I’m Mellener Anne Coelho, India Head of D&I and Mental Well-Being at Northern Trust India, and this is how I lead from within.
India Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Mental Well-Being at Northern Trust, Mellener Anne Coelho is a woman with admirable vulnerability and conviction. With 10 years of experience purely in D&I – of a career spanning 20 years – Mellener was a guest speaker for the 2018 United Nations (UN) Gender Focal Point meeting in Geneva to talk about Diversity and Inclusion, and Intersectionality. This, she considers, as one of her greatest honours. A champion of owning one’s life story and making the best of it, you’ll never catch an ebb in Mellener’s authenticity.
The Road to Championing D&I
While pursuing my master’s degree in human resources in the UK, I had the opportunity to specialize in diversity and culture, and that became a turning point in my career. I realized this work has the opportunity to impact both the hearts and minds of people, and for me to make a positive difference in someone’s life.
I started my career in Human Resources over 20 years ago working for Infosys both in India and the UK. I joined the AXA group in 2008, where I spent eight rewarding years working in different HR functions including D&I. I took on the role of a global D&I program manager for AXA in 2012 and helped set up the D&I strategy for AXA Asia. I then joined Northern Trust in 2017 and currently lead the D&I and Mental Well-being agenda for Northern Trust in India.
I have been working particularly in the D&I space for over 10 years now, and the learning and opportunities have been phenomenal.
- I have had the opportunity to live and work in Europe, which has been an enriching experience for me to learn about different cultures and how a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for a culture change initiative.
- The opportunity to lead the diversity, equity inclusion and mental well-being agenda for Northern Trust in India has given me the power to be creative and innovative in introducing new D&I initiatives that have had an impact – internally and externally – and reaped opportunities to present our work in the industry as well as get shortlisted for several awards.
- Winning the D&I Champion of Change award in 2019, and the HERRISING and Best D&I Head award in 2020, are moments of pride and celebration for me in my career.
- And finally, being selected as a global D&I advisory board member for the Future Talent Council is one of the greatest professional achievements for me, and I hope I can leverage this position to create more mindful and grateful communities around us.
In the future I hope to expand my knowledge, my thought leadership, circle of influence and impact with the work that I do in the space of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – regionally and globally. And as a passionate advocate of mental health, I will continue to look for opportunities at work and beyond to create awareness, and tackle the stigma associated with mental health.
Mellener, the Person
The unconditional love that I received from my aunt, who was like a mother to me in every possible way, and the values that she imbibed in me have made me who I am today – grounded, and content with being myself. I lost her to cancer 10 years ago, and it was a very painful experience for me.
My diagnosis of anxiety a while ago was another life changing moment. It has brought me onto a more rewarding path, spiritually, where I embrace the journey of meditative and mindful living. This journey has also taught me to let go of perfection and experience the freedom of forgiveness.
I pursue several hobbies, and am truly passionate about travelling and exploring new cultures. Being a fitness freak, nothing gives me greater joy than an endorphin high.
In the future, I look forward to practising gratitude for greater mental well-being, and appreciation of the simple everyday things so I never take anything for granted. I will continue to declutter and refine my purpose to provide me with a sense of direction for creating meaning in my life.
My core values
Respect – When I talk about respect, I mean respect for others (in thought, word and deed) as well as respect for self. A healthy level of self-respect enables me to have the confidence to set firm boundaries. It means knowing what I stand for and what my values are, and being accepting of both my strengths and weaknesses.
Authenticity – It’s taken me 20 years to discover the beauty of being authentic. I’ve had to dig deep and work on my self-esteem, which was very poor many years ago. I’ve worked on it through therapy, personal development and learning to accept myself for who I am. There was definitely a time when I used to try to be like other people, and try to live for society, until I realised it is stressful.
Authenticity, on the other hand, is empowering; it allows me to be who I truly am. It also makes me feel attractive because I’m no longer struggling to be who I am; it comes naturally. I do not resonate with the expression “if you can’t make it, fake it” – acting from a place of true conviction is much better, for me, than acting from a place of pretence.
Kindness – Being kind often requires courage and strength, as it involves the willingness to celebrate and give attention to someone else. Kindness includes acting and speaking in a compassionate way with others and yourself. And it doesn’t have to cost anything or even take up much time; it can be as simple as a warm smile, a touch, or a word of encouragement. When we are kind, it is not only good for others but also for our own health and happiness. Please remember, you can be kind and still have boundaries. It is not a replacement for avoiding difficult conversations or standing up for yourself.
My superpowers
Passion and energy for everything that I do
I put my heart and soul into everything that I do professionally and personally. When we are passionate about our work we seem to find the energy to work, and our drive can motivate others to follow suit. My colleagues at work say that my energy and passion are infectious!
Ability to influence without authority, and create an impact
The subject matter expertise that I bring to my work enables me to influence others in decision making, and my leadership teams and colleagues see me as a trusted advisor. Forging strong connections within the workplace and outside; leveraging my creativity; and optimally channeling the resources at hand enables me to create the desired impact for my work.
Resilience and optimism
I view failure as a helpful form of feedback. There have been many ups and downs in my life, through all of which I have always found a way to emotionally heal on my own or with support, and learn from the experiences. I am fortunate to be in a place where I have people within work and beyond who reach out to me for guidance, which is reflective of the conviction that people have in me as a mentor.
On women’s representation in the workplace
While we have seen progress on improving the representation of female talent over the years, there is still a lot of work to do. On gender, the shift is slow and only partially understood.
Leadership positions in the past were dominated by men and even today there are subtle expectations of what is required to be a good leader. Women often face the double-bind bias of what is expected of a leader and what is expected of a woman. This, coupled with how society and cultures across the world expect a woman to behave as well as a culture deeply rooted in patriarchy, are some of the biggest hurdles in advancing gender equality.
Part of the reason change has been slow is also that so many companies misunderstand the reality of the issue: this is not a woman’s issue, we need more men to be allies and advocates for equality. And finally, and most importantly, organisational cultures need to change.
We still see organizations giving gifts to women on International Women’s Day, wearing purple attire and men holding placards in pink stating their support for gender equality. We need to move away from such token initiatives to systemic changes that address issues such as pay inequity, microinequities and microaggressions – and biases at all stages of the employee life cycle. We see many companies today setting diversity targets that are tied into their performance objectives. For some this approach may be a good start but companies using this approach must ensure that they set a strong foundation and rationale for putting these goals in place. A lot of work needs to still be done to build sustainable elements of an inclusive culture that is ready to embrace the benefits of a diverse workforce.
Today, we have moved away from the business case for gender diversity. No one ever asked for the business case for hiring men so why do we need one for hiring women? Improving the diverse representation of our workforce is good for business and good for our communities, where we have an opportunity to address social inequity. My hope is that one day all women who have a seat at the top will believe that they got there not because of their gender but because of who they are, and their skills and talents. I hope that they will leverage their authentic female leadership traits to create change and impact, as only they can.
My advice to young aspiring women
Believe in yourself – Be cognizant of gender biases and stereotypes but don’t let them define you and your abilities. You will be surprised at what you can achieve when you just believe in yourself. So, don’t be afraid of trying something new or different, and don’t give up when things don’t go as planned. Remember to be kind to yourself along the way, and that you are your biggest ally!
Find role models and mentors – In fact, find the best ones possible to help shape your life. Identify who inspires you; this can be a parent, friend, corporate leader, an entrepreneur or an inspirational speaker. You don’t have to aspire to be just like them or do everything they do but assimilate what works best for you from the qualities that you admire about them and the lessons that you can learn from their life.
Work on your personal brand – Your work will not speak for itself. So work on your performance, image and exposure (PIE). Expand your network and your circle of allies personally and professionally, and define who you want to be as a leader and follow through. Define your personal brand and always demonstrate your strengths with grace and kindness.
Pay it forward – Remember that many people have helped you get to where you are today. Be grateful to them, but most importantly pay it forward by helping others advance in their career. When you help others, you will find that your circle of influence widens to create a greater impact in your immediate surroundings and beyond.
