Our first Round Table focused on the Tech industry with 5 visionary industry-leading women, taking us through their journey and sharing their greatest learning experiences with our members.

Panellists:

1.Sanchi Bhardwaj, Co-Founder – Crossed Design (User Experience | Design Thinking | Human Centred Design)
2. Aarthi Ramesh, VP, GTM Operations – Freshworks
3. Kanti Prabha, SaaS Specialist; Co-founder – SirionLabs 
4. Mallika Bajaj, Founder/CMO – Little Yellow Beetle; Director/CMO – ApnaDr.; Owner – Ballistic Learning.
5. Sukhmani Gill, Director – Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, SourceFuse

The 5 biggest takeaways from the talk:

1. Tech is an enabler:

Technology is here to make things easier. It brings people together, helps them collaborate, provides automation where needed and frees up human intelligence to find solutions and be more creative. While there are several aspects to tech—from AI, ML, software to hardware—all of them are moving at an exponential speed. It is essential in today’s environment to be aware of what’s happening in the tech space and have an understanding of it.

2. Change the gender narrative:

“The woman never leaves us even at work, and if we keep allowing this to happen, we will never give ourselves the honesty, the respect and the acceptance we deserve as mainstream professional,” saidMallika Bajaj, Founder/CMO – Little Yellow Beetle; Director/CMO – ApnaDr.; Owner – Ballistic Learning. Stressing on the need to delete the gender bias, the woman tag – the panellists agreed that it’s the intent and outcomes that should matter more than the gender. There are enough women in tech who do put in the hard work and achieve milestones and you will find strong women to support you through the various speed breakers that come in the career path.

3. Being a part of leadership communities or networks is important:

A common advice that came from the panellistswas to build a strong network within the industry. This would be an effective way to exchange ideas – say you hit roadblocks, chances are someone has already been there and can share insights on how to overcome them. Another advantage of the network is hiring. If you can hire from within your network, you will end up with like-minded people who share your vision and work ethos.

4. Hard work and perseverance get the job done:

“I’m not the brightest or the sharpest but I can work really hard, and I will never let go until I get something done,” sharedKanti Prabha, SaaS Specialist; Co-founder – SirionLabs pointing out that its often her ability to ‘hang on’ and see things through that has advanced her career. Leave your doubts at the door and ensure that your voice is heard, after all if you are in the room, it’s your talent and hard work that’s got you there.Another interesting point that came up during the conversation was the ability to adapt and upgrade your knowledge, which is key since tech is such a rapidly changing industry.

5. Leadership requires passion:

It may require a lot of learning and unlearning along the way but the passion to make it to the top is part of the fun of the journey. This sense of excitement resonated with all the women as they spoke about their journeys. “If we are not passionate, we do not take on opportunities. Don’t second guess and don’t have imaginary choices,” saidAarthi Ramesh, VP, GTM Operations –Freshworks.