Over the course of my career so far, I have perfected the art of butting in. It’s not a skill I necessarily anticipated needing when my work in ad tech was taking off, but it was soon clear that if I was to have the sort of positive impact on the industry that I wanted to have, it would be an essential part of my toolkit. 

I have a lot to offer my industry, but it has taken a superhuman effort to be heard in meetings and cross-industry groups. Yes, it might be a generalisation, but men, who make up the majority of this industry, seem to have an enviable in-built confidence and I quickly learned I would need to prove my worth. 

While at times it has been hard to find my voice in this space, today I feel I have earned my credibility. I have butted in enough that now people look to me first, inviting my opinion. It is still an internal struggle as I battle the doubts and the stereotypes that being a young Indian woman in ad tech brings, but I have confidence in my expertise and know the value that I add when I am heard. 

Inspired by others

Part of what has helped me gain the confidence I have today is taking inspiration from other women in our industry. So, on International Women’s Day, I would like to celebrate three women who inspire me every day. Not people I have seen on stage, or whose TED Talk I have watched, but women who have impacted my career in a hugely positive way through their behaviour, their actions and their attitude. 

The first is Chloe Grutchfield, Founder of RedBud. Chloe is a woman who is not only an incredible fount of knowledge but shares that knowledge in such a powerful way. In creating RedBud she has devised a technology that helps companies understand one of the trickiest and most sensitive topics they’ve had to deal with, GDPR, and she has done it in such an admirable way. 

Sometimes in ad tech you’re the only woman in the room, or one of just a few, and you begin to doubt how qualified you are to be there. Chloe has never failed to brilliantly represent the value of women in adtech in these scenarios, owning conversations and presentations, delivering technical themes in a way everyone can understand and doing great things to drive forward the role of women in that environment. 

Speaking up

Next up is the inimitable Kiessé Lamour, Head of Industry at Pinterest. In her previous role, as Omnicom’s Head of Digital Operations and Brand Safety, Kiesse handled the agency’s brand safety strategy brilliantly. As a Black woman confronting the complexity of issues such as keyword blocking, Kiesse is one of the first people I heard talking about ethnic discrimination in brand safety strategies, and it was eye-opening, a hugely valuable insight from someone who was on both sides of the situation. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind on something that is considered a sensitive topic and that is a powerful quality, regardless of gender. 

Kiesse tackles the issue head on, with her wonderfully direct style. She recognises and works to address the discriminations that she may experience as a woman in this business, but there’s no way she’s going to let that hold her back, and I get a lot of inspiration from that. 

Finally, I must take a moment to acknowledge the influence that Karen Eccles, Innovation Director at The Telegraph, has been to me over the past few years. Karen has a brilliant way of being able to take a concept filled with many complicated intricacies and speak about it so proficiently, so concisely and in a way that makes it so simple to understand that I am forever in awe. Quite simply she has a brilliant brain. Our industry is complicated and hard to get your head round and coming across people who truly understand it are few and far between. 

Going against the grain of expectation

This trio is just a snapshot of the brilliant women who are slowly changing the make-up of ad tech. Every day I am inspired by the way they get across their message, going against the grain of expectation and ensuring their voice is heard so that all of ours can be heard too.

The industry’s attitude towards women is shifting rapidly and I am thrilled to be one of the lucky ones who is doing a job they love in an industry about which they are passionate. I know now I have battled to gain attention from my peers, and have proved my value, I will be OK. 

But I hope that those women who are still trying to get their foot in the door will seek out the inspirational ones among us and enjoy the benefits of the change that is happening under our noses. One day I hope to be the reason another woman feels confident to stand up and speak up, and that by then they are no longer in the minority.