BENGALURU: With more and more industries working in synergy, it is one of the best times to be in the field of technology, more so for women. Padmasree Warrior, CEO of Fable, who was one of the key speakers at 10th Anniversary of Grace Hopper Celebration, said it is great to see women taking over the tech world, unlike the time when she started her career.
“When I went to IIT, there were hardly five or seven women in our class out of 150 students. It was intimidating for women to be a technical person in the industry. Back then, I felt like we have to prove ourselves all the time, our judgments were questioned quite often. I want to send out a message to all the women out there that I am there to support them and share my experiences so that they don’t make the same mistakes,” said Warrior, who studied chemical engineering from IIT Delhi.
Addressing more than 4,800 female techies who were present on the first day of the event that took place from November 6-8, Warrior said women are generally the worst critics for themselves, which is not necessary because “at the end of the day, everybody fails”. Warrior, who has been on the board of members for companies like Microsoft and Spotify, said, “There will be days when you will feel miserable but there will also be times when you will be amazed by your own abilities to go ahead and achieve things. My piece of advice is to be grounded and always look at the possibilities rather than the missed opportunities.” She also congratulated AnitaB.org for organising a such a big event .
Founded in 1997 by computer scientist Anita Borg, this organisation supports women who want to excel in the field of technology. Grace Hopper Celebration is an annual conference and Asia’s largest technical conference for women. Female techies from over 371 organisations like Microsoft, Amazon, JP Morgan travelled from 151 cities in India and the USA, the United Kingdom, Japan etc. to attend the three-day event.
Brenda Darden Wilkerson, president and CEO of AnitaB.org, said the aim is to make women aware of their potential and abilities. “There are so many women out there, especially in India, who are so well-educated and skilful. They underestimate the impact they can make in the field of technology. I love the sisterhood here, and the volunteers here have come up with something extraordinary like this to support each other,” she said.