International Women's Day, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world, is also a time for reflection, a call for gender equality and a celebration of their extraordinary contributions.
These inspiring women of Indian heritage have achieved success in Australia and they have spoken about the significance of leadership roles.
Veena Goverdhan - Magistrate (Magistrates Court Queensland)
Veena Goverdhan - Magistrate (Magistrates Court Queensland)
In her previous roles, Ms Goverdhan was admitted as a solicitor in Canberra and later worked as a senior lawyer in commercial and insolvency litigation.
For the past decade, she has undertaken many hours of pro bono work assisting men and women from diverse cultural backgrounds.
In 2021, she was appointed to the Queensland Magistrates and joined the Southport Court House last year.
Ms Goverdhan says "Organisations which do not encourage, support and promote women into leadership roles miss out on the many aspects of diversity women have to offer: their sense of awareness and ability to listen creates an approach which is interactive, open, and empathic."
"These talents promote communication and in turn collaboration. Open communication will only promote the efficiency of any organisation," she adds.
Women of colour in leadership roles bring with them their different lived experiences.Ms Veena Goverdhan
"Like myself, women of colour in leadership roles are likely to have lived experiences from ‘developing’ countries in which they have grown up, and bring with them, deep awarenes and respect for differences, particularly, cultural differences," she says.
Asha Bhat - CEO of Southern Aboriginal Corporation
Asha Bhat - CEO, South Aboriginal Corporation
She holds an MBA degree, a master's degree and a bachelor's degree in mathematics, business and accounting.
In 2017, Ms Bhat received the Albany Citizen of the Year award and in both 2017 and 2020 was a finalist in the Telstra WA Business Women of the Year Awards.
Ms Bhat was selected to attend the Global Ambassadors Program in Chicago in September 2016 and she was one of the 11 women leaders selected globally and the only awardee from Australia.
She says an Indian migrant woman leading an Aboriginal Corporation is "an unusual situation."
"Trailblazing comes at a cost - there is burnout, as well as trauma, happening for migrant women in a real way. The double-edged sword of race and gender puts me under a constant spotlight of scrutiny," she says.
The time to just talk about diversity, inclusion and belonging is long past. Now, it’s time to act.Asha Bhat - CEO of South Aboriginal Corporation
"No organisation has completely cracked the code but acknowledging bias and shifting mindsets is the first step towards open, authentic workplaces where everyone has the opportunity to love their jobs," she feels.
Dr Meera Ashar - Director, South Asia Research Insititute, Australian National University
Dr Meera Ashar, Director - ANU's South Asia Research Institute
She has previously worked as an Assistant Professor at the City University of Hong Kong and was the LM Singhvi Fellow at the Centre of South Asian Studies at the University of Cambridge.
She says that being a woman of colour in a predominantly white male academic world is exhausting.
I cannot count the number of times I have walked into a meeting or seminar and been mistaken for a student. Or the number of times I have been mansplained or whitesplained topics that are my expertise.Dr Meera Ashar, Director of South Asia Research Institute (SARI), ANU
"But even if it means tackling these mundane incidents of casual sexism and racism, it is important for women of colour to take on leadership roles," Dr Ashar points out.
"In seeking or stepping up to leadership roles we may feel we are being immodest or too ambitious, but it is important to do so to bring a diversity of perspectives, a different voice and, literally, a little colour to the table," she says.
Varsha Yajman - Climate justice and mental health youth advocate
Varsha Yajman, Climate justice and mental health youth advocate
Ms Yajman says her work is aimed to create a community for young South Asians to feel represented and empowered.
"For me, leadership will always be about community and empowerment. Having people, particularly women of colour and migrant women, who understand the intersections between race, gender and other factors such as socio-economic interest and work to amplify marginalised voices is a step towards dismantling oppressive systems," she says.
"I think it can be easy to fall into the trap of identity politics where we praise every woman of colour simply because they are a woman of colour," she adds.
However, women of colour who can use their position to dismantle these systems rather than becoming part of the systemic issue is what real leadership is to me.Ms Varsha Yajman, Climate justice and mental health awareness advocate
