Sonali Basu Roy, Marketing Manager, Bulwark Technologies
How do you navigate gender bias in technical roles?
I strongly believe in undertaking various measures to combat gender bias in technology. These measures include providing diversity training to hiring managers, establishing standardized & fair evaluation criteria, technical skill training to women once hired, and also actively reaching out to diverse candidate pools amongst other measures.
Can you share a time when your technical expertise was underestimated? How did you respond?
A good challenge/lesson which I constantly try to overcome in all my marketing initiatives is to develop accurate metrics to measure the outcome of the marketing activities in relation to the direct sales/revenue generated from such Marcom activities. The outcome of a successful marketing campaign may not be immediate and may take a while to derive actual lead generation and ROI from the activity. Also limited budgets, timeframes and marketing perception in the industry add to the list of challenges. I also feel it is important to balance my personal and professional career giving both the required importance for a healthy work-personal life balance with constant support from my organization and my family to achieve this.
What leadership skills are critical for women in male-dominated tech environments?
Women in Technology should focus on developing strong collaboration skills, fostering a collaborative work culture, and building diverse teams. By valuing different perspectives and encouraging collaboration, women can lead their teams to achieve outstanding results in a male-dominated tech environment.
How do you advocate for diversity in team composition or project outcomes?
I always encourage open communication and a culture where everyone’s ideas are heard and respected in the team. Strongly believe in fair hiring practices and provide training to raise awareness about bias and stereotypes. Diverse opinions and perspectives can help the team to come together to develop a quality solution in a timely manner.
How do you handle being the only woman in a meeting/ team?
When I am the only woman in a meeting/team, I actively listen and make eye contact with the team. Clear my mind of all extraneous thoughts and focus on what the team is saying. Intense focus would be to build relationships and create boundaries. Focus is on collaboration and not competition. I also try to bring a women’s perspective to address key issues.
What systemic changes would most benefit women in tech?
Providing work experience and encouragement to women to pursue a career in tech. It is also crucial to attract women in tech to embrace technology and update their technical skills as they may possess developed skills and experience, which could strengthen the organization.
What advice would you give women negotiating work-life balance in high-pressure roles?
Women in Technology should believe in their capabilities and should be quick learners and acquire different skills. Market trends and mentalities are changing and there are plenty of opportunities for those who are dedicated and motivated. I strongly believe that success and passion for your job and responsibilities are correlated and would enable in achieving the desired level of success and at a shorter timeframe. I also feel it is important to balance your personal and professional career giving the required importance for a healthy work-personal life balance.
How can technology itself drive gender equality?
Technology can promote women’s equal rights and opportunities to learn, have their voices heard, access key services, expand their businesses. Technology also enables in women empowerment, so that men & women can participate as equal partners in all walks of life. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly used in hiring practices to analyse patterns of discrimination by organizations.
