Women leading tech with grit and vision

Innovation is the currency of today, but inclusion, is its engine. Stories about women in technology—those who lead at scale and with intent but also transform cultures and systems—are still too rare. A quiet revolution is happening, though. Across industries and continents, there are women leading change in technology, and replacing the status quo with awesome combinations of determination, authenticity, empathy and deep technical expertise.

This is more than simply a story about diversity. It is about rebuilding the elements of the structures that have traditionally kept women locked out of senior roles in technology, and the women who are doing it.

To fully mobilize women leading in technology requires more than motivating words, it requires systemic change. Mentorship and sponsorship, are both powerful enablers, that give guidance, navigate road blocks and provide role models. The call to action for women leaders is to get organizations to assign stretch assignments early in their careers, support new risk taking, and fund women’s upskilling that specifically includes leadership and deep technical knowledge.

The structural work to be done can be impactful as well. Providing open pathways to career promotion, removing biases in hiring and promotion will be essential. Policies that enable flexibility in work, cultures that support women “returning” to work and value openness of women’s voices throughout the process will also be important.

And technology can be a critical factor too. AI-enabled tools that help reduce bias and data-driven assessments that track diversity metrics can help to ensure accountability and a measurable output for progress.

From Wall Street to DeepTech

Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO of BCT Digital, built her leadership muscle in the crucible of Wall Street, where numbers did the talking. But it was in technology—across firms like Accenture, HCL, and eventually her own enterprise—that she found the sweet spot of impact and innovation.

Vaidhyanathan’s belief is radical in its clarity: stop treating women in tech as a "diversity initiative." Instead, treat them as business assets. “Too often, we talk only about soft skills like empathy or resilience. What’s missing is recognition of the deep technical expertise women bring—AI, enterprise architecture, engineering,” she says. “Women are not just capable of leading teams. They’re architecting the future.”

At BCT Digital, she has institutionalized this philosophy—by pairing women with technical mentors, giving them visibility in engineering forums, and ensuring career development tracks are not skewed toward managerial roles alone. “We need to stop asking if women can lead,” she says, “and start recognising how brilliantly they already do.”

Engineering without apology

For Srividhya Srinivasan, Co-founder and Chief Customer Success and Innovation Officer at Amagi, the journey into tech leadership began not with an invitation, but with resistance. “Sometimes, men don’t even look through your eyes during meetings,” she reflects—one of the countless microaggressions that often signal women’s outsider status in engineering-led boardrooms.

Srinivasan's strategy was not to protest but to outperform. In founding Amagi—a leader in cloud-based broadcast technology—she had to consistently prove her competence in rooms where her presence was often underestimated. “I dismissed gender as a limiting factor and focused on solving problems as a tech professional,” she says. It wasn’t about being the best woman in the room; it was about being the best engineer.

Her story is a familiar one for many women who chart their path in STEM: build credibility through output, challenge perceptions through results. But Srinivasan believes real change needs more than individual resilience. “Mentorship is critical,” she notes, pointing to the power of guidance and example in shaping the next generation of women tech leaders. “More than guidance, it shapes careers—it’s a long-term investment.”

The Exit that became a launchpad

Sometimes bias doesn’t shout; it whispers behind closed doors. For Heather Dawe, Chief Data Scientist and Head of Responsible AI at UST UK, that whisper came as a suggestion: “Instead of applying for a Director role, maybe consider spending more time with your family.”

It was a moment that could have derailed a career. Instead, it became her pivot. Dawe went on to run a startup before assuming her current role, bringing with her not only advanced technical skill but also a vision for ethical, inclusive AI. “Empathy and emotional intelligence are powerful tools in tech leadership,” she says, qualities she believes many women bring to the table—and which too often go unrecognized in traditional performance metrics.

Dawe doesn’t mince words when it comes to the cultural challenges of representation. “This is a chicken-and-egg problem,” she says. “The fewer women in senior tech roles, the fewer visible role models exist, and so the cycle continues.” Structural changes—like improved parental policies, mentorship, and unbiased evaluation systems—are part of the fix. But visibility, she argues, is just as vital.

Breaking the silence of the boardroom

At Coforge, Preeti Singh leads with boldness—but that boldness was forged early. “I was one of only 13 women in a batch of 1,000 engineering students,” she recalls. That early exposure to imbalance didn’t intimidate her. Instead, it lit a fire.

Singh’s leadership journey began in banking, a sector that rarely offered women front-row roles in leadership. When she transitioned to technology consulting, she discovered cultures more attuned to merit over convention. That shift propelled her into global roles—including high-stakes client turnarounds and M&A transitions. “When I joined Coforge, I was asked to lead sales for our largest acquisition within weeks,” she says. “It was a risk, but also a signal of trust. That changes everything.”

For Singh, nurturing future women leaders means giving them the same kind of stretch opportunities—and removing the assumption that motherhood or family automatically slows ambition. “Resilience, adaptability, and collaboration are our superpowers,” she says. “But we need cultures that reward those—not just recognize them.”

What needs to change—and who needs to lead It

Each of these stories converges on a singular truth: real transformation demands more than opportunity. It requires intent.

Culturally, the narratives that define tech leadership must expand to include empathy, multidimensionality, and non-linear career paths. “We must challenge the legacy belief that tech is masculine,” Vaidhyanathan insists. Visibility is not vanity—it is validation.

Structurally, companies must develop policies that reflect real lives: flexible work, re-entry pathways, global mobility, and non-biased performance metrics. Singh points to the need for “transparent promotion paths that recognize lateral moves and stretch assignments.”

Technologically, the tools to enable inclusion already exist. Remote work platforms, AI-based talent analytics, and continuous learning ecosystems can create the flexibility and visibility women need to thrive—regardless of geography or life stage.

But perhaps the biggest change, as Srinivasan suggests, is internal: seeing yourself not as an exception, but as the rule-in-the-making. “Look at problems as a professional first, not as a woman,” she says. “When you lead with competence, the world eventually catches up.”

Cultivating a culture of inclusion and innovation

Cultural transformation remains the bedrock of progress. Challenging legacy stereotypes that link tech leadership exclusively with masculinity is essential. Visibility of women leaders in senior roles provides aspirational role models and normalizes diverse leadership styles. Organizations must foster inclusive mindsets at every level, reinforced by accountability, training, and an environment that celebrates difference.

Education and early exposure to STEM for girls build a strong pipeline of future women leaders. Encouraging exploration, learning, and real-world problem solving in technology can ignite a lifelong passion and confidence in young women.

As Srividhya, Heather, Preeti, and Jaya’s experiences show, women are ready to lead, innovate, and transform. The time is now to redesign the system—not just to break the glass ceiling but to build an entirely new structure where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

The Future of Tech is Not Neutral—It’s Diverse by Design

Women aren’t just shaping companies—they’re reshaping expectations. The next generation will inherit not only their achievements but also the courage it took to get there.

In a world where innovation demands every ounce of creativity, intellect, and empathy we can muster, can we afford to leave half the talent on the sidelines? The answer, as these stories make clear, is not just no—it’s a resounding never again.

Because the future of tech is not neutral. It is diverse by design, inclusive by choice, and visionary by necessity.