartheid South Africa, where an encounter with racial segregation at the age of seven sparked her passion for justice. That pivotal moment on the beach, when police removed her family from the “whites-only” sand, ignited a lifelong resistance against the status quo. This unwavering spirit fueled her resilience through years of challenges and reinvention.

After moving to Australia, Wendy had to unlearn the conditioning of apartheid, grappling with even basic freedoms like choosing a train carriage. But life wasn’t done testing her yet. Domestic violence during pregnancy left her homeless, broke, and starting over as a single mother. Instead of surrendering, Wendy strategically rebuilt, negotiating flexible work arrangements, networking purposefully, and advancing her career while raising her daughter alone.

Her approach to transformation is both strategic and empowering. When menopause forced her to step back from her high-powered corporate career, Wendy didn’t just quit—she spent 18 months planning her transition to entrepreneurship, saving money and building Happy Career Hub. Now, as a coach, she helps midlife women find authentic work by guiding them through her method of “Mining Your Story.” This process uncovers the challenges, patterns, and natural gifts that reveal one’s true path.

 Wendy’s story proves that our biggest struggles often hold the seeds of our most meaningful work—if we have the courage to reflect on our experiences and embrace our innate strengths.

For anyone feeling stuck or looking to reinvent themselves after 50, Wendy’s journey offers powerful inspiration and practical advice for turning life’s hardships into opportunities for purpose and passion.

Key Takeaways from Apartheid to Empowerment

Innocent Childhood & First Encounter with Apartheid:

Wendy describes a happy early childhood where the harsh realities of apartheid were not yet evident to her. That innocence is shattered during a family outing to a whites-only beach, where police forced them to leave due to their racial classification. This moment marks the beginning of Wendy’s awareness of racial segregation and inequality in South Africa.

Emotional Awakening and Political Activism:

The beach incident led to an emotional and intellectual shift—Wendy became more introspective, curious, and politically aware. By her early teens, she joined political protests, exposing herself to violent government repression. This period deeply shaped her identity and activism, but also stressed her family, prompting them to seek migration to Australia.

Migration to Australia & Cultural Adjustment:

Wendy details the disorienting experience of migrating to Australia. While safer, the transition was emotionally complex. Her ingrained apartheid-era behaviors (like questioning which train carriage to board) highlighted the psychological imprint of life under segregation. The adjustment process was difficult for the whole family but eventually brought a sense of freedom and opportunity.

Emotional Trauma & Healing Through Reflection:

Wendy reflects on hidden emotional trauma from her past, triggered by watching Cry Freedom, a film about Steve Biko. This experience underscores how trauma from systemic oppression can resurface unexpectedly and emphasizes the importance of processing and healing through personal acknowledgment and reflection.

Abusive Relationship and Single Motherhood:

Wendy shares the harrowing story of a long-term relationship that turned abusive during her pregnancy. She details the physical and emotional violence, financial ruin, and the legal and personal steps she took to protect herself and her unborn child. This marks her lowest point—what she calls her “rock bottom”—yet also the beginning of rebuilding.

Career Resilience & Pioneering Remote Work:

Despite personal devastation, Wendy demonstrated resilience by negotiating to work remotely—a groundbreaking move at the time. She credits vulnerability, clear communication, and delivering results as keys to rebuilding her professional life while raising her daughter.

Empowerment Through Asking & Strategic Networking:

She emphasizes the importance of asking for help and advocating for oneself. Wendy shares how she met with recruiters over coffee to seek better opportunities, reinforcing the message that being proactive and authentic can open unexpected doors.

Seeking Roots & Closure in America:

Wendy later moves to the U.S., partly out of curiosity and partly to reconnect her daughter with her paternal roots. While there, she revisits and reconciles aspects of her past by meeting her daughter’s grandmother and confronting her former partner. This journey provides personal closure and marks another chapter in her transnational life story.

Landing Back in Australia & Power of Networks:

After returning to Australia from California, Wendy received a job offer within hours of landing, thanks to her strong professional network. An ex-boss contacted her the morning after she arrived and offered her a role without an interview, simply based on the reputation she had built during her career transformation years. This moment emphasized how powerful long-term relationship-building and consistently delivering high-quality work can be in attracting opportunities effortlessly.

Building a Strong Network & Self-Work After Heartbreak:

Wendy reflects on the importance of staying connected and nurturing her network, which allowed her to avoid the typical job hunt. However, after going through deep personal loss, she also recognized the need to do emotional work. She sought professional counseling to heal and strengthen herself for her daughter’s sake, underlining her commitment to not passing on unresolved pain and modeling resilience.

Choosing Resilience Over Victimhood:

Throughout her life, Wendy made a conscious choice not to live from a place of victimhood. From apartheid-era South Africa to single motherhood in Australia, she continually tapped into her inner strength to survive and thrive. No matter the hardships—losing her home, her money, or her relationship—she always chose to fight back and build anew. This mindset shaped her identity as someone who persists, adapts, and transforms rather than succumbs.

Origin of the Happy Career Hub:

Wendy didn’t originally set out to start a business—she was simply helping friends and colleagues land jobs using the resume and interview strategies that had worked for her. As those she helped found success, word spread, and referrals started pouring in. Eventually, she realized she had a proven system, and mentors encouraged her to charge for her services. She learned that people often don’t value free help, and charging led to better outcomes for clients and more recognition for her work.

Menopause as a Career Catalyst:

Unexpectedly entering menopause at age 45 was a turning point. The severe symptoms—especially brain fog—shook Wendy’s confidence and performance in a demanding corporate role where she was managing multimillion-dollar programs. Although she had always relied on her sharp organizational skills, she found herself struggling. Combined with increasing boredom and dissatisfaction in her corporate role, menopause created a “perfect storm” that made her reevaluate her priorities and ultimately motivated her to seek change.

Clarity Through Self-Assessment & Purpose Discovery:

Through personal reflection and a structured self-assessment process, Wendy discovered that the work she truly loved was helping people secure meaningful jobs. Even when she was tired or stressed, this work brought her fulfillment. That realization inspired her to turn her passion project into a full-time business. She didn’t make the leap recklessly, though—it took her 18 months of strategic planning and saving to transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship in a financially sustainable way.

Strategic Transition—Plan Before You Quit:

Wendy strongly advises against abrupt career changes, especially for midlife women. Instead, she advocates for a deliberate strategy that includes financial preparation and skill-building. One key method she recommends is volunteering, which not only helps close skill gaps but also offers opportunities to network with influential leaders. She shares her own story of meeting CEOs through volunteer work—some of whom later offered her jobs—underscoring the power of volunteering as a strategic career tool.

Networking Through Volunteering:

For Wendy, volunteering was never just about giving back—it was also a calculated move to increase her visibility and create organic connections. She describes real experiences where CEOs observed her leadership in volunteer settings and offered her roles based on what they saw. This is part of the broader networking strategy she teaches: that authentic work, even unpaid, can be a powerful magnet for new opportunities.

Mine Your Story to Find Your Purpose:

Wendy’s most important advice for women seeking to reinvent themselves is to “mine their story.” Through her free worksheet, she helps people explore the patterns and themes in their life that point toward their purpose. In her case, writing and helping others had always been present—from childhood through adulthood—and those clues guided her to a fulfilling career. She believes that by looking at your past challenges, passions, and what others naturally turn to you for, you uncover the gold that leads to your next chapter.

Connect with Wendy Alexander

Connect with Bev:

Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenover50rock

https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverleyglazer/

Need advice? Schedule a time to talk: https://calendly.com/reinventimpossible/15min