Be your authentic self
As a successful Bay Street lawyer, Ritu Bhasin was living her dream but she chose to walk away from it all. She had all the external markers of success, but she realized she didn’t find corporate success fulfilling.
“The other thing was that being on Bay Street, I couldn’t be myself. I spent a lot of time acting ‘mainstream’. I found myself minimizing racial, religious, gender, and class-based aspects of my identity to ‘fit in’ in circles where I felt I didn’t belong. I learnt to ski, to bowl, to learn enough about hockey to talk about it. We think that doing these things will help us fit in better, help us feel better, help us achieve happiness. But unless you genuinely enjoy these activities, they don’t. You start leading a dual existence.”
Bhasin completed her MBA, left her corporate job, launched her own business, became a mindfulness practitioner and teacher, and dedicated her life to helping others become more empowered and inclusive. She also launched a consultancy offering diversity and people strategies.
It was an office of one – Bhasin – and zero clients. Within six months, she had signed up a few and today, with a team of five, boasts a roster of “dozens and dozens” of clients globally.
Bhasin readily acknowledges that being female and brown was an issue.
“It still is, to be honest. People don’t think I am competent. I say, I have to re-audition for the job each time. The downside is that is this racism and sexism, of course it is. The upside is that one gets better at what one does. I have to show up again and again and prove myself.
“Which is why I want my actions to contribute to the collective experience of breaking down barriers for all,” says Bhasin who has been named Canadian Diversity Champion by Women Of Influence. “But more importantly, I want everyone who feels different or ‘less than’ because of their race, to feel elevated, empowered, and beautiful in their skin.”
She is also co-founder of Mivoko, an application that puts a voice to everyone’s name in order to address the many issues surrounding name mispronunciation.
“It’s very rewarding when people thank me for having touched their lives. We start to self-doubt, to perceive ourselves differently, but don’t shy away from the real you. This is the reason that I chose to commit my life’s work to advocating for the voices of difference, for those of us who experience oppression because of our cultural identities. As long as I am walking this earth I will encourage people to be their true selves, to be authentic.”