Anuja Naidu

I have to give credit to the people around me, not only limited to my family. I'm very close to my grandmother because of her, all her five daughters were educated. My great-grandfather took a step that, in a society where women were not being allowed to take education, he decided that even when India was under British rule, his child should get educated. When my grandmother went to St. Joseph Convent, which was a missionary-dominated school, it empowered her to make decisions. She lived for 96 years and was a decision maker. That code comes when you are fed from your childhood that you are a strong person, you need to take decisions, that God is there, that Jesus is there, just walk. My grandmother made me understand to have empathy towards your mother and father, what they're going through, and you need to be patient in the most beautiful way. When I came to America, I came across one of my professors, Dr. Joanne Howard. She helped me a lot to transit into U.S. culture and to understand it's okay if you don't know many things. You cannot learn everything in one go. It's okay if you don't know it. Just be like water, flow. I work right now with my supervisor. She's an amazing person with an inspirational journey from being a teen mom, how she transitioned her career into the legal domain, into consultancy, and also managing her kids. How beautifully she manages with an even mind inspires me a lot. There are many people who are decision makers who shape you as who you are.

The best advice I received was from my professor Dr. Joanne Howard when I came to America. She helped me understand that it's okay if you don't know many things. You cannot learn everything in one go. You may be sitting on tables where people are experts who understand this and that. It's okay if you don't know it. It's fine. Just be like water, flow. This advice helped me and shaped me a lot, teaching me to be patient with myself and to understand that learning is a continuous process.

I would say to her, don't be too hard on yourself. Talk to people, have good judgment to understand where you need support, whether you need support emotionally or physically. If you're not able to understand something, ask. Talk about it. You may get someone who can guide you. I always say to women, don't be too hard on yourself. It's fine if you're not perfect, it's fine if you're not growing at an accelerated speed like other people around you. It's fine. Take your own time, you have your own precious and unique journey. Appreciate yourself, and most importantly, give time to your own self to heal emotionally and physically, and pick yourself again and move again. You know, climb against the ladder.

The biggest challenge I see in society is that we are in a very transitional phase where there is AI, data protection, and so many things which are boiling. I feel that empathy is somewhere lagging. When we are making laws and policies, we cannot just do a fast-track thing - you need to have empathy towards every sector in the society. You can categorize them on gender, orientation, interest, or economical status. This is one of the biggest challenges - we are not paying attention to the most important issues which are at hand. I feel that the policies should be more empathized, understanding the situation. I'm not being a very lenient person, but you need to have that human ground to understand everyone's situation. It's not very hard that you cannot coordinate with it. We need to understand that there are so many things happening in society which is affecting everyone at physical, mental, and emotional levels. The empathy is the biggest challenge. The opportunity I feel is that we need to add more of human content. We need to talk more, we need to show up, that wherever you are, you are still a celebrity, you're still a person that your career will be appreciated, whatever level you are. You have a voice, you have an identity.

The values that I have when I do work are sincerity towards your work. More importantly, there should be mutual respect. There should always be a space where you can speak for yourself. You need to express yourself. I think that is something that I always keep as a priority. And importantly, ethics. I feel that when I'm working throughout my legal career, loyalty is the most precious gem, which is hard to find in this world. So it's sincerity, mutual respect, loyalty, and of course, ethics.