Hybrid work is both an opportunity and challenge for women: Daisy Chittilapilly, Cisco

The overwhelming dependence on technology since the pandemic has posed challenges for many women in tech. Daisy Chittilapilly, President, Cisco India and SAARC believes that men can play an important part in the discourse around increasing participation of women in the technology industry. In an interview, Chittilapilly said while hybrid work does have its advantages, it also requires adjustment and recalibration for women in technology. Edited excerpts:

What according to you are some of the challenges women techies are facing, especially in the senior roles?

Technology opens up a lot of opportunities, but one of the biggest challenges to keeping on top of emerging technologies is that the pace of change is too fast. This is difficult for everyone, and more so for women, with the kind of expectations our society has from them. The pandemic has obviously put a further twist in the tale, with more women taking breaks, which otherwise they wouldn’t have. 

Hybrid is both an opportunity and a challenge. It brings with it the challenges of integration into a mainstream workforce, the challenges of working remotely if the rest of your team is in the office. We've not really figured out the best way to include remote participants in work, so there are basic changes and new work models, whether that's the gig economy or hybrid. So a lot of the changes spell both opportunity as well as a period of adjustment and recalibration for women in technology.

Which tech skills or job roles do women engineers find more challenging and why?

I don't think it’s specifically for women, but there's a massive shortage of digital skills worldwide in the new-age skills. No different in India either. 

Areas like artificial intelligence, cyber security, automation – these and more are all emerging areas. There is a general paucity of skills and understanding on these topics.

How can women tech executives overcome these challenges? How can companies help?

Firstly, it is the responsibility of any workplace or society to create an environment that is equitable for all participants. Promoting equity, diversity and inclusion is the founding bedrock for women's progress. 

I also strongly believe, men should be made a key part of this discourse. So on one side is a conversation by women for women, but on the other side is also this conversation about allyship, which needs to go hand in hand for any initiative around equity for women to become real and sustainable – all these should go hand-in-hand for greater participation and success of women in tech real and sustainable.

As a woman tech leader, have you faced any challenges at the workplace that you would like to share?

Dismissing your credibility without having any experience of it, is a very common thing that happens to women in this industry. So you have to come with sort of a bullet proof armor of capabilities and expertise. 

Then, there are people who will judge you, make assumptions, or even dismiss you even before they get to know your capabilities and expertise. You can just let your work speak for yourself or just speak up for yourself without losing your calm.

What is your mantra for aspiring women leaders in tech?

I think communication is a very critical skill, whether you are a tech leader or assume any leadership role. A leader is a good communicator and provides clarity. Because, most people when they are unsure of what they want to do, they are unsure of what the direction is, they look up to somebody they consider a leader and a role model, and look to that person for clarity in terms of what to do. So. I think leaders have to provide clarity. 

They have to have great conviction in their ideas, and what they are advocating for. And they have to have courage. Finally, the willingness to learn, unlearn and relearn and change course is necessary today in this fast-paced world of technology changes.