Moving Forward
…From My Experience As A Woman In Tech
Recently, I had an opportunity at an illustrious company that most computer science students would die to work at. Ecstatic and in disbelief at my good fortune, I excitedly accepted. Before beginning my project, while speaking to friends and family, I was able to confidently list fabulous perks, important projects, and exposure to creative-minded men and women alike as the benefits of working at this company.
Little did I know that my experience would be, at the very least, a bit different. At a company where differences are celebrated and gender, racial, and sexual diversity is encouraged and accepted, I was surprised to find how unaccepting my team was. After spending a few minutes in the office, it was extremely apparent to me — a petite, bubbly, Indian female — that my particular team was composed of entirely white males. After three weeks of my internship, I had yet to interact with a single female, and only met two men of another race. On top of all this, I received comments about how “stereotypical” my web UI project was since I am a female and how bright and flowery my blouses and dresses were. I felt out of place and uncomfortable, and most of all, shocked that this was happening to me at the last company I thought possible.
Because of this work environment, I became introverted. I stopped doing my hair, reverted to wearing t-shirts and jeans, and felt uncomfortable asking my managers for help or guidance. Slowly, though, I realized that I was only hurting myself. If I wanted to show my team that I was just as capable as them and my femininity was no hindrance to my success, I had to prove it. Picking myself back up was difficult, undoubtedly, but being explicitly called out for being female for the first time in my life was a slap in the face to me. The field that I have chosen to spend my professional life in wasn’t, unfortunately, constructed so that women could easily succeed. We have roadblocks and biases hindering us at each stop, and it’s important for us to know how to conquer these blocks and succeed anyway. Otherwise, we’re only proving our enemies right and failing in paving the way for the future.
In the past, I’ve only charged ahead confidently, taking advantage of career opportunities and various achievements. Now, however, I’ve taken a step back and understood the importance of gender discrimination. Moving forward, I’m excited to meet powerful and inspiring women — change makers in their field. My questions are unending, and I thirst to know how to overcome such a difficult stereotype in my field of work. I hope to learn how to pave a future for myself in tech from women who have travelled such paths and broken similar barriers already while doing so myself to build a brighter path ahead for my successors.
— Sravya Vishnubhatla, Founder & CEO
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