Reimagine Inclusion

Introduction

My entire life I have been chasing inclusion. Because I have never really felt that I belong.

I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrant parents, who left everyone and everything they knew behind in Kolkata, West Bengal. My younger brother and I were born and raised in the United States, in a time and place where it was not cool to be Indian. I was the funny looking dark‐skinned girl with a long, funny looking braid, whose parents spoke funny English. We listened to funny sounding music and ate funny smelling food. Until it wasn't funny anymore.

Growing up, I was bullied by my peers, both verbally and physically. They let me know every single day that I didn't belong. While I didn't feel included in our small and mostly white community, I also didn't see myself included in the greater world around me. Not on the small screen or big screens, not in books and magazines, and not on the shelves of our local grocery store.

I quickly began to understand that I was different. And yet I desperately wanted just to be included, to be part of the community like everyone else. So I thought studying hard and studying some more, achieving straight As and extra credit, winning awards, and receiving accolades would be the key to being included. I knew my capabilities, and I knew I was capable of more. And I believed my relentless drive to learn and make an impact would be the key to my success in Corporate America.

I quickly found myself struggling as I started my career as a ...