NURTURING VISIBLE LGBTQI+ LEADERS IN THE WORKPLACE: The story of transformation fellow Dinesh Singh

Dinesh Singh originally hails from Uttarakhand but moved to Delhi when he was barely 5 years old. He studied at a government co-ed school and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism after passing Class XII. Soon after his Graduation, Dinesh started working as the Senior Brew Master as Barista. A year later, he got himself a Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology. With initial experience and degree added to it, Dinesh soon started as the Sr. Customer Service Executive at Life Bite Foods. As a step up started as the Shift Manager in L’Opera and has been in the role since 2019.

But inside there was a storm brewing every day. Dinesh grew up confused and struggling with his identity. By his teens, he was able to justify his liking towards men and started identifying as non-binary. Dinesh shares that humiliation, teasing, bullying, and being called names have been a part of his growing up and he still faces this on and off in society. He says music, drawing, and meeting new people are the ways through which he channelizes his emotions and uses them as a refuge to deal with stress.

As a Transformation Fellow, supported by Connecting Dreams Foundation and sponsored by Avery Dennison from Basera Samajik Santhsthan, A NOIDA-based CBO Dinesh realized that Education is a tool that can be used to build an inclusive society. During the Fellowship Dinesh aspired to study MBA and work in the corporate in strategy and planning. Dinesh has been selected for the Trans-formation Fellowship, which is sponsored by the Pernod Ricard India Foundation as Tata Institute of Social Sciences as an Academic and Knowledge Partner, and Connecting Dreams Foundation as an Ecosystem Partner. Dinesh is receiving a yearlong Fellowship at the TISS Mumbai campus. He is confident, all these years of hard work and education will lead him to the job of his dreams, at some corporate.

Contributed by:

Dr. Simi Mishra
A catalyst for Building Socially Inclusive Societies