Monica Bajaj is a Senior Director of Engineering and Product at Workday focused on building Workday’s Community which is leveraged by our customers, partners and Workday employees As an Engineering leader, she has always been focused on building high performing globally distributed Engineering teams aligning with developer productivity, product delivery, and customer satisfaction.
In 2020 she was nominated as the Top 60 Women technical leaders to watch by the Girl Geek X Community. She serves as a Board Member and Chief Compliance Officer for WomenInLocalization, a global non-profit organization focused on Women mentorship and localization activities. She is also an active mentor on Plato and Everwise.
Especially for the WomenTech Network, Monica agreed to give an interview and share her story.
Are you excited to be among the speakers at the WomenTech Global Conference 2021 and what motivated you to join our community of 100 000 women in tech, minorities, and allies?
Definitely, Women Tech 2021! is going to be a great opportunity for several of us to be able to share and learn from our experiences and make this Community stronger than ever. With the world being virtual, the opportunities are limitless. Over the years, I have been blessed to work with great leaders and had amazing mentors. It is time to give back, support others and build a more diversified, inclusive and thriving network where everyone has an equal opportunity to grow. I am also excited about the technical tracks around Emerging Technologies and Product, UX and Design and learn more about designing products with an inclusive mindset.
Share with us about your background, your journey in tech, and what inspired you to develop your career in this direction?
I grew up in India in a city called Indore and did my high school and Undergrad in Computer Science. Math and Science was always the boys club during that time. My family’s support was incredible which led me to pursue Math and later into Engineering. Every step I took in my career, me and my family were being questioned if this was the right thing for me. My mom always taught me “Dream big and work hard”. Fighting against all odds, I went for my Masters at IIT, Mumbai and it was the game changer for me. I was the first female engineer in my entire family. Growing up, I always loved challenges and doing things out of norm.
Initially I started my career as a faculty in Computer Science. I had a dream to work in the Silicon Valley and that dream led me where I am today. 22 years back, I moved to the US and started working as a Software developer. In my engineering leadership roles, I had an opportunity to build and scale global engineering teams. My prime focus has always been facilitating creativity, collaboration, and camaraderie - all in the service of customer value. In order to build cool products and strong engineering teams, it is important to bring the business acumen and technology together. I love mentoring, coaching and investing in people (technically and in leadership roles) whether it is at work or as a volunteer where I am able to learn and give back both at the same time.
Who would you advise to attend the Global Conference and why?
Women Tech Global conference is one of the largest conferences where people will be coming together to share their experiences, thought leadership and the latest technology trends. This platform can also showcase various roles that women in tech can play in their career and create an excitement about a plethora of opportunities. This is a great venue to build a network, listen to these powerful stories and understand that you are not alone in this journey. We are a PACK. We can make this Community much stronger than ever.
As a part of this conference, there are multiple tracks around leadership, technology and networking. As we continue to grow in our careers, we tend to get hard on ourselves. I will be speaking on how important it is to love, promote and define yourself . “Love , Lead and Be Yourself”. As Brene’ Brown has said “ Loving ourselves through the process of owning our story is the bravest thing we'll ever do”.
Get your ticket to WomenTech Global Conference in June 2021 to enjoy Monica's talk and learn from other inspiring speakers.
