“I have once been the person I am now trying to uplift,” says Divya Pasupuleti, winner of the recently announced Australian Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership for Victoria.
Divya was chosen for the award by Women & Leadership Australia for her contribution in advancing equity in different facets of Australian society.
Based in Melbourne, Divya works full time as a senior strategy and transformation leader in the telecom industry. She admits she has faced the same challenges of gender and cultural biases that continue to pull down migrants, especially women from culturally diverse backgrounds. Her own lived experiences motivate her to help others in changing the narrative.
“When I started my career in the corporate world, forget brown women, there were hardly any women at all,” Divya says, reminiscing about her own journey up the corporate ladder.
While admitting that the situation is much different now with more women being seen in leadership positions, she says cultural diversity at the top of the Australian corporate world is still a wishful dream.
“People from culturally diverse backgrounds, especially women, face what I believe is a double-glazed ceiling with many subtle and invisible barriers,” she admits.
Which is why, aside from her own professional career, she devotes considerable time in trying to influence governance, policy, and community systems on inclusion and cultural diversity. She does this as board member of Gender Equity Victoria, Melbourne Forum, the Australian Gender Equality Council, and the Project Management Institute (PMI) Melbourne Chapter (where she chairs Women in Project Management). Divya has also been an advisory member to the Victorian Multicultural Commission and National Association of Women in Operations.
“Throughout my career, I have witnessed talented people overlooked, not for lack of capability, but because they did not fit expectations of leadership. This reality has shaped a commitment to changing systems, so difference is recognised as strength. My focus has been on turning advocacy into action through mentoring, sponsorship, policies, building governance, and reshaping structures so diversity is not only present at decision-making tables but appreciated,” Divya says.
Diversity and Inclusion
Divya encourages migrants, especially women, to build confidence and own their career’s progression. She emphasises on the importance of being visible and making meaningful connections.
“Many women feel pushed back believing something is lacking in them. The reality is that the system isn’t always set up in our favour,” she says.
Originally from Hyderabad, Divya first came to Australia nearly 20 years ago to pursue a master’s degree. Having watched her parents devoting themselves to community service, volunteering has always been a way of life for Divya. Having worked her way up from the grass-roots level here in Australia too, Divya takes pride in every victory, big and small.
“I feel immense satisfaction when I see women mentored by me join advisory boards or attain senior corporate positions,” Divya Pasupuleti says. “The response I get from culturally diverse groups is so heartening, because they feel seen and heard. I am happy to be able to shape the cultural diversity strategy of big corporates, including my own employer which now offers employees opportunities to swap in a day of leave to be able to enjoy significant festivals in their cultural calendars.”
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