My passion for technology was born when I started my internship at IBM while attending NC State and after graduation, I never looked back. I moved to Silicon Valley and started my IT career and it just flourished from there.  I started off working in Market Research, Software Licensing, IT Consulting and now selling Big Data, Cloud and AI/ML project-based work.

Along my career, I have learned a few things that helped me and hopefully can empower other women:

1. Have confidence in yourself. As women, we are sometimes our worst enemies thinking we aren’t good enough or that we don’t know enough. But we are enough, and we have to start to believe in ourselves.
2. Don’t give up! Sometimes as working moms, we feel like we can’t meet the demand of work and our families especially our children. It takes extraordinary grit, perseverance, and triumph to success to stay in the game. Choose yourself. You are worth it!
3. Recognize and support other women in technology. Get involved and become role models and mentors to each other. We need to coach the next generation of females to get educated in STEM, Computer Science, and Engineering.
4. Be the change- Unfortunately, the presence of women in technology in the 21^st century has not changed much during my career. A lot of times, I am the only female in a meeting with other male peers, but I don’t let that hold me back. Keep your head up high and be your authentic self. Challenge and drive change.
5. Surround yourself with the winners with other talented women. Find likeminded allies with whom you can build a professional and personal bond.

I will end with this quote for International Women’s Day- “She believed she could, so she did”- R.S. Grey

Hello to all my fellow women colleagues at Abzooba, wish you all a very Happy Women’s Day. On this occasion I would like to share my experiences of being a working mother & balancing my work with family life. In my opinion there is never going to be a perfect balance between work life & family life, but it is always about the priority. We have to prioritize depending on time and life phases. It is never difficult for me to decide my priorities at times, so I think my life is well balanced. Here the credit goes to my family.

Being from a well to do educated family, working or my career was never opposed. In fact, they have supported and motivated me in every possible way. Not only my parents but my husband & in laws are also very encouraging. I am indeed lucky to have such an understanding family. Just to tell you one incident – I got an opportunity to a have business visit to USA for a month in the year 2015 in my previous company. My daughter was only 2 years old at then. So, I was hesitant to go and was literally fighting with my manager for the same. At that time my mother-in-law messaged me “Don’t let go this opportunity. Don’t worry about Ira, I will manage everything here.” It was so touching, and it uplifted my spirit & my confidence. So, in a way I owe my career to this amazing strong woman- my Mother-in-Law.

My career also has helped to inculcate many values in my daughter, few being punctuality, independent thinking, taking right decision by considering several possibilities, value of money & savings and value of time that we spend together.

Since last year, this Corona has pressed a very different life onto all of us, everybody is working from home. This itself is a different challenge, focusing on work when family members are around, especially kids. I live in a joint family with 2 kids at home. They are shouting, playing, eating, their online schools, their emotional tantrums, it is all different & difficult. On top of that my daughter was so happy when WFH started because she used to think that now I am available for her any time since I am at home. So, I had to make her understand that even though I am at home I am not available all the time & I am working. It was difficult initially but after few months she understood and now it is going on smoothly.

My colleagues at Abzooba, I would say Abzooba family also plays a very important role in this whole life balancing act. They all, especially my team, supports me so well that I can attend all important events & emergencies well & work in an encouraging environment. Everyone at Abzooba is very approachable and I feel I can easily share my problems with anyone, especially girls from the HR team, they are all superb. They are all concerned about my well-being and tries to understand the problems. I am lucky again to have them. Thanks to my destiny which allowed me to land into Abzooba and then many thanks to Abzooba family for being so understanding & providing opportunities to grow while allowing me to manage my home as well.

“Where are Ivaana’s Jammies?”, my husband asked. “Second stack from the left, back row.”, I responded, while trying to get my daughter out of her day clothes. A swift memory crossed my mind when a hiring manger would ask where we would get a certain skilled candidate from, and I would instantly respond with the same clarity.

Whenever I pondered, how many people really love what they do? The answer was… only a few! Well, I was one of them. The urge to re-unite with my better half moved me to Texas last year, only to take me away from a thriving career in India. The relocation was followed by the blessing we received from the heavens above in the form of our daughter and the entire world bombarded me with the quirks like “What a perfect time to plan a baby, you get to be with her all the time without job. You would be a complete Mom!”. Little did they know this Mom was incomplete without her pre-baby identity and was seeking an opportunity to get back into the game as soon as she could. The day my bub turned 6 months old, I ensured the world knew that this passionate hunter was hunting for a job.

After a few weeks, this opportunity knocked on my door and I was intrigued. The name excited me first, followed by the technology landscape that Abzooba has gained expertise in. The challenging role totally enticed me even further and the current work from home scenario just fit the bill. I was promised an unlimited opportunity space to deliver and develop the Recruitment function soaring it to new heights. Less than 6 months into the organization, and I can already see that none of the promises were false. I am a proud Abzoobian already and feel lucky to be part of this workplace, that offers nothing but Excellence and Equality. Here is a shoutout to all working mothers for whom the work-life balance seems impossible, yet you make it possible. For the others, I want to remind you all that you won’t get THERE by wishing for it, or hoping for it, but by working for it! Work Hard, Stay Positive and Make it Happen. Choose to Challenge! Last, but not the least, all women are working women… Only a few are salaried. As Marilyn Monroe said, “We are all Stars and we deserve to Twinkle”.

When we talk about experience, we talk about the journey and the ongoing journey towards the destination. My journey before Abzooba was a “bitter sweet symphony”. Womens’ existence in this society is no mystery to anyone and so has been mine. Time and again people and situations have made me realise that though India and Indians are liberal on pen and paper, Freedom is not something given to a girl or a woman without asking for it. “Feminism” Has quite not been my thing because I don’t like putting this in boxes and categories. I think it’s devaluing someone. But I am a firm believer in equality- it breaks boundaries.

But since Abzooba, my life has been different, adapting to its culture was like sipping a banana smoothie. I didn’t have to worry about or question my acceptance after stepping into Abzooba premises. All this time, all the horrible corporate sector stories I have had ears on seemed fainting away. The working culture in Abzooba is not derived by any gender discrimination, or age, or race, or religion but your talent, your inclusion and a motivation to grow. In my opinion this is what is meant by Equality – an equal opportunity. This is just a story of one workplace, but as I came across other workplace stories from my friends, the stories didn’t seem much different than mine. I write today with a hope, to reach far beyond the “so called” boundaries. I say – We come and experience on our own, rather than believing in others’ stories, lets create our own.

Abzooba…. It’s a merely a name of an organization for others! However, it means much more to us, the Associates of Abzooba, the ‘Abzoobians’, if I may call us. For me, the feeling is no different. I have joined Abzooba in Dec 2015 and the energy is still high. There has not been any dearth in learning and growing since then. There has been an immense opportunity to get exposed to new and fascinating challenges, to explore new areas of analytics, learn and implement new techniques and tools to enhance one’s analytical capability. I hope to grow with Abzooba being a part of this fascinating family every day!

From my perspective, Abzooba is a great place to work. Its collaborative culture and transparent management style are commendable. Abzooba lets you make decisions and provides you with ample opportunities to develop yourself. This keeps me charged and motivates me to come to work each day.

I have almost grown with Abzooba being associated with it for quite some time. I had a scope of working on a variety of areas that has enhanced me as a professional and has given me flexibility and adaptability to deliver as per requirement. Moreover, Abzooba has an amazing work environment where you do not need an extra effort to bond with the person sitting next to you.

Abzooba has given me a good opportunity to work on different challenging projects. There is always a scope to learn here and interactions with the SMEs are the fun part as the people working here are very approachable.

There is a sense of freedom in this organization to enhance yourself as a professional, a person, a community which has created a profound effect on my life. Also, the one-to-many relation and bonding among each of the cubicles is probably so rare in any corporate organization. This is the real charm of the Abzooba Ecosystem.