Pallavi Sinha, Principal, Lawyers with Solutions is a finalist in the ‘Emerging Female Leadership in professsional services’ category while Manita Ray, CEO of ygap has made it as a finalist in the ‘Emerging Leader in the Not-For-Profit sector‘ category.
Pallavi is a lawyer and has been involved in community work for several years. She has worked in the areas of family law and immigration and has represented asylum seekers and women who have experienced domestic violence.
Pallavi who is an award-winning lawyer and was in AFR’s 100 ‘Women of Influence’ list in 2016 tells SBS Hindi, “When I was growing up it was a little different as there was hardly any other Indian-origin student at school and I was like the odd person but today whether in public or private schools you will find many Indian or Chinese-origin students.
"There are challenges but the Indian community is much more recognised now. I am a product of immigration and immigration can be a positive thing for Australia.”
Manita Ray is an engineer by qualification and the CEO of ‘ygap‘ which is a not-for-profit with a different approach to poverty alleviation.
Ygap believes that the best solutions are entrepreneurial. They work internationally and focus on early-stage ventures that exist to improve access to education or healthcare, create jobs or build safer homes.
“My family came from a very poor background in Kolkata, so I have seen poverty from a very young age and I have known that it is not right and we have to do something to change it, so I have dedicated my life to doing that," she tells SBS Hindi.
"I strongly believe that nothing comes if you don’t put in the hard work. I don‘t believe in luck, I believe everything comes out of really really hard work.”
