#UnlearnToRise - Prajakta Rodrigues

This World Inclusion Day, we bring you #UnlearnToRise, a new series continuing our conversations around unconscious bias. Through real stories from across Mahindra, we look at the assumptions we make about people and the beliefs we need to unlearn to create a more inclusive workplace.

My career break was supposed to be a pause. It became a turning point.

Looking back at 2023, an unexpected health challenge led me to take a career break after surgery and a prolonged illness. I needed the time to recover, but I never imagined that this pause would open the door to something new.

During my break, I unexpectedly received an interview call from Quiklyz, Mahindra Finance. What I had thought was a pause in my career became an opportunity to restart, rediscover myself and build again. Today, I am celebrating two rewarding years with my dream organisation.

My journey took another meaningful turn when I was selected for the first batch of Mahindra’s SOAR Women Returnship Programme. Since then, my career has truly been on the RISE.I am grateful to the Mahindra Finance leadership team for seeing the potential beyond a career break and giving me the opportunity to begin again. Sometimes, unlearning means letting go of the belief that a pause puts you behind. My pause became my opportunity, and my opportunity became my RISE.

This is how I #UnlearnToRise.