Women in Cloud
Women in Cloud: The World Needs to Know Your Story
How the #EmpowHERaccess Awards are recognizing women in Cloud, AI, and Cyber
For the past four years, Women in Cloud has championed diversity in Technology, Cloud, AI, and Cyber. Their #EmpowHERaccess awards have impacted and empowered over 2500 individuals globally. The prestigious awards spotlight exceptional women and allies driving positive change in their communities.
Women in Cloud provides a platform for these changemakers to be recognized on a global scale. Cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity are at the forefront of a $7 trillion industry. Women in Cloud ensures women's voices are heard and celebrated in these transformative fields.
The nine categories of the 2024 #EmpowHERaccess Awards are below:
- Ally of the Year Award
- B2B Women Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- Community Leadership Award
- Corporate Equality Advocate Award
- Cloud Technologist Visionary Award
- Generative AI Innovation Award
- Mentor of the Year Award
- Trailblazer Leadership Award
- Rising B2B Startup Award
In today's interview, we talked with Chaitra Vedullapalli, President and Co-Founder of Women in Cloud. Chaitra shared about her trajectory in technology, the power of community and social impact, and how her journey as a leader in the cloud has shaped her success. In our conversation, Chaitra encourages women to give themselves permission to be seen and recognized.
Can you tell us more about your professional background in the technology and cloud space? What excites you the most about working in this industry?
I am the President of Women in Cloud and CMO at Meylah, and we are proud to say that we recently set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for Most Users in a Vision Board Video Hangout. The Women in Cloud is a network of 100,000 people in 67 countries with a mission to generate $1 billion in economic access. The way we do it is through workforce, leadership, and economic development initiatives. In the past, I have worked at Microsoft and Oracle to lead billion-dollar Go-To-Market (GTM) initiatives in the global market.
My background comes from Product Management. I am an engineer, but I also love marketing and community development. These are all the pieces that help put together the Women in Cloud ecosystem.
What drove you to create Women in Cloud?
When I left Microsoft to become a Cloud and Tech founder in a $4.5 trillion market, I found that technology, partnerships, and funding were not accessible to women, who represented less than 2%. Seeking resources, I discovered they were nonexistent, leaving me unable to access what I needed to build a hyperscaler partnership.
That was when Women in Cloud was born.
There was a preparation problem and an access problem, and I realized that when we bring these two together, women can really build a very successful company or career. All the resources at Women in Cloud are available for women to ensure they are prepared, whether to get seen or develop technical or leadership mastery.
How would you encourage other women to pursue a career in technology, more specifically in Cloud, AI, or Cyber?
First of all, get the basic certifications done. It is essential to know the language (AI, Cloud, Cybersecurity), and certifications can help you learn it.
The second thing is to focus on building what I call your "5 People Network". These are going to be the people who will support you in your journey to unlocking access. The first person can help you connect with recruiters. The second person will help you understand the roles and paths you can take in technology. The third person is someone who understands partnerships and can help you answer the question: "How to partner?!". The fourth person is someone who understands leadership. And the fifth person is someone who understands negotiation. These are the core skills you need to have in your core group of mentors.
Third, find a sponsor: whether you have worked with them or not, start looking for someone who can be your sponsor. The best way to do this is to contribute to their careers.
Fourth, learn the language of leadership: what leadership skill do you want to have in place so that your gravitas and presence are in place? How do you show up?
The last one is to learn about innovation. Learn how to transform ideas into solutions and think like an entrepreneur.
I'd say these are the five areas for people entering the technology industry right now. They are looking for innovators, strong communicators, and collaborators.
The technology industry is looking for innovators, strong communicators, and collaborators.
Can you give us an example of a strategic and impactful partnership facilitated by Women in Cloud?
Of course! During COVID, when we ran a survey with our community, we discovered that many women needed a basic understanding of the cloud. We then worked with Microsoft to provide scholarships for women to get certified in cloud, AI, and Cyber, valued at $6,500 per woman. The training and certification vouchers are very expensive, especially for women outside of the United States, so we were able to help these women have access to that training and education.
For leaders to get recognized, we have the Insiders Circle Program, which allows women to develop their personal and professional brand, and the EmpowHERaccess awards, for these women to be seen in the market.
Let's talk more about the awards! The Women in Cloud #EmpowHEraccess awards have been running for four years. What inspired you to create them?
Our Impact survey during COVID revealed three community needs: recognition, skilling opportunities, and a strong community. We responded by creating a digital network, offering scholarships, and establishing awards.
In 2020, the first year of the awards, we had 26 nominations and 8 winners. In 2022, there were 150 nominations and 5 winners.
In 2023, we were proud to see our awards reach more than 250,000 people online and receive close to 200 nominations! We had 45 finalists and 9 winners.
In 2024, we will introduce the Corporate Equality Advocate Award to honor individuals promoting equality within the company through internal and external ESG efforts. In Fall 2024, we are expanding the awards to India, recognizing 50 role models from 45 countries.
Many women feel they aren't "good enough" to nominate themselves for awards or be recognized for their work. What are your thoughts on this, and how can #EmpowHERaccess help women in their careers?
When I received my first award, I thought, "Wow! I didn't realize I deserved this!". It was one of those moments when I questioned myself if I had done enough to deserve this, and they told me: "No, you have done more than enough. The reason for getting an award is that you have already created an impact, and that is the market's way of recognizing it".
If you don't put your name on the list, then how would you get seen? You have to show up! This is a time of gratitude to yourself.
Don’t expect others to do it for you. You have to show up and do it for yourself!
What makes nominees stand out in each one of the categories?
You should ask yourself: "Who am I serving? What am I serving? How am I serving?" Your answers must be very clear in your application. For instance, if you're serving an elderly community, explain what you're doing for them and how you're doing it. Also, mention any partnerships with individuals, non-profits, or organizations.
Consider if your work impacts any of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and if it has a global impact. Are you acting as a global citizen? Do you care about the resources around you? These are the questions I ask when evaluating a strong nomination.
What advice would you give to women that are self-nominating?
Don't judge yourself; remember, your nomination is for the people you serve, not for you. It's a way to recognize those who have benefited from your leadership. By not nominating, you are doing a disservice to all the people you have impacted.
Spotlight your ecosystem and community, which deserve recognition for their collective effort to make a difference.
Spotlight your ecosystem and your community who deserve the best.
At Women in Technology publication, we are a community of women living and working worldwide with unique backgrounds and perspectives. What's the importance of women coming together and being part of a community?
Most of the communities are places where you connect and get mentored. Our community is designed to achieve outcome-based transformation. If you want to transform your career from a tech role to an AI innovator, Women in Cloud can provide the programs and resources.
Once you work and put in the effort, we know you are ready for the job roles you want. For business owners members, our accelerator 2–3 month programs can help them work and execute their campaigns, working with the community to do it. Since it's a free community, we ask the users for contributions, so you also have to put in the work to be part of and use the communities' resources.
That's truly inspiring and empowering, Chaitra! Do you recommend any other communities for women besides Women in Cloud?
I recommend The Female Quotient. I also encourage women to join their local community, where they can find a solid and well-connected network. If you don't have one, start one!
You are a role model for many women in the technology industry. If you could choose three character traits that have shaped your success, which would you choose?
The first one is mastery of the skills. What is that skill that you have mastered that you can bring to the table? I don't go to any table that I cannot contribute to.
The second one is the contribution currency. What are you bringing to the table along with your skills? Can I bring people? Can I bring money? What else can I contribute to the project's success?
The third one is asking yourself: How am I showing up in the world through my language, through my brand, through the work I do? Am I talking about just me? The language of leadership is critical.
The last one is cocreation and execution. Someone who can work together, be a partner, and know how to talk "money." It is important to work with someone who knows how to turn an idea into a business idea, knows how to execute it, and talks about the financial aspects of that execution.
I'd always recommend women have the courage to create "microprojects"—where they can bring an idea to execution, establish resources, and budget for that idea. I wish more women would come and pitch ideas to Women in Cloud and work collaboratively.
How can others find you online?
You can find me on my LinkedIn profile and my website. I am very accessible, and every Friday, I run 15-minute sessions through our Digital Network and talk with our community about their professional and business goals.
Thank you for speaking with us. We wish you and Women in Cloud all the success in your fantastic work!
Hear from Koyelia Ghosh Roy, a 2023 #EmpowHERaccess Winner:
My journey in AI started long back, and this prestigious award, the Role Model 2023 Sashakti Samman Award from Women In Cloud, was a pivotal moment in my career. This recognition not only fuels my confidence but also solidified my credibility within the industry. It opened doors to exciting opportunities, including invitations to participate in thought leadership sessions. These sessions provided valuable platform to share my expertise and insights on data management BI and the emerging field of generative AI I am greatly grateful to women and cloud for the remarkable initiative of empowering women in tech. — by Koyelia Ghosh Roy, Senior VP leading the Enterprise BI Centre of excellence, Data and AI enthusiast
Find more winners' insights at the Women in Cloud YouTube channel.
Nominate yourself through this link until June 30th. As a winner, you will receive:
- An invitation to join the WIC Awards Hall of Fame
- A prize package valued at over $1000, including membership to the #WICxInsiderCircle program
- Two (2) tickets to the #WICxIcons Award Dinner in Bellevue, WA
- Invitation to Cloud Leader Circle spotlight campaign
About #EmpowHERaccess Awards: The #empowHERaccess Awards provide a unique opportunity for women and ally entrepreneurs and leaders to receive recognition for their achievements and contributions to their communities that often go unnoticed. For 4 years, our prestigious awards have celebrated and recognized over 2,500 women, allies, and organizations across the globe who have made a significant impact on the technology industry. Learn more about the Awards at this link.
About Women in Cloud: A community-led economic development organization dedicated to taking collective action to generate $1B in new net economic access for women entrepreneurs and professionals by 2030 through global partnerships with corporations, community leaders, and policymakers. All of these are united by the ESG and UN Sustainable Development Goals that are driven by job creation, diversity and inclusion, technology innovation, and sustainability, giving women a powerful platform to accelerate as industry leaders.
