#UnlearnToRise - Supriya Rehill

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

“As the older child in my family, I learned early to take responsibility, stand on my own feet and contribute. While others might have been planning their careers, I was focused on what I needed to do next. I started working, took opportunities as they came and learned along the way.

I continued my education while working, often using whatever time I could find to study and appear for exams. But I didn’t have the conventional postgraduate qualification that many in HR had. At one point, I was told that I didn’t really understand HR because I lacked a formal HR degree. It made me question whether years of learning and experience counted for less without the right certificate.

Over time, I learnt to trust what I had built through experience. Education gives us frameworks, but working with people, navigating difficult situations and learning from mistakes teach us things no classroom can fully prepare us for.

My journey also taught me that a pause or an unexpected turn need not be a setback. When I stepped away from a difficult work environment, I rediscovered interests beyond my professional identity and found an anchor in my spiritual practice. Eventually, a new beginning in Mumbai led me to Mahindra Logistics, where my work in IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility) brought together many of the lessons my own life had taught me.

Having experienced what it feels like to be underestimated, I have come to appreciate how much of a person’s story can remain unseen. Today, as I lead HR alongside IDEA, I see how our assumptions can limit the way we recognise another person’s potential.

Looking back, I didn’t follow a prescribed path. I built mine, one experience at a time. And every step brought something valuable to the person and professional I am today.

Sometimes, you don’t need a blueprint to find your way. You need the courage to begin and the willingness to keep going.

This is how I #UnlearnToRise.”