Beyond the Status Quo: Shuchi Sharma's Vision

Beyond the Status Quo: Shuchi Sharma’s Vision for a More Inclusive Tech World

Shuchi Sharma's career journey is a testament to the power of adaptability, purpose, and a commitment to creating equitable spaces. "I've never been someone who's satisfied with the status quo," she says. From her initial foray into science and healthcare to her current role as a leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Shuchi's story offers inspiration for women carving out their own unique space within the technology landscape.

When you meet Shuchi, it doesn’t take long to see a person with innovation woven into her very being. Even the way she entered the world of tech was novel. "I actually started my career in science," Shuchi revealed, specifically chemistry and biochemistry. However, a course in web programming during her time in healthcare policy management changed her trajectory. She was hooked by the potential for technology to amplify positive outcomes for broader populations. Shuchi followed this path into healthcare consulting, where she focused on strategy and process redesign before leading technical system implementations for large hospital systems.

Seeing the World through a Lens of Equity

Shuchi's background in healthcare management and policy gave her a unique lens to view the world through. As she advised healthcare organizations on how to extend healthcare to more people, she began to see everything through the lens of systemic and social barriers that impact access. "You have to think about language barriers, access to transportation, jobs, employment, housing," she explains. This equity-driven perspective would later become the cornerstone of her work in DEI.

Building a Community of Empowerment Abroad

While working in countries around the world, Shuchi observed glaring inequities for women in the workplace. "What can I do about this?" she asked herself, a challenge that led her to start an international organization dedicated to women's leadership and professional development. Driven by peer mentoring and bringing women together from different industries and walks of life, the organization quickly grew.

"What I saw coming out of the community we built really astonished me," Shuchi recalled. "I saw first and second order effects of women starting their own businesses, forging new partnerships, finding new jobs. Their lives were changing as a result of this community we've built." 

This experience solidified her commitment to DEI, but it wouldn’t be until her return to the United States that her day job would reflect the convergence of her passion for both transformation and inclusion.

The Intersection of Tech and DEI

Shuchi’s career entered a new phase when she was approached about a new role at SAP. Recognizing her expertise in strategic and digital transformation, Shuchi was pegged as a top candidate to lead their initiatives focused on gender equity and the advancement of women in the workplace. Energized by the prospect, Shuchi took this as an opportunity to bring two areas of her work and life together. And that’s how she transitioned into our Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office at SAP, where she spent five years making significant gains for women in the organization, before joining Red Hat.

Asked why it’s important to have the perspectives of women in the field of tech, Shuchi pointed out that "Historically, women have been behind most if not all positive social constructs."

Shuchi also shared several specific examples of how a woman’s perspective changed the status quo in a given field. Like the fascinating account of Latvian mathematician, Daina Taimina. It was 1997, and Daina sat down in a Cornell University workshop. Just two hours later, she had solved a problem that had stumped male counterparts for centuries. How? She used her knowledge of crocheting, a traditionally female skill, to create a physical model of hyperbolic space, a concept foundational to theories like relativity and various applications in data analysis, animation, and engineering. "As Daina Taimina demonstrated, when we exclude certain populations from participating in this work, we miss out on potentially transformative insights," notes Shuchi Sharma. Daina’s story exemplifies how unique, often overlooked, perspectives can offer groundbreaking solutions.

Practical Strategies for Inclusion

In Shuchi’s view, fostering a more inclusive work environment in tech companies—or any company for that matter—requires a multi-faceted approach. "We have to learn what it means to actually be allies to one another," she advises. "And it has to be woven into everything we do."

First, organizations must critically examine their existing systems and processes to be more inclusive. Shuchi underscores that the traditional workplace, based on military structures and hierarchies, no longer reflects the needs of the diverse makeup of today's workforce. "We've rarely paused to consider the workplace from the vantage points of diverse populations, let alone to approach it with empathy," she notes. "If we were to design the workplace from scratch today, it would feature amenities like on-site daycare, job-sharing options, and part-time opportunities to better serve the needs and responsibilities of all employees, including women and now more men who have a broader portfolio of caregiving responsibilities."

Building on this, Shuchi advocates for employing design thinking in DEI initiatives. Leveraging her expertise as a former design thinking coach, she stresses the critical role of empathy in design and the need for iterative solutions to address what she terms "the most wicked problems" in the realm of DEI.

Shuchi also emphasizes the importance of creating a culture that encourages open and honest dialogues. This involves cultivating a sense of belonging where everyone's voices are heard, valued, and recognized. Strategic communication, setting organizational values, and having policies that protect people from harm are all key components of a more hospitable workplace.

Lastly, she stresses the need for individuals to become allies to one another, calling each other in with compassion rather than calling each other out, especially in today's polarized society. "A lot of it is just helping people on their own journeys to reflect and understand that we go much farther together," punctuated Shuchi.

Balancing Work and Life

It’s no secret that women bear significant responsibilities beyond those related to work. When asked what her strategy is for maintaining a balanced life, Shuchi said, "Your choice of a partner is probably the most important career decision you'll ever make," echoing Sheryl Sandberg's advice. She credits her supportive partner as a significant factor in managing her work-life balance. She also advocates for outsourcing household tasks when possible and asking for and accepting help from family and friends.

Shuchi also credits the good fortune of having both of her children abroad. "In Germany, a woman is able to work part time for three years after she has kids, and I took advantage of that," said Shuchi. "If I hadn't, I probably would have stopped working."

I probably would have stopped working.

Thankfully, Shuchi was spared the false dichotomy of career and family, and the remarkable career she has had to-date is a living example of the criticality of her own work in the DEI space, bringing a woman’s perspective to rethinking the outdated systems and processes that keep women from reaching their full potential in the workplace.

Shuchi Sharma's story serves as powerful inspiration for women aiming to make a meaningful impact. Her dedication to DEI shows us that with a bit of empathy and a lot of determination, we can help create workplaces where everyone’s perspective is valued.

HERstory is The WIT Network’s series where we share interesting and inspiring career journeys of women in our community.  We welcome the opportunity to tell your story or someone you would like to nominate. Reach out to women@thewitnetwork.com if you have a great HERstory we should consider.