Being very passionate about people and their potential, it is very gratifying to make individuals realise, explore and believe in their potential. With all the extensive travelling, exchanges with a huge-set of inspiring people from India and abroad gave me an opportunity to experience leadership in all its forms with all its challenges.
My areas of interest are Crisis management, Social consulting and Government policy & implementation. It is a dream to provide resources and create sustainable income sources for skilled and unskilled women from low-income groups in the developing countries. For example: In India, the % of employed women is just 33% (this includes women who are actively seeking employment and are not employed yet) which is a sheer waste of the 
immense amount of talent women possess and results in a huge opportunity cost to the country. This sector interests me the most because I’m passionate about bridging equality in society by assisting in making accessible key facilities and creating equal opportunities.
A few challenges that I foresee are specialised qualifications create entry barriers to getting employed and the low number of strategic job profiles that are open. In addition to that, the payscale is relatively lower and might become a hindrance to taking up the job. The vulnerable position of this industry which greatly depends on funding from external sources other than endowment funds and with the fluctuations in global economy, there are ebbs and tides in the work. However, with all the research I’ve been doing; a few organisations stand out. Gates foundation, Ford foundation are the closest that come to private global organisations working in key areas of development in the most sensitive regions of the world. While Gates foundation takes a hands-on approach, Ford foundation limits itself to making available grants and monitoring the utilisation of grants. They also provide competitive salaries and benefits.
The good news is that other than on-field areas they are located in key geographic locations like Seattle, Washington, New Delhi which are hubs of for-profit corporate conglomerates. With my experience in the non-profit sector the last 5 years which helped me improve key areas like crisis management, decision-making, holistic approach, taking calculated risks, etc., I believe I’ll fit into these organisations’ culture very comfortably. My work experience in Google and consulting for two PR firms have polished my communication, analytical, innovation skills which will definitely come in handy for the professional roles I’m looking at. Roles as Strategic advisors, media management, communications officer, project researcher, program officer, etc. would greatly interest me and I look forward to breaking into the non-profit sector and learn and impact in a big way!
Sources:
- David Lam library research articles
- IBIS world
- Factiva
- Gatesfoundation.org
- www.philanthropyjournal.org/news/
- www.urban.org/nonprofits/
- http://www.globalgiving.org/
