EXCLUSIVE: How Uma Thana Balasingam and Jingjin Liu are elevating women despite facing resistance

In a conversation with Human Algorithm, Uma and Liu explain how they built Elevate into a holistic ecosystem designed to advance women at every stage of their professional journey.

L-R (Uma Thana Balasingam and Jingjin Liu)

For generations, women have been expected to fit within narrow, pre-defined roles, such as polite, accommodating, and invisible in spaces of power. But what happens when two women refuse to shrink themselves? What happens when they challenge the norms that sought to confine them?

Uma Thana Balasingam and Jingjin Liu, co-founders of Elevate Group, are redefining barriers. Elevate has become a movement through a collective of companies dedicated to championing social justice and fostering inclusion for women. Through their struggles with identity, self-worth, and societal expectations, Uma and Liu have transformed personal adversity into a force for change.

Both women grew up in cultures that dictated who they should be: Uma in Malaysia, battling self-doubt and perfectionism as the only surviving child in her family, and Liu in China, where she was bullied for her dark skin and outspoken nature.

Their journeys took them across continents, where Uma entered the male-dominated world of technology sales and learned to navigate power structures. Liu entered the automotive industry, where she became the only Asian, the only woman, and the youngest senior director in a boardroom of men. They learned that being an ‘outlier’ was not a weakness but a superpower.

The seeds of Elevate Group were planted when Uma invited Liu to mentor at a Lean In Mega Walk, an initiative connecting experienced female leaders with younger women seeking guidance. The overwhelming response shattered their past experiences of competition and exclusion. Women showed up for one another, proving that collective action was possible and necessary.

In an exclusive interview with Human Algorithm, Uma and Liu explain how they build Elevate into a holistic ecosystem designed to advance women at every stage of their professional journey. They explain how they are changing the game for women by rewriting the rules entirely. They also discuss how power is rebalanced when women support each other by redefining societal, organisational, and individual norms.