About Veza Global
I founded Veza Global in 2017 as a way to ensure I was doing all that can to ensure there is economic equality for all marginalized and racialized groups. Veza is a human resources tech and consulting company focused on embedding equity, diversity and inclusion into the way businesses operate. We do our best to live our values of inclusive, integrity and feminine leadership principles.
Expertise
My equity, diversity, and inclusion journey started with cross-cultural understanding moved to gender equality and now focuses on inclusive culture. I started creating cross-cultural collaborations of dance which lead me to have a deeper understanding of how the more we understand our neighbors, the more likely we are to connect. I started to apply this concept in the workplace. I found that the more people can be themselves in the workplace, the more likely they were to stay longer and be more engaged with the organization. They also were more productive and satisfied.
During my arts volunteerism, I had the benefit of having access to many rooms that most people who looked like me didn’t have access to. It was then I decided that I needed to change. I started with focusing on coaching women with culturally diverse backgrounds and co-founded a south-Asian women network. That led to consulting and advising on various projects and sitting on committees where I had the opportunity to advocate for change for women with culturally diverse backgrounds.
In my time, working on international and immigrant-focused projects, I came to the conclusion that my mission is bigger than just me. Hence, I created Veza. It combined my 15+ years in human resources, 15+ years in equity, diversity, and inclusion, and over 10+ years of experience in technology.
In my time, I have worked with organizations like UN agencies, governments, not-for-profits, technology, higher education, and various other industries. I have created gender diversity strategies, human resources strategies and led the growth of organizations from the human resources lens. I have worked on and led international teams. One of my favorite projects is a trade mission of women entrepreneurs to Croatia.
Mantra of Success
My mantra for success has been “The Power is in the Mind” – Henry Ford.
It has always been a reminder that we are able to create change within ourselves and our communities through focusing on the change you want to create.
At the age of 13, I decided I wanted to end racism, sexism, war, and the consumption of eggs! (I still eat eggs so I am not sure why I decided that at that time 🙂 This passion was a driving force to do what I can in my power to create the world I want to see.
I surround myself with people who are high vibration, think about impact, and looking at how they as individuals can create change.
Views on Current Industry Scenario
My organization Veza Global has been pivotal in helping organizations rebrand, restructure and recalibrate to create more inclusive cultures as a result of COVID, which affected staff disproportionately due to race, socio-eco, gender, etc. AND as a result of the global racial reckoning.
Through the work of equity, diversity, and inclusion consulting and our proprietary assessment tool, we have been able to impact over 500,000 people through various industry-level projects such as creating a diversity and inclusion hub for the tech industry, career development program for skilled immigrants, and working with over 25 small to medium-sized businesses on embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion in the way they operate.
Views on Women Empowerment
During the pandemic, 8 of the healthcare leaders across Canada were women. Many of the countries that handled the COVID-19 the best were led with feminine leadership principles. The feminine leadership principles of empathy, collaboration, community-forward, people-focused and calm approach were what prevailed. It was shown that this lens of bringing the whole human forward into all conversations was the true foundation for inclusive communities and women are leading in bringing this lens forward.
As a woman of colour who has built many successful and sustainable businesses, I have experienced, first hand, the systemic barriers marginalized communities face. This is why I have dedicated myself to the work that I do, by building programs, nurturing opportunities, coaching professionals, and running projects that lead to more inclusive cultures. By lifting/relieving these interpersonal, systemic, and organizational barriers, I have determined to help professionals, teams, and organizations raise their profits, creativity, and productivity and affect change.
Manpreet Dhillon – CEO/ Founder | Veza Global