Laiye Shines a Light on Women in Tech
As part of our celebrations around International Women’s Day, we wanted to shine a light on several inspirational leaders within Laiye and discuss their thoughts on industry challenges and the importance of women in the technology sector.
First up, we spoke with Xijuan Zhang, Solutions Delivery Consultant, Laiye about her experiences and what inspired her to study and pursue a career in IT.
What inspired you to enter the technology industry?
“International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to encourage more women to enter the world of technology. I've been very curious about technology since I was a kid, and I'm interested in all technologies that can be automated, both software and hardware. I firmly believe that a career in technology can be lifechanging and encourage more women to explore it in their career plans.
“When I was in college, I directly chose to major in computer science. After graduating with a master's degree, I successfully entered a technology company.”
What have you been most proud of during your career?
“In over ten years of my professional career, what I am most proud of is not how much I have achieved at work, but that my passion for technology has infected many female friends and helped them eliminate the stereotype of women in the technical field, encourage them to enter the tech field and achieve success.”
What tips can you offer other women looking to follow in your footsteps?
“I’d encourage all women to put themselves forward for a career in the technology industry. There is so much potential out there, yet still far too many women are avoiding subjects like computer science and missing out on big opportunities.”
Why should young women see tech as the go-to industry?
“I firmly believe that technology can change people’s lives for the better. The industry is the future, and within it you can achieve all your dreams. I’m very proud to have chosen a career in tech and am excited about what the future holds.”
As we continue our series of interviews with leading Laiye women entrepreneurs, we turn to a candidate in our rapidly expanding EMEA operation. We recently announced a $50m investment to this market, rapidly setting up new offices and plans to hire hundreds of new staff in the UK and other key markets.
To get the inside view, we spoke to Janisha Ghale, Business Development, EMEA, Laiye to find out her thoughts on IWD and her achievements so far.
What inspired you to enter the technology industry?
“It was a mixture of experience, exposure and excitement for me. I first worked in lead generation & sales, and the forward thinking and constantly innovative space that exists within the tech industry was exciting for me, and I could see myself growing and evolving there.”
What have you been most proud of during your career?
“Definitely being hard working, persistent and thinking outside of the box. It’s been great to apply parts of myself and my personality in my work and use that to my advantage when and where I can.“
“There’s also always going to be tough times, but I think trusting myself and not being deterred has been really important for me too.”
What tips can you offer other women looking to follow in your footsteps?
“Don’t limit yourself. There are so many possibilities to what you can achieve and who you can be, as well as having the opportunity to get creative and explore options, so have faith in yourself and in your abilities, and trust that you got this!”
Why should young women see tech as the go-to industry?
“The tech industry has endless opportunities and is constantly evolving and growing. It makes it an exciting space to be a part of and grow in. You’ll really be making an impact in the world. Furthermore, it’s inspiring and important to have diverse women in tech so that no matter who you are, you have representation, a voice and footsteps to follow or be inspired from.”
Building a strong pipeline of women entrepreneurs is critical to building a diverse workforce, and HR and people management is critical to this process. In our third interview for International Women’s Day we spoke with Faridah Ahmed, HR Manager, EMEA at Laiye to find out more about her role, inspiration and thoughts about the technology industry.
What inspired you to enter the technology industry?
“Technology is constantly evolving, and the idea of being a part of the next big thing is really exciting, especially as you’re surrounded by smart, motivated people who always push to be better than yesterday!
“Like technology, people tend to evolve in this space, and it’s a huge opportunity to learn and be successful.”
What have you been most proud of during your career?
“I’m a huge advocate for diversity and inclusion, to implement gender neutral policies in my career has been a huge step forward for me in challenging the status quo”
What tips can you offer other women looking to follow in your footsteps?
“Be persistent and consistent with what you want to achieve in this space.”
Why should young women see tech as the go-to industry?
“Only 20% of women around the world are in the tech space, that a very small percentage compared to our male counterparts. For companies to scale and encourage innovation, women’s input is very crucial as we can add a different perception to achieving business goals. This encourages better collaboration and may help change the status quo.”
