Inclusion in Tech

Building Relationships While Integrating Oneself into a New Culture

This article discusses the difficulty of transitioning to a new culture and language, and the importance of patience and active engagement in the process. It suggests watching American movies to gain an understanding of the language and culture, and participating in low-barrier social activities to build relationships. It also emphasizes the importance of taking small steps and putting yourself out there to bolster confidence.

Being an Advocate for Other Women

A woman in the industry was looking for an organization that valued diversity and inclusion. She was one of the first few employees hired for a start-up division of a larger parent company and formed a national, company-wide women’s committee. She recommends that all hiring managers have at least one woman or other diversity candidate in the room during an interview. She also suggests having a peer buddy to provide a safety net if someone in the room tries to shut her down mid-thought. People need to be aware of what needs to change and have introspection to understand why they are not getting what they want or need.

Building trust in remote working

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many companies to switch to remote work, which has posed many challenges. To address these issues, the author implemented strategies such as setting strategic goals, taking constant feedback, and creating fun activities to keep team members motivated. Additionally, they focused on connecting with team members on a personal level to ensure that no one felt isolated. These strategies have helped the author to better manage their remote team and have taught them the importance of flexibility and trust.

Taking a Leap of Faith: My Career Path

This is the story of a woman who graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (CSE) degree in India and started her career at Accenture. After feeling unsatisfied with her consultant projects, she decided to take a leap of faith and search for opportunities. She ended up at HP Labs and was offered to present in international conferences if she did well in her day-to-day work. She worked on a product that would allow connectivity without the Internet in developing countries and presented it in multiple international conferences. She then went to the University of Pittsburgh to do her Master’s and worked on transfer rule learning and biomarkers discovery research. Despite facing challenges from her family and visa issues, she kept learning and eventually found success in the AI field. Her lessons learned include challenging yourself, finding the balance between going deeper into one field and going broader, and keeping your hunger for knowledge alive.

Insights on Diversity and Inclusion

This article discusses the need for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the practical steps that can be taken to achieve this. The author outlines their goals to improve diversity and inclusion, such as balancing the recruitment funnel, creating special experiences for diversity candidates, and fostering a culture of inclusion and respect. They also discuss the importance of measuring the impact of their efforts and the lessons they have learned.

Retaining Women In Tech

After leaving her engineering manager position at Apple due to burnout and lack of supportive leadership, the author started her own small business helping other small business owners with their technological needs. Through this experience, she realized the importance of resilience, an inclusive environment, and strong leadership for women in the tech industry. She encourages women to network outside of their own organization, and to stay in and influence the industry in order to shape the future.