Imprints from Formative Years:
Initially I never knew the concept of Diversity
& Inclusion. I still remember I was working as a Senior Consultant for a
recruitment firm & was working on a client Mandate; they were looking
forward to hire a Vice President – Diversity & Inclusion candidate. This
story heads back in 2015. I was very fascinated with this never heard role
& did my research. I found this profile very intriguing and chose to be
connected to this role in whatever capacity I can. Being brought-up by a single
mother & also being a feminist, I understood the important of supporting
women at work-place along with other underrepresented communities. I wanted to
be the Voice for them because I too belong to a community which is marginalized
in a lot of ways not only in India but in the world. I can never forget the
experience my mentor Mr. Ram & my ex-colleague Vidisha shah gave me; they made
me feel comfortable about who I am. Their support & my passion to make the
world a better place made me stand where I am today.
Aspiring a Society Free of Labels:
When I have to go back & trace my breakthrough
in my journey, it was definitely the word “SELF ACCEPTANCE” piece, others just fall
in place naturally if it has too. We need to be comfortable in our own skin no matter
how many pebbles, rocks or mountains come your way. The significant barriers
that I see most of the LGBTQ+ Community face even today at work or in general are
strange looks, weird smiles, jokes & to add on in India, we lack legal
marital status. To deal with these issues, Education system should teach kids
from the childhood the difference between Sex, Gender & Sexuality which are
three separate things and have nothing to do with the heteronormative societal
concept.
Evolution of Diversity and Inclusion:
Diversity, Inclusion & Belongingness has seen its
own struggle in India in terms of acceptance, evolving came into existence much
later. Of course, it has been a long, tiresome journey in India for the
Diversity & Inclusion practitioners. During the initial phase “GENDER” was
only considered to be a part of Diversity Agenda for most of the companies,
there were organizations that acknowledged other forms of diversity but I would
say the focus started around 5 years ago through Data tracking system. When it comes
to LGBTQ+ inclusion most of the companies became more and more supportive post
the judgement of decriminalization of section 377 of Indian Penal code on 6 September,
2018 on Homosexuality. Honestly a lot has to be done in this space, as sky is
the limit and most of the companies have not even started their journey in
Diversity & Inclusion. It is imperative for those organizations to prove
their support on Inclusion & turn their words into actions when they
venture out & brand themselves as “Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.”
Mental Health Matters:
In my opinion we as a society are yet to accept
there is something known as “Mental Health”, western world is more progressive
if compared to our culture. Many of us are so cautious about physical well-being
which is good but a stable mind is equally important, isn’t it? I was also
diagnosed with severe level of Anxiety, Depression & Stress Level during
June 2020 & I’m still on medications. For me acceptance did not come so
easy, I took time which resulted in a more stressful mind. For the first
initial 2 months of my medication & therapy, I wasn’t comfortable
discussing about my condition but later I realized it is an important subject
& need of the hour to speak about it, that taking help from a psychiatrist
is all ok, it is normal. People should understand the symptoms of mental
sickness and help people to seek help. I’m very passionate about writing
articles on my journey, being a host at several events, be a part of panel
discussion at various forums, if it may help someone to identify what I went
through, they might also be going through but unfortunately not realising it
enough or being ignorant about their mental health. My Clinical Psychologist
“Kiran Makhijani” was & still is my constant support system & together
we conduct various sessions not only around mental health but also with the
family members or guardians of the person suffering from mental health,
educating & explaining them how to deal with their Vulnerability throughout
their journey until they’re off medications & therapy.
Sources of Powerful Lessons:
I have always looked upto Ratan Tata as my role model and would love to see him once in my life, because I see compassion in his eyes which is something that I admire the most & consider one of my strengths as a D&I Consultant.
My words of wisdom for others would be “follow your heart, the rest will follow you,” I keep saying this because I always envisioned myself to be working in the Diversity & Inclusion space, be a leader & get acknowledged not only in India but in the world for my work & credibility. By God’s grace I’m glad I’m here sharing my story with your team. My mentor Mr. Ram did play a very pivotal role in crafting my career from recruiting to Diversity & Inclusion. His suggestions & ideologies are very optimistic, realistic & encouraging. I don’t mind telling this to the world that I was scared in the beginning to take up a complete Diversity & Inclusion role because I was scared of failure but then he once told me “Unless you try, you will never know what are you capable of & if you fail at what you did or do, I’m sure you won’t regret because you at least tried” & rest is the history in my past few years of journey within the Diversity & Inclusion space.