At ITW Asia 2024, the Datacloud Asia stage hosted a thought-provoking panel featuring industry leaders: Sheetal Singh, senior manager of international data sales at e&, Kyle Hegarty, managing director of LeadershipNomad and Nimisha Tailor, a competition and regulation specialist at E-nomics.
The panel explored their journeys in navigating male-dominated industries, emphasising mental health, wellbeing and the value of diverse leadership perspectives.
The intimate, open discussion also featured conversations about the importance of gender representation in data centres and offered advice for women in leadership positions.
Attendees also discussed how men and women collaborate in different cultures, questioning if they are leveraging their skills in different locations around the world, and if not, why?
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One of the participants shared that having a buddy for a new hire can be a powerful way of integrating new talent into the organisation and the same buddy stays with them for six months.
Tailor, author of the The Female Digital Revolution added that mentoring women can be a great gateway to personal and professional development and "don't be afraid to have more than one mentor to help you with different things."
Speaking to emPOWERED, Tailor said: "The roundtable brought together women from different countries and different roles, we came as strangers we left as friends ready to empower each other."
Bridge Data Centers, VP of sales, Katie O'Hara, added: "Don't be the only woman at the top, bring others along with you".
BeoX, operations director, Alexandra Nepochataya Ermurat, added: "When hiring a new candidate, there are three qualities everyone should be looking for, 'hungry', 'humble' and 'smart', and finally my last piece of advice is to just smile, it is always a good idea'.
HerWorX founder, Donna Lorenzen, told emPOWERED: "Given the skills divide and significant talent shortages in the industry, organisations who wish to survive need to think differently by engaging with people, retraining and upskilling.
"Past experience supports aptitude, but it is this attitude that cements ones ability," she concluded.
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