This week, I had the opportunity to talk to the amazing Priyanka Phalod Client Solution Manager @LinkedIn.
Priyanka deviated from the beaten path that would have had her married and a mother a soon as she finished school.
With the help of her mother, she overcame the traditional female role and societal bias and is now a role model to other young women who are looking to forge their own path in the world away from the traditional options society would push them into.
She shows that it is hard but possible to build a life following your dreams and passions.
In Priyanka's won words:
Growing up in India, in a traditional Indian family, when the clock struck 18 and high school was history, I feared that I would be coaxed into marriage - and that did happen as that’s the acceptable norm. However, I have a very determined, strong, and selfless mom, who (secretly) fearlessly helped me pave the path towards freedom and my higher education. It wasn’t easy at all, being told that her decisions and dreams for me were wrong, it would not reflect well on the family and time was/is running out to find the best suitors (of course, as I’m a girl). My route to escape was a full paid scholarship to The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which is when I believed I could fly!
Now, almost 10 years of being away from home, being told that I was wrong to keep wanting more and that I was a girl and only ‘getting married’ would bring me true joy and happiness ..(drumroll) ..
I wear my biggest smile every day and I’ve never been HAPPIER because I know my mamma is SO proud as I send her this picture today - cause “WE MADE IT TO LinkedIn!”
To all the girls fighting out there, you can do it!
