Inclusion That Built Business

Preeti Panjabi

I was 32 when I walked into a tier 1 law firm’s office as an intern, not because I wanted to be a lawyer, but because I wanted to understand how business is built inside a law firm. More honestly, I had just moved to a new city and knew the best way to settle in was to build a routine. A job felt like the first step, and in time, the city welcomed me back in ways I couldn’t have planned.

Before this, my days were spent in expanding my family’s wholesale and retail business: launching a retail arm, managing inventory, and learning the hard way, how to turn a small idea into a commercial win. Those years taught me resilience and adaptability. But they didn’t teach me the pace of professional services, or understanding hierarchy in a corporate setting.

I brought grit, curiosity and the subtle craft of building relationships. The team and the people in it gave me everything else.

At first, the gestures that made a difference seemed small. A manager trusting me to draft a press release I had never written before, a colleague who patiently explained work jargon over coffee, a mentor who reviewed my early work and corrected with kindness. These weren’t small at all. They created psychological safety, the kind that allows you to ask the “naive” questions, test an unfamiliar approach, or voice an unpolished idea. And that safety became the foundation of my growth.

In just eight months, I moved from intern to senior executive and then to assistant manager. But it wasn’t luck. It was the result of deliberate choices the team made. Trusting a non traditional hire with meaningful work and backing it all with policies that made me feel safe enough to show up fully. DEI practices that go beyond empty gestures, such as intentional mentoring and flexible work arrangements, do more than foster belonging, they shape who succeeds and how quickly.

For me, inclusion did more. It encouraged me to bring my commercial instincts into business development conversations, translating retail insights into international relations strategies. The flexibility allowed me to balance professional growth with personal responsibilities without being forced to choose between the two. Mentorship sped up my learning curve so I could contribute sooner, with more confidence.

Of course, there were challenging moments, but what mattered wasn’t the absence of struggle, it was the presence of a culture where empathy was practiced, not publicised. Leaders who said, “Take the hour you need,” and colleagues who quietly stepped in to support, that was the difference between simply surviving and genuinely thriving.

If there’s one truth my journey has taught me, it is this: inclusion is not charity, it’s strategy. When organisations invest in psychological safety, clear policies, flexibility they don’t just do good, they unlock hidden potential. They gain people who bring different histories, networks, and perspectives that fuel innovation and drive business forward.

Preeti Panjabi is a first-generation lawyer and business strategist. After starting her career in her family’s wholesale business, she returned to law and now works at Trilegal in Mumbai, focusing on cross-border initiatives, market research, and international outreach. Her work sits at the intersection of law, business, and global collaboration.

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