Ghazal Asif Farhadi, VP of Global Channels at Rubrik, underscores the significant barriers women face in tech, including gender bias and lack of representation. Industry leaders share strategies for fostering inclusion and gender equality.
What do you see as the most significant barriers that still prevent women from reaching leadership positions in the tech industry?
Gender bias and a lack of representation are the two biggest challenges for women in the tech industry. The scarcity of women in leadership roles in the tech industry reinforces preconceived notions of women’s abilities to climb the ladder and the lack of visible role models for women to look up to. The combination creates a perception that the tech industry is challenging to break into.
I’ve always strived to foster an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, emphasizing the importance of diversity and equality. I’m pleased to say that direction is supported throughout the Rubrik organization.
In your experience, what strategies have been most effective in creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace for women in tech?
Diversity and inclusion have always been important to me, and I want to help create environments where everyone feels empowered to speak up and contribute. In my role, the most effective strategies have included promoting equity and inclusion by implementing fair hiring practices, which means that our final-stage candidates should always reflect diverse groups.
We’ve achieved a 33% representation of women in our channel organization at Rubrik, and ensure they have the opportunities and support to reach their full potential with us.
In addition to contributing to talent retention and growth, I strive to foster an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, emphasizing the importance of diversity and equality within our organization.
How do you believe the tech industry can better support the career advancement of women, especially in fields like AI and cybersecurity, where women are significantly underrepresented?
The cyber security space is rich with opportunities across Engineering, R&D, Sales, Marketing, Leadership. The rate of change in the technology and businesses that drive them is like lightning. The space is ever-changing and cyber security and AI are at the forefront of technology, societal and economic change. The tech industry must address the broader issue of skills training and the mis-match between the rate of technology change and ensuring teams are up to speed and trained accordingly. There is a huge opportunity here in the broadest sense, for businesses around the globe to support young girls in school and train women at all stages in their careers to entice them into long-standing and enjoyable careers in tech.
How has your own career journey been influenced by the women who have inspired you, and what lessons have you learned from them?
In my career I have met some incredible leaders who have inspired me, including Selin Song at Google. Selin was a very astute leader who understood the importance of data-driven decisions and taking an iterative approach to making progress. She always said “progress not perfection” which means the focus should be on taking steps towards agreed goals, rather than waiting for a perfect plan before proceeding.
Also I would like to mention Remona Ji our Senior Director for Channel Strategy & Operations at Rubrik. Remona has taught me the importance of thinking through the downstream impact of decisions. With my natural bias for action and speed, this has helped me tremendously in building muscle around better planning and awareness on how decisions impact the team.
On International Women’s Day, what message would you like to share with young women considering a career in technology?
Technology shapes every aspect of our lives, and women should feel inspired to be part of it. This industry isn’t just about coding—there are opportunities in product management, cybersecurity, AI, UX design, sales, and more.
While challenges exist, companies are actively working toward inclusivity, and diverse perspectives are more valuable than ever. Explore different roles, seek mentors, and find companies that align with your values. Whether you want to build, innovate, protect, or connect, there’s a place for you in tech. Your voice matters, and the opportunities are limitless.
Beyond celebrating International Women’s Day, what concrete actions do you believe companies and individuals should consistently take to champion gender equality in tech throughout the year?
Championing gender equality in technology requires consistent, concrete actions from both companies and individuals. For businesses, I believe there are three key strategies to promoting gender equality:
- Redefining recruitment policies to ensure the eradication of any unconscious bias
Rubrik trains our interviewers to recognize and mitigate bias. As a company, we evaluate the inclusivity of language used on our job postings to ensure women see themselves reflected in the opportunities that we post. - Promoting Inclusive and supporting working environments
At Rubrik, we offer flexibility for all our teams. Our offerings include flexible working hours and time off for volunteering, which many women will use to mentor others or volunteer in their communities and at their children’s schools. - Ensuring internal teams are continually developed
We also focus heavily on investing in the development of our own workforce through internal and external leadership and skill-building programs and experiences. For example, we host quarterly development days for employees to unlock their full potential.