Saluting Fearless Women on International Women's Day

In honor of International Women’s Day, focused on the theme of “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” some of Zinier’s own #fearlesswomen shared their inspirations (along with a few of Zinier's #fearlessmen):

Tania Rendic, head of operations, gave her salute to Michelle Obama: “She is a #fearlessowoman, not only in her public life but at home. Watching her interviews are captivating as she shows her tenacity, sense of humor, and motherly instinct, as well as being a supportive wife.”

Anahita Seyedin, accounting manager, says that “when I am thinking of #fearlesswomen, our modern-day heroes, I can't not stop thinking of brave Iranian women who risk their life for freedom! They truly are my inspiration this year!“

Tina Truong, business operations and strategy manager, says that “when I think fearless, I think of my mom. She and my dad immigrated to America during the Vietnam War and didn't speak a word of English before they got here. Growing up, I saw her fearlessly navigating the unknown – learning as much English as she could, figuring out trivial things like how to file tax forms, and doing everything she could to provide the best life and opportunities for us. To ensure we had more opportunities, my mom stressed the importance of technology literacy and made sure we had access to a computer from an early age, which helped me become the tech-savvy person I am now.”

Minakshi Gutgutia, Zinier’s VP of finance, has “always been enamored by the courage and determination of India's #fearlesswoman, Kiran Bedi. Kiran Bedi is an Indian social activist, former-tennis player who became the first woman to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service.”

Some of Zinier's #fearlessmen also weighed in with thoughts about the women who inspire them:

• Engineering manager Animesh Shrivastava says that "When i think of #fearlesswomen, the first name that comes to my mind is of Savitribai Phule. Savitribai became the first woman teacher of India when India was struggling with several issues like casteism, gender discrimination. After getting married to Jyotirao Phule at the age of 9, she was educated by him and later she used that education to fight inequality, graded patriarchy, and social oppression."
• Co-founder and chief product officer Andrew Wolf is inspired by his sister Katharine Wolf. "A trailblazing entrepreneur with a big heart and an even bigger mission, Katharine has been fighting to help women who believed that they would never have a voice, opportunity, or a job, to grow and make an impact. Katharine’s company Odetta is an online work platform that provides an all-female workforce the opportunity to work from home according to their own hours, within a vibrant community of women committed to succeeding on their own terms."
• CEO Prateek Chakravarty raises a question: "Why just one day to celebrate women in our lives and societies? I strive to reach a stage where we don't need ONE day to remind us of your importance in our lives and to this world. Every day is a reason to celebrate."
• And Rakesh Sharma also notes that gender equity in the tech sector is especially overdue given that we all owe a debt to Ada Lovelace, who wrote the first computer program back in the 19th century.

Want more inspiration to celebrate and embrace gender equity? Start here.