Building a Justice League: Mini’s Mantra of Compassion
With funky red glasses perched on her nose and a book tucked under her arm, Mini strides through life with a fierce sense of justice. Reading is a huge part of Mini’s identity; but so is the desire to create an inclusive workplace.
Seeing Mini’s passion about gender, you’d think she would want to pursue research. But working with a literature festival and a museum of culture, she developed an interest in the intersection of management and literary and cultural preservation.
Studying literature also meant that Mini developed strong ideas about feminism, society and the world. But it was at Vedica where she opened up her viewpoint about the layers of feminism that exist all around her. “I had always been around people who read. I didn’t think it was possible to have quality conversations with non-readers. But once you really engage with diverse journeys, you learn that there can be no set theoretical definition of feminism.”
Mini has also sought support for her fears. “I messed up my 12th-grade math exam. Even though I was good at math, my brain would just stop working every time I saw numbers. But the academics team at Vedica really helped me train myself out of that fear, and that has restored my faith in myself.
Above everything, Mini’s leadership journey is personal. For example, her biggest takeaway from a class on business ethics was the answer to an existential question she’d always pondered about: What do you choose, the company you work for or the values that are non-negotiable for you? “For the first time, a professor told me that you shouldn’t compromise. That was so refreshing to hear.”
Now, Mini has learnt to be confident about sharing her out of the box ideas but with sensitivity. “I’m neurodivergent. I’ve always had to mask my problems and quirks. But Vedica has better equipped me to help make workplaces more psychologically safe for people around me and for people like me.”
Perhaps when future leaders like Mini truly embody their values, they pave the way for a more compassionate and inclusive world.
