I would like to share a part of my professional journey \u2014 one shaped by resilience, honesty, and a commitment to integrity.<\/p>\n
When I applied for a position at a new organization, the interview initially focused on my experience as a Project Officer at Blue Diamond Society. The conversation shifted, however, when I was asked \u2014 more than once \u2014 whether I identified as a member of the LGBTI community. I answered honestly: \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was silence. With a warm smile, I asked, \u201cWhy the silence?\u201d One interviewer responded, \u201cYou have a lot of courage to say it so openly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gently brought the discussion back to what I believe truly matters in a professional setting: my qualifications, my track record, and my commitment to the work \u2014 not my sexual orientation.<\/p>\n
When asked why I had left my previous role, I shared that I was terminated due to mental health challenges. I explained that I had been actively seeking support and working on my recovery. Again, I was told that it took courage to speak so openly.<\/p>\n
I took that moment to speak up: Organizations that advocate for LGBTI rights must also foster safe, inclusive environments for those facing mental health challenges. I voiced my concerns about internal politics and bias \u2014 even within organizations meant to protect marginalized voices.<\/p>\n
When I was asked, \u201cHow can someone with these challenges lead?\u201d I answered simply:
\n\u201cBecause I am honest. I recognize toxicity and those who manipulate others for personal gain \u2014 and I choose to lead by example.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the interview, after reviewing my references and reflecting on our conversation, the organization offered me the role.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sharing this not to seek sympathy, but to affirm that honesty, self-respect, and resilience matter \u2014 especially in spaces that claim to be inclusive but still have work to do.<\/p>\n
Thank you for reading.<\/p>\n
Warm regards,
\nKumar Timilsina<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I would like to share a part of my professional journey \u2014 one shaped by resilience, honesty, and a commitment to integrity.
\nWhen I applied for a position at a new organization, the interview initially focused on my experience as a Project Officer at Blue Diamond Society. The conversation shifted, however, when I was asked \u2014 more than once \u2014 whether I identified as a member of the LGBTI community. I answered honestly: \u201cYes.\u201d
\nThere was silence. With a warm smile, I asked, \u201cWhy the silence?\u201d One interviewer responded, \u201cYou have a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":13958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1081,8,496,621,490,3,2065],"tags":[715],"class_list":["post-13957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-issue","category-explanationawareness","category-human-rights","category-story","category-news","category-slider","category-society","category-top-stories","tag-sexual-orientation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13959,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13957\/revisions\/13959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}