How Dushyanthi Thangiah paved the way for South Asian women in leadership and how she is making a difference in the community
It is 5:30 pm and Dushyanthi (Dushy) Thangiah is still in office deeply engaged in her work. As the CEO of Yumba-Meta Limited (YML), a not-for-profit organisation in Queensland, that provides housing and other programs to marginalised people, Thangiah has a lot on her plate.
Born to Sri Lankan parents with strong ties to India (both her grandmothers are Indians), Thangiah has been living in Australia for the past 35 years now. In these many years, she has broken down barriers and achieved success on all fronts. With her exceptional leadership skills, she has also been very involved the North Queensland Hindu Community Inc (more on that below).
It was in December 1988 that Thangiah and her husband Ranjit migrated to Australia after spending several years in Singapore. “It was very difficult to go back to Sri Lanka because of the political situation there, we were a minority,” she reflects.
Thangiah, a skilled accountant with prior experience working for major corporations, took a break from her career upon arriving in Sydney. She took the time off to look after her two young daughters. Following this hiatus, she landed a position at Boral, a leading provider of building and construction materials in Australia.
However, when Boral relocated its operations to Cairns, Thangiah had to find a new opportunity and eventually landed a position at Yumba-Meta Limited in Townsville. Her family had relocated to Townsville after spending five years in Darwin.
Despite having no previous experience in the not-for-profit sector, Thangiah accepted a three-month offer to work with Yumba-Meta Limited. She would stay on to lead the organisation for an impressive 28 years.
Of course, she had the qualifications to back her. A registered Justice of the Peace, Thangiah first qualified as a Management Accountant from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (London), before completing a Graduate Certificate in Housing Management and Policy from Swinburne University Melbourne in 2009.
“When I started working, we had good-hearted people but not quite the business structure. If you want more benefits for people and your services to reach more people, you have to manage money properly. The success of a not-for-profit organisation is when your heart and head are both engaged equally,” she says.
And that’s what Thangiah helped Yumba-Meta Limited achieve. “When I started, we only had two people working there, now we are a team of 75,” she says.
The organisation has grown from managing eight houses to a dynamic multi-functioning organisation managing 203 tenancies, 13 tenancies under the Employment & Education program, 40 tenancies under the Dale Parker Place supported accommodation program, the Breaking the Cycle program, Flora House Women’s Shelter, Elsie House Women’s Shelter The Reverend Charles Harris Diversionary Centre (50 Beds) and developed their own housing estate; Hillside Gardens with 41 lots, according to its recent annual report.
Thangiah highlights that Townsville’s economic growth has resulted in the marginalisation and displacement of the poor and vulnerable groups. “This is a common consequence of economic booms. So, homelessness is a serious issue here. Therefore, we are providing housing not just for them but for any vulnerable people such as refugees, victims of domestic violence victims, people with disabilities, and so on. We have a variety of programs.”
Perhaps the first South Asian woman to helm Yumba-Meta Limited, it was not an easy climb for Thangiah. Challenges at the start presented in the form of all male counterparts from other corporations or organisations not acknowledging her presence. “I remember earlier every year, there was a CEO forum. When I used to go there, nobody would talk to me,” she recalls.
But the breakthrough came when the minister who presided the CEO forum would always acknowledge her presence. “Ministers generally know the organisations that are doing the work,” she says, adding, “The same people who ignored me those days are my good buddies now.”
However, importantly, Thangiah makes a special mention of Ernest Hoolihan, the first Indigenous person to attain a scholarship with the Townsville Grammar School, and who with his late wife Maud established Yumba-Meta Limited in 1973. “He took me under his wings,” says Thangiah, who a became a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 2015.
With her boundless energy, Thangiah worked alongside Hoolihan’s expanding vision.
In 2019, Thangiah was named the national award winner by Telstra in recognition of her work as the CEO of Yumba-Meta. Her suite of achievements includes the AMA Queensland Excellence in Health Care Medal in 2021 and Australasian Housing Institute National Award for Executive Excellence the same year.
With an extensive sector experience, Thangiah is part of several advisory councils, along with being regularly called upon to inform policy formulation and program implementation relating to housing, homelessness, domestic and family violence, youth engagement, systems reforms for women incarcerated, and the Specialist Disability Housing Sector.
Wanting to give back to the community runs briskly through Thangiah’s life and career. She has been involved with the North Queensland Hindu Community since 2009 and has stepped down as president to become vice-president now.
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“Religion is a very important part of our life and we founded this organisation to have a platform for people to gather. It is also important for the children to understand the values of our culture,” says Thangiah.
The organisation bought an old church in Townsville in 2016, where community members gather every week for yoga classes, a Sunday school for children to receive human value-based education and other workshops and programs. “We have just got approval to build a temple,” she announces.
Asked what energises her about her work, Thangiah says she follows Sathya Sai Baba. “From a very small age, we’ve been instilled the thought that service to humanity is service to God. I have grown up in that environment, so it comes naturally.”
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Dushy Thangiah, the CEO of Yumba-Meta Limited, is not just shattering the glass ceiling but also making a positive impact in the community in #Townsville. #TheIndianSun @indira_laisramhttps://t.co/UqnmqmFWrA
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