Currently working as a principal solicitor with the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, Molina Asthana is virtually omnipresent in the Melbourne’s Indian community. She is actively engaged in no only organisation of multicultural sporting events, but in sports itself. She is a half-marathon runner. She is the President of the International Law Association Victorian Chapter, Deputy Chair of the Law Institute of Victoria International Law Section Committee and sits on numerous boards.
But her journey hitherto hasn’t been without speed-beakers and roadblocks.
Her story
I hail originally from UP (Allahabad and Lucknow) but lived most of my life in Delhi before I moved to Australia in 2004. I came here after I got married, as my husband was born and lived in Australia. After I got here I did a Masters of Commercial Law from Melbourne University and thereafter got my accreditation to practice law in Australia.
Disappointed to see women not participating much in sport, I started the organisation Multicultural Women in Sport which aims to empower migrant women from multicultural backgrounds through sport. I am also a Commissioner for the AFL South East Commission and on the AFL advisory Committee for multicultural engagement. I am also a Cricket Australia 'Sport for All' Community Ambassador and Commonwealth Games Ambassador.
I have received awards from multiple organisations for my work as a solicitor, including the Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence for Service Delivery Community Service 2014 and for 2016 (as Victorian Convenor of the Asian Australian Alliance). I was a finalist for the Law Institute of Victoria- Access to Justice Award 2016 and the Winner of the Spirit of Sport Award in the Australian India Business and Community awards 2017 and was profiled in the Top 50 of the Indian Community in Melbourne in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Source: Supplied
Major challenges she faced
Some of the challenges I faced was to enter into my profession in this country. I was a qualified lawyer in India but my qualifications and experience were disregarded. Recruiters said that it was unlikely that I will get a job at a top tier or a mid-tier firm so I should apply to smaller firms. A well-wisher told me that overseas qualified doctors were driving buses so I shouldn’t get disheartened. Some went to the extent of telling me to give up my profession and start afresh, even work at a call centre.
Being a determined person that I am, I chose to keep pushing, keep applying, keep talking to people. I had to fight long and hard to regain the position I felt I had lost when I moved to Australia from India. My determination got me a job in two top tier law firms in Australia and within a year and a half, I had moved from being a trainee (even though I was an experienced lawyer from India) to being a principal Solicitor. I am now on the board of the Law Institute of Victoria that is the peak governing body of the profession. I clearly proved a lot of people wrong.
The other challenge that I (and many other migrants) faced is the unconscious bias, particularly in the big firms that I worked with. If you didn’t watch footy or did not go out on Friday night drinks or did not grow up watching the TV shows they watched, you were very much standing on the periphery. I am now a Commissioner with Football and perhaps know more about the sport than some of them. The key to overcoming this bias is to always strive towards excellence and knowledge. Equip yourself with the tools that give you the confidence to talk to anyone about topics they are familiar with. What I found works is having pride in your own heritage and also imbibing good things from the culture of your adopted country. If they feel you are not proud of who you are, they are not likely to respect you either.
Source: Supplied
Can women have it all?
I query what we mean by having it all. Some women are content to be homemakers and devote their life to family and occupy themselves with things that keep them happy and busy. Perhaps they believe they do have it all though I question whether it is as simplistic as that.
But there are others who are focused on their careers and want to give an equal amount of time (or more) to their advancement in their chosen field of work. For those women, I don’t think we have reached that stage in society yet where women can have it all (at least a majority of them). We still live predominantly in a male-dominated society, more so for some cultures than others, where the expectation is of the women being the homemaker, there are fewer opportunities in the workforce and massive pay gaps and high cost of childcare preventing women from re-entering the workforce,
High incidence of abuse and inequality in access in all spheres is an issue faced by all women whatever their personal ambitions might be.
Source: Supplied
Till these issues are addressed, we cannot have it all. Women whose partners/parents or both are supportive are more likely to overcome the barriers that prevent them from reaching their potential but systemic and cultural changes are what is required to create equality.
Best advice she ever received
Being a lawyer, I like giving advice rather than receiving it. However, my grandfather was my role model. He was a judge, a painter, a writer, a feminist, a brilliant speaker and a physiotherapist (something he did as a voluntary thing to help people). I feel I have learnt a few good things from him, though he did not ever formally advise me to do any of those.
He taught me to be resilient, to stand up for myself and to look after myself, both physically and psychologically, to respect people, to always believe in the goodness in others and in situations, to have a hobby(ies), and to always give back to the community.
The advice she'd like to give other women
Be confident in who you are and what you can achieve, be bold in your decisions and actions, never keep quiet when you see injustice and don’t put yourself second.
This is part of SBS Punjabi’s special series dedicated to the International Women's Day. Watch this space for more such stories.
READ ABOUT MORE INSPIRING INDIAN-AUSTRALIAN WOMEN HERE
Kuljit Jassal: Fighter, survivor, trailblazer
