An open letter of praise to employees who embody Women’s History Month, from Palo Alto Networks

For more than 200 years, women have been pushing barriers, speaking up, challenging expectations, and fighting on the frontlines of change. They’ve carried heavy burdens, lightened others’ loads, met and exceeded expectations. Yet they’ve often been relegated to the background, faced with prevailing inequities that still exist today. 

As former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who established the first National Women’s History Week in 1980, proclaimed, “Too often, the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed.” 

At Palo Alto Networks, we know there are no human rights, no freedoms, and no peace without the equality and development of women. This Women’s History Month, we recognize those who have paved the way as well as those who are still fighting for and representing women today. 

We see the thousands of employees who raise their hands and speak up to challenge the status quo, and we celebrate you. In honor of this year’s theme, Choose to Challenge, we asked our employees to nominate peers whom they see choosing to challenge, in big and small ways, and we address this open letter to sing their praises. 

To the women who strive hard to ensure that anything they know, they share with everyone. “If she opens a door,” said one employee, “she is sure to keep it open for anyone else … and if someone is hesitant, she’ll happily hold their hand.”

To the women who are “passionate advocate(s) for equality and social justice and an ally to all groups.”

To all the men who challenge stereotypes and biases and are advocates for women in the workplace. “I can’t think of many male leaders in my career who have ever promoted someone while they were out on leave, and I thought it spoke volumes about who he is as a leader. It didn’t matter that I had taken maternity leave; what mattered was my value to the organization … He has inspired me to be a better leader, challenge the status quo, and shatter any glass ceiling that gets in my way.”

To the female colleagues who encourage conversations around compensation. “Women fear speaking out about their compensation,” one female manager told a team member. “Do not feel awkward or ashamed to discuss what you feel is fair or right to you. Men do not fear discussing this, so don’t, for one second, doubt yourself when it comes to these very important matters.”

To the women who write blogs about returning to work after maternity leave, reassuring their colleagues that they, too, can successfully return and deliver results. “Being a mother is an additional power and brings a lot of good qualities not only in personal lives but also our professional lives.”

To those dedicated to programs designed to inspire and educate girls, such as the Girl Guides program. They are “doing the hands-on work to help mold the next generation of dynamic female leaders!”

To the woman who is “the most driven person I know,” whose “commitment to quality when no one is watching is inspiring … her capability, her passion, and her ability to create an environment that challenges the way things are.”

To the recruiter who “hunts for the best-of-the-best diverse candidates,” and who is eager to increase the diversity pipeline. “Her passion is representing the minorities and helping qualify, network, and share their best qualities to help them land outstanding opportunities.”

To the woman who “has been an incredible energy and force in challenging bias and inequality and raising the level of consciousness in our everyday lives. By not being silent but instead openly and constructively communicating, as well as being deeply aware, analytical, and articulate, she has influenced and become a role model for all around her.”

To the “inclusive leader with the unique ability to lead an international team of people of various nationalities and cultures … She is always leading us by example and very appreciative of the contributions of everyone involved.”

To the woman from a third-world, patriarchal culture who never had a choice but to challenge stereotypes. “I chose STEM education as I believed that women can contribute to tech just as men can. Despite all discouragements, I have continued my cause by mentoring my junior fellows and hoping to be the voice for those women for whom there are no advocates.”

To all the women who demonstrate integrity and character in every personal and professional interaction. They “break barriers and challenge the status quo while empowering, aligning, and inspiring those around them.”

To the vice presidents with transformational, result-oriented leadership styles who “fire up peers and team members with clear communication, meaningful engagements, and measurable goals, unleashing others’ competitive spirit.”

To every woman who is “committed to doing what she can to make her world a better place… She always does this with a smile, a chuckle, and an incredibly positive outlook.”

We dedicate this letter to all the women and men who inspired this letter by choosing to challenge themselves and those around them every single day:

Nicole Tate

Cait Grimm

Steve Januario

Sarita Dogra

Meghan Marks

Roshni Dattagupta

Nancy Yu

Carolina Peters

Elizabeth Wheeler

Shea Trautwein

Elina Vartanyan

Mehrnaz Amjadi

Lynette Owens

Sumita Sharma

Megan Wilson

We hope this inspires you to do your part, spread the message, and Choose to Challenge!

By Noy Yizchaki, Software Engineer

I started working for Palo Alto Networks in November 2019, joining the front-end team for Prisma Cloud Compute, part of Prisma Cloud, the company’s cloud-native security platform. Prisma Cloud secures the host, container, and functions across the application lifecycle and provides vulnerability management, compliance, and runtime defense.

I work with the team responsible for the user-interface functionality and visualization that enables the user to secure, monitor, and manage the application security. We take pride in our efforts to provide a unique user experience, creating most of our visual components ourselves while also being consistent in design with other aspects of the Prisma Cloud platform. We want to ensure that the experience we would like to have with the application is the one we offer the customer.

In the short time since joining the company, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the industry’s best technologies and talents. I have also learned so much about my field.

I was fortunate to conduct independent technology research as part of our migration to a new front-end framework. I was assigned to research a solution that can fit our styling demands. During this research, I consulted with other front-end teams at Palo Alto Networks — people with whom my team usually does not work — about their technologies. This research allowed me to get in-depth, front-end styling knowledge and have an impact on our product development. I appreciated the opportunity I received to cross-collaborate with others in the organization, gain new insights into technology, and make significant contributions to our product.

Why Palo Alto Networks?

I started my career in 2013, working as a software engineer and an endpoint security team leader. When I decided to go back into software development, I wanted to stay in the cybersecurity field. So the opportunity to work at Palo Alto Networks, a company on the front line of cybersecurity technology, was a perfect fit.

The technological aspect was an important one in my decision to join the company, but just as important was its workplace culture and the investment it makes in its employees.

In fact, Palo Alto Networks places a strong emphasis on employees’ professional and personal development and makes significant investments to provide it. The company offers various resources, courses, and workshops in a multitude of subject areas, so employees who would like to develop their skills in certain areas may do so. These resources are customized according to employees’ interests and knowledge levels so that the information provided is of value to employees. In my short time at the company, I was able to take part in several such courses and workshops. That enriched my knowledge and gave me tools beyond the scope of my work.

Palo Alto Networks’ Culture

Palo Alto Networks has a positive and welcoming culture. It is also an environment of empowerment — employees are encouraged to take full responsibility for their tasks rather than going through a hierarchy or being forced to remain locked in by titles or job descriptions. The company empowers employees to push themselves forward and places value on the sharing of different ideas. That ensures that employees feel heard and that their contributions matter.

Employees are an integral part of this positive culture. In every interaction I have had, professional or other, I have encountered a willingness among others to help as much as possible. There is a very comfortable working environment with a healthy feedback culture that advances and lets us help each other to grow professionally.

Palo Alto Networks is also committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace, which is why the company has implemented several programs, some to which employees can contribute, to ensure a more diverse industry in the future.

Since coming to  Palo Alto Networks, I have learned a lot about both cybersecurity technology and myself. I have been able to research new technologies, improve my presentation skills, and even publish my first blog post — all with company encouragement and support. For all these reasons, I highly recommend working for Palo Alto Networks.

By Dilruba Malik, Software QA Manager

My background is proof that if you work hard, reach for what you want, and refuse to become derailed by obstacles, you can have the career that you desire. Today, as an Engineering Manager, leading a highly talented software QA engineering team with Palo Alto Networks, I feel I am living the dream I have held since I was a child. 

I grew up in rural Bangladesh, where education is a privilege, not a right. But I had a dream that I would someday become an engineer. This goal would by no means be easy to reach, but I had learned early on that I would have to persevere and work extra hard if I were to achieve this goal. I put in many hours of studying, which helped me to take and score well on my college entrance exams. 

Just as I was beginning my studies at college, I had to move to the U.S. with my family. I didn’t speak any English, so here I was at age 21, working my way up from the bottom once again. Because I then had to support my family, I had to take a series of odd jobs, at times earning only $5 an hour, and I worked both day and night so that my younger brothers could complete their education. 

My first job in the U.S. was at McDonald’s, which gave me a great opportunity to interact with many Americans each day, which helped me to quickly pick up the English language. Eventually, I earned a promotion to assistant store manager. And though I had experienced a setback on the journey to reach my goal of becoming an engineer, I didn’t become discouraged — I knew in my heart that it would happen, but it just might take longer than I had wanted. My hard work paid off and I was accepted to Georgia Institute of Technology, where I earned an electrical engineering degree, all while continuing to work and support my family.

After years of hard work, I graduated from Georgia Tech, and I went on to secure engineering roles with several multinational companies, from Microsoft to Cisco, Hitachi Vantara, and, in May 2020, my current role with Palo Alto Networks. I also have been fortunate to be involved in Women in Tech, giving talks and sharing my story to hopefully inspire other women who face challenges. I have a great opportunity through this network to show others what is possible through vision and hard work.

Since joining this company a year ago, I feel I am where I belong. This is a company that welcomes and celebrates the many differing cultures and experiences that our employees bring. I have been welcomed wholeheartedly by my colleagues, despite (thanks to COVID) never having met them in person. In the short time I’ve been here, I have been empowered to introduce many new processes and allowed to bring positive changes that were inspired by my past experiences. This is a company where anyone can voice any concern without hesitation and always feel that you are working together as a very committed and engaged team. 

My experiences have taught me to appreciate what I have, to make do with very little, and to treat everyone with respect by understanding each individual’s unique challenges. You never know what someone else is going through or how a little support and encouragement can be just what that person needs to achieve their goal.  

As someone who still finds inspiration in challenge and pushing myself to the next level, I am happy to have found a role with Palo Alto Networks, a company that encourages this mindset and offers every employee the chance to take on new responsibilities and push boundaries to see what’s possible. And it makes every employee — no matter where they come from or what they’ve experienced — feel included and welcomed.

By Aneesha More, Senior Customer Success Engineer, Cortex

I grew up in Mumbai with the goal of studying engineering and becoming a hardware designer. I was fortunate to earn a bachelor’s degree in electronics and telecommunications in India — an opportunity that few women in India get to experience. In 2017, I moved to the United States to earn my master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University’s Silicon Valley campus. Upon graduation, I was ready to put my skills to test in the industry. I soon realized that getting a job wasn’t going to be that easy.

I was told by many that companies are more likely to hire if you are referred by an employee. I reached out to a friend who was working at an exciting cybersecurity company named Demisto and asked if he knew of any open positions. He suggested that I come to interview there. I was a little uncertain about entering an industry that I had little experience in. But I did my research and was fascinated by this product. I learned that in only three short years, Demisto had made huge strides in the area of cybersecurity automation. 

During my interview, I could see that they were extremely talented people, and I could also hear the passion in their voices. This made me even more excited. As I cleared the different stages of the interview process and was offered the job, I was thrilled about working with this amazing team on this dynamic product. I feel extremely grateful that my friend referred me to this role, and I have never regretted for one moment that I didn’t stick to electrical engineering.

Inclusive Culture

I was hired in August 2018, and seven months later, Demisto was acquired by Palo Alto Networks. I was apprehensive at first. After all, I had just joined Demisto, a company I loved, and I was worried about being able to keep my job, whether my team would remain intact, and whether the product would change. But, very soon, I realized that my current team and managers would remain the same, yet with Palo Alto Networks, we had a much larger presence and endless potential, so this incredible, small team now had an opportunity to shine on a much larger scale. 

Not only that, but the workplace culture was wonderful. The company had a true commitment to inclusion and diversity. As an early-in-career woman of color in tech, I appreciated the efforts being made to increase diversity and to discuss a lot of the issues people like me faced each day, which was extremely empowering. I could see how much the company’s leaders cared about their employees. 

For a while, I was the only female engineer on the Cortex XSOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) team. But even though the number of females has slightly grown, I definitely have, in the beginning of my career, been the only woman in the room during meetings and conferences, and I have experienced exclusion — albeit unintentional — which was difficult to navigate at first. But as I gained confidence in my work and the more I started talking, the more comfortable I felt asking questions. I think a lot of women worry about asking questions, but I felt like it was my moral responsibility to ask so that others would feel comfortable doing so as well. That was when I started making a place for myself. In my mind, if I’m asking a question worth answering, I have a presence on the team. I’m not fading into the background. I have a voice.

As I became part of Palo Alto Networks, I continued that practice. I was fortunate to have a lot of amazing mentors on the team (who happened to be men) who were extremely helpful and encouraging, and who happily answered those questions and taught me everything I know today. They made a real effort toward being inclusive, which is representative of how this company operates. In fact, my current manager invited me to be part of the hiring team, which I saw as a deliberate effort on his part to show that he cares about diversity on the team — having a woman engineer be a part of the interview process tells the candidate how we want our team to look, and that to me is very special. 

Though I don’t think anyone in tech sets out to exclude women, I think the gender gap happens early on, when recruiters are reaching out to new job candidates. Companies seek referrals from current employees they trust to fill open positions. So if there’s a majority of men, they will probably mostly know other men to refer, so the cycle continues. It’s hard for women to make a dent in that network. That’s why I think it’s so important for women to network with each other more than they do — and why we need more of us to share stories about our experiences and show what’s possible.

Nearly 50% of the world’s power is held by women, so without women in cybersecurity, think of the potential we’re missing! Women are multitaskers, with a temperament that enables us to navigate difficult situations calmly and respectfully, and often we can engage one on one with customers in a different, more empathetic way. In a role such as mine, which involves dealing with customers, those talents are crucial. Yet women often lack the confidence to apply for these roles. 

In fact, what I’ve seen is that if a job posting lists 10 qualifications, men who may not meet all 10 requirements are still more likely to apply anyway than women are. But you can’t get hired for a job you don’t apply for! So I encourage more women to seek out these roles and to be confident in their abilities. Believe in the value you bring to the workplace — this is a company that I know from personal experience will welcome it. 

**The Cortex Customer Success team is looking to bring in more diverse talent. Please check out our careers page for remote opportunities as Customer Success Manager, Customer Success Engineer, and Customer Success Architect roles. If you have a passion for technology and working with customers on cutting-edge products, we want to talk to you! We are hiring Cyber Ninjas all across the United States.**

By Catherine Yang, Customer Retention Manager, Greater China

Keep learning, keep exercising, and keep reading. This is my advice to women who are just beginning their careers in the information technology industry.

Keep Learning

I was born in Chengdu, which most people recognize for its giant panda research facility. I think I am also part of the first generation to begin using computers in China in the 1980s. My father, an engineer, even let me play games on his Apple computer, which I still remember was a shooting game.

The IT industry has experienced more tremendous, rapid change than any other in modern times. Just consider how many IT companies in the last few decades have come and gone. If nothing else, the lesson we should draw from this fact is that if you want to work in this industry alongside dynamic and creative people,  it’s vital that you keep learning and don’t become complacent. The industry is constantly evolving, and to remain successful, you must continue evolving with it. 

This learning may take place in formal school training programs or on the job. Personally, I began my career journey in IT with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. But soon after I began my career, I realized that I needed to be closer to the customer to get a real taste of the business. This made me pursue a Master of Business Administration degree, which expanded my knowledge and experience. It’s like a game of chess. You are not a chessman who only plays a particular role. It would be better if you understand the strategy as the chess player. Possessing market and business knowledge empowered me to have business insight. What I needed to do next was to learn on the job and accumulate experience.

On the job, my “teachers” are my colleagues and managers. I still appreciate my first manager in IT. His pursuit of excellence and commitment to constantly raising the bar earned him the distinction of becoming the youngest manager at the company. His focus, drive, and empathy for others impressed me deeply, and I believe these characteristics are what made him outstanding and successful.

Keep Exercising

It may seem unrelated, but I urge all women to keep exercising, not only keep you fit, but also because it makes you more energetic and vigorous. All the successful women I know in this industry take care of their bodies and minds because it gives them the energy to face the challenges of this industry, including rigorous negotiations or the occasional late night, as well as maintain a healthy work-life balance. 

One of my ex-colleagues, a sales director at a top security company, participates in marathons all over the country. Another, who is very elegant in aerial yoga, is an excellent product manager at a top SaaS company. I am a national third-level athlete and have been training in swimming since I was six years old. Even now, despite my busy schedule, I continue to exercise, playing badminton every week and going to the gym regularly. Healthy and positive living not only gives us a fuller, longer life, but it benefits our careers as well.

Keep Reading

An interesting soul is one in a million, which is why I always advise future IT professionals to keep reading. It will give you the ability to think independently. The answers and conclusions it will provide are important, but the intellectual processes that lead to them are even more important. Reading can expand your mind and force its growth, helping you to more efficiently identify problems and develop the methodology for solving them. I generally like to read history, politics, and biographies, but any reading will provide you with a growth mindset, which will improve your mind and benefit your career. Diversifying your reading list will give you the ability to look at the problem more holistically, which enables you to mitigate the risks, seize the opportunities, and foresee the future.

I face new challenges and opportunities everyday, especially since I have been appointed renewal manager of Greater China. It is a new role in the organization, one for which I am grateful, as it offers me the opportunity to lead the team to achieve higher goals. Timely and appropriate rewards are the tradition of the IT industry, but if we were to stop pushing when we accomplish our goals, we would not remain successful for long. We will always be setting new goals and reaching to achieve new heights. As long as I keep learning, exercising, and reading, I will not be afraid of any challenges and difficulties ahead.

I am very happy to have you join our team and grow with us.

By Ashwini Prasad Krishnamurthy, GSI Partner Manager, Singapore

I embarked on a career in technology sales and channel management in 2004. My Palo Alto Networks journey began in 2015 and I currently manage our strategic Global System Integrator (GSI) business across JAPAC. The pace at which we continue to evolve is exhilarating, and it’s indeed an opportunity of a lifetime to be a part of it! I am grateful for the wonderful colleagues that I have the pleasure of working with fulfilling our mission of becoming the cybersecurity partner of choice for our customers and delivering our vision of making each day more secure than the day before.

The fast pace of cybersecurity industry transformation brings with it growth challenges as well as several opportunities. I have often found it easy to handle any setbacks by always being guided by our vision, mission, and company values. 

In my early days at Palo Alto Networks, I managed a broad range of regional partners but have since pursued a very focused path in driving our strategic GSI business with our top global partners. These partnerships are highly instrumental in delivering long-term business value to our most critical customers by continually delivering innovation to enable secure digital transformation — even as the pace of change is accelerating. 

Choosing to Challenge

As a core member of the JAPAC Women’s Networking Committee, I am honored to manage our “Industry Partnerships and Development” engagements and lead purposeful programs that help women connect, inspire, educate, and empower each other through personal and professional development, networking, and community involvement.

I have had the privilege of initiating our company’s very first Lean In Circles in 2020, which have since expanded globally with over 10 circles and 60 members, and those numbers are growing.  Each Lean In Circle is made up of a group of peers who meet regularly to support each other, seek advice, learn new skills, and grow together in an atmosphere of confidentiality and trust. Since the inception of Lean In, I have ensured that our participating members take turns to facilitate our engagements, and this has proven to be a very powerful initiative in empowering the team and growing leadership skills organically within our organisation. 

Recently, I had the honor of leading an early education program in cybersecurity for young girls in Singapore, in partnership with Accenture Security, our strategic GSI partner. We introduced our basic level 1 cybersecurity program to 112 Girl Scouts from both international and local schools ranging in age from 5 to 16 (grades K-12). Our young leaders can’t wait to take up the intermediate and advanced cybersecurity courses in the coming quarters, and we have expansion plans to take this program to other JAPAC countries soon, too. 

On a more personal level, our community of artists within the company gives me great support and advice in continuing to develop and grow my skills as a hobby impressionist landscape artist. 

I’m proud to be a part of the Palo Alto Networks community and to continue to choose to challenge norms by pushing myself and those around me to be our best selves! 

By Bill J. Pruitt, Senior Product Manager, Prisma (CloudGenix) SD-WAN

Growing up, I was like many boys my age — I played sports with my friends and had dreams of someday joining the military. But at age 13, after experiencing health problems, I saw a doctor who diagnosed me with a heart condition that brought my ability to play sports and my military dreams to an abrupt end. 

Throughout my adolescence and early adulthood, I was hospitalized for my condition several times. As I grew up and started thinking about what career I wanted to pursue, I felt more and more drawn to information technology (IT). I enrolled in college at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in IT management, becoming the first person in my family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

I was fortunate to work for several major international companies in technology architecture and systems engineering. As my career was moving to the next level, with my CCIE certification from Cisco Systems, my health was also moving to the next level. As I was completing my CCIE program, attending a lab exam in January 2012, my heart again went into arrhythmia. This resulted in EMS arriving on the scene to administer emergency medication to restart my heart with the proper rhythm — quite embarrassing and disruptive.

Despite my condition, the following month, I passed the lab exam and earned my certification.  Two months later, after a correct diagnosis, I underwent surgery to correct my lifelong heart condition.

That surgery gave me a new lease on life, enabling me to get back to doing physical activities that I’d always loved but had been unable to do. I started running again, eventually completing a marathon in 2016 and, after hundreds of hours of preparation, an ultra-marathon in 2020. These days, I still run for enjoyment, along with boating with my family, swimming, biking, hiking, and even CrossFit! 

In 2016, after the July shooting of a group of police officers in Dallas, in which five officers were killed and nine injured, I was moved to support the community and help put a positive face on law enforcement. I volunteered as a deputy sheriff, put in 300 hours of training, and became part of several community and safety programs.

Continuing to strive for further success in my career, I accepted a position in systems engineering with a scrappy SD-WAN startup called CloudGenix in early 2017. It was a company I grew to love, with a workplace culture that celebrated autonomy, collaboration, and hustle. When Palo Alto Networks acquired CloudGenix in April 2020, I was elated at the possibilities but also concerned that the culture and work I’d so enjoyed would change, which occasionally happens in acquisitions.

Fortunately, my worries were unfounded. Not only were those of us from CloudGenix empowered to continue working in the entrepreneurial style that we had come to love, but the culture here is so supportive and collaborative that we felt part of the team right away. Hierarchies and job titles don’t matter here as much as pitching in and doing what needs to be done — no one is “above” any task, and if something needs to be done, everyone jumps in to get it done, whether it’s part of their “job description” or not. 

Throughout my life, I have learned the importance of maintaining a balance of faith, family, fortune, and fitness. I believe deeply in self-improvement, and I make it a point to listen to podcasts and audiobooks for inspiration so that I can develop all these areas of my life. 

What I appreciate about Palo Alto Networks is that it supports that balance. The company’s leaders believe in personal and professional development, a work-life balance, and emphasizing physical and emotional wellbeing, and it offers plenty of resources to employees to help us maintain these things. Even though I’ve only technically been part of Palo Alto Networks for about a year, I have seen that it’s a company with heart, and I’m happy to be here!

 By Nancy Yu, Senior Manager EMEA Accounting Compliance

You might say I come from the typical Chinese American immigrant story: my parents came to the US from China in search of the American dream to give their children a better life. My mother was widowed at a young age and had to raise four children on her own. I didn’t know my father as he had died when I was less than 3. My three older brothers and I were raised with the help of grandparents and extended family, while my mother often worked 2-3 jobs to support the family. All she wanted to do was give her kids a good education and have the opportunities she never had. So here is where my story begins.

As an Asian American growing up in California, I was expected to study hard, excel in math, get good grades, go to a good university, get a good job, and get married, and have kids.  And that’s what I did: studied hard in high school, went to UC Berkeley, worked for Ernst & Young.  That’s all my mom ever wanted for me, to study hard and find a “good stable job for a girl.”  After seven years into my professional career, I decided to break out of that mold, challenge the Asian stereotype and challenge the standard “career path.”  I decided to quit my job, leave all my comforts behind, and travel the world in search of other opportunities.  It was a tough decision point for me as I weighed the impact of what all this meant. Even harder to absorb was: what did it mean for my career, how much would this set me back, and what would future employers think?  As most of my peers were either taking the next steps in their careers or getting MBAs, I was packing my bags to embark on a personal adventure that didn’t pay a salary and would only be expending out the hard-earned cash of my twenties. This decision was even more challenging for my mom to digest. Concerns about me traveling alone as a girl, along with the thought of me “throwing my career away,” was unimaginable.

I leaped anyway despite the concerns.  In 2010, I bought a one-way ticket to Ireland and planned to explore Europe, Asia, and eventually to Australia. About a month into my travels, I landed an accounting consulting job in Austria for a UN organization via the Facebook era and two degrees of separation.  There, I also met my now Dutch husband on a ski trip in Austria while he was also doing IT consulting for the same organization.  A few years after that, I moved to the Netherlands, got married, worked a few years in Amsterdam, and had my first child. After my maternity leave, my work did not renew my contract, so I stayed at home mom for a few years.  As my husband was traveling a lot in his consulting job, my daughter and I decided to join him. As I never made it to Asia and Australia as I had initially set out to do so, we ended up traveling together there as a family together.  During this time, we also started to plan my return to sunny California to try to put my career path back on track. While my peers were now partners, managing directors, or entrepreneurs building their start-ups, I felt I had a lot of catching up to do.  

In 2018, the LinkedIn era, I saw an opportunity come up at Palo Alto Networks in Amsterdam and saw quite a few of my friends and former colleagues working for Palo Alto Networks in California.  I thought this could be a perfect bridge to make my way back to California eventually, work for the EMEA headquarters while figuring our move back to California.  The more I looked, the more people I spoke with in HQ, the more I wanted the job.  As I awaited the interview process, I had also just found out I was pregnant with my second child; it was still early on in my first trimester, and I had debated sharing this information.  I became nervous about whether this would impact my chances of getting this job, thinking, “who would want to hire a pregnant woman to work a few months and then go on maternity leave?”.  As the process continued along, I wanted to be transparent with the Company and my potential boss and the fact that he said simply replied that this is a non-issue, surprising yes but nothing we can’t plan for, spoke highly of the values of the Company which made me want to work here even more. 

So here I am in 2021. I’ve been with Palo Alto Networks for 2.5 years, was recently promoted to Senior Manager, and about to head into maternity leave with my third child.  We’ve decided to stay in Amsterdam with the family as I found a place where I finally feel I’m back on track in my despite an unconventional route and a change of location.  I’m able to reconnect back to my California roots while being in Europe, get my career back on track as a working mom of (soon to be) three.”

Usa Sangchantrarin, Systems Engineer GSI, JAPAC

I started my journey with Palo Alto Networks in October 2020 as a GSI Systems Engineer supporting the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. My main responsibility is to work with our GSI partners and customers to accelerate their security transformation through Palo Alto Networks’ comprehensive portfolio of technologies and expertise. It’s my pleasure to join one of the fastest growing and most innovative cybersecurity companies in the world.

My Cybersecurity Journey

Two decades in cybersecurity – a male-dominated industry — has rewarded me with invaluable personal and professional experiences in life, from being the only female in a boardroom with military generals to having a husband working for a cybersecurity competitor. I grew up in a family that upheld a typical Asian culture and beliefs. I still remember the day when I gave my mom a shock by saying that I wanted to be an engineer.  She replied, “That’s a man’s job. Why would you want to do that?” She then tried to persuade me to become a lawyer or a doctor instead.  Clearly, that was a failed attempt.  

Now that I am an adult professional, I am in a cybersecurity family.  My husband and I both work in the cybersecurity space. In fact, there was an interesting time when we were competitors bidding for the same project. That’s when we introduced a ground rule at home to completely avoid talking about work. I can’t imagine how we would manage such a situation during Covid-19 when we are both working from home. Trying to manage the same deal without leaking information while in the same house would definitely have interesting implications for arranging conference calls, remote discussions, etc.

 For the past two decades in this field, I have been exploring the many aspects of cybersecurity, from being a network security engineer to a cybersecurity consultant, to a technology risk-management professional, to, now, a security architect. It’s true that in almost every engineering team I have been part of, I have been either the only woman or just one of two women. This lack of gender diversity becomes really apparent when I attend large-scale cybersecurity events where men make up the majority of attendees.  

As I mentioned earlier, being a woman in tech is rewarding personally and professionally. For the past 10 years, my job has required me to travel more than 50 percent of my time. Travelling has been an eye opener for me. I have gotten to meet with many people from diverse industries and backgrounds, especially in the past five years. My account manager and I were assigned to grow the business and partner ecosystem in emerging countries such as Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Vietnam. There were multiple interesting situations in which I found myself. 

One of the most memorable of these situations was when I was the only female in a war room with my customers — a group of security experts from the Ministry of Defence. Everyone in the war room was in their uniform discussing a security incident. My role in that meeting was to become a trusted advisor and help them handle the incident and escalation to the forensic investigation team (if required). In such situations, it’s important to establish your leadership presence in the room and get your voice heard. We hear women say that they feel less effective in meetings than they do in other professional situations. Others say that their voices are ignored or drowned out. 

So what can we do?  We can’t afford to sit back and wait for someone to ask for our opinions. Instead, we need to empower ourselves and learn strategies and techniques to make ourselves heard.  One useful trick is to overcome your lifetime of negative inner talk and use a confident tone to communicate in a short and precise manner. Put your main point up front and follow it with precise supporting details. Women tend to use too many words in an attempt to soften what we are saying or avoid coming across as aggressive. This tends to distract your audience from the main message. And this makes you less effective in appearing as the subject-matter expert who can provide them with a confident action plan to resolve a problem. 

In my opinion, cybersecurity is an amazing field for women.  There are so many opportunities, and the careers are so diverse. Women are definitely an asset to the industry, and I would strongly encourage women to seek out the many career opportunities in the field. 

By Lee Klarich, Chief Product Officer

For today’s tech companies, fostering inclusion and diversity are top priorities. Diverse and inclusive teams are simply stronger and more capable than non-diverse teams. But how that works in practical terms varies from business to business. 

It isn’t simply a matter of hiring more women, people of color, or individuals with different abilities or backgrounds. It also goes way beyond the hiring process, to ensure those employees continue to feel included, heard, seen, and valued. This is where employee network groups, or ENGs, can be invaluable.

At Palo Alto Networks, our numerous ENGs provide individuals working at all levels of the company an outlet where they can share concerns, seek advice or input, forge connections with like-minded people, strategize ways to support and grow our inclusion efforts, and learn from each other. I’ve had the opportunity to work with many of the leaders of our ENGs and have been blown away by how amazing they all are and their dedication to helping their colleagues. The value they provide led me to volunteer for the role of executive sponsor for our women’s ENG, the Women’s Network Community (WNC).

I’ve been colleagues with several of the members of WNC since the company’s early days. But getting close to their work in this way has given me insight into the value of this group, not just the members, but for the entire company.  In the last year, I’ve seen the WNC offer tremendous moral support and needed human connection at a time when many women felt isolated and overwhelmed. I’ve also found they provide a critical perspective of what’s working and what’s not that provides me and others in leadership positions actionable insights. And its commitment to bringing in speakers and creating professional development opportunities have been incredibly valuable.

ENGs like this one are powerful for companies in a number of ways: 

• They help people to see the breadth and strength of people like them in the company. One of the things WNC does really well is showing how vibrant a community of women we have at Palo Alto Networks. At one of the group’s last in-person events (pre-COVID), about 500 people — most of them, but not all, women — came together. It was a great reminder of the diversity we have within the company and that although we have a long way to go in terms of attracting more women to the field, their numbers are strong and growing. 
• They identify and share challenges — for the good of the whole company. For example, in recent months, a lot of the group’s discussions have related to challenges in working from home, including the difficulties involved when the boundaries between them are blurred and work-life balance is disrupted. Some of our discussions have centered on finding ways to encourage people throughout the company to take more time for themselves, to disconnect and find more balance. And in my role, I can take that message to the Product team as well as the executive staff to amplify it across the organization. 
• ENGs also help create a sense of place, comfort, and familiarity that comes from talking with others who have had similar experiences. And they do a phenomenal job of including other genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds so that we can all learn from each other. Although they’re affinity groups, ENGs are not — and never should be — exclusive. The whole point is education and connection, which can’t happen in a vacuum. 

As with any ENG, this group gives women a voice to enhance their visibility, which sends a powerful message that these are voices the company truly wants to hear. In this way, ENGs can help attract prospective employees by demonstrating our diversity and our commitment to inclusion. 

I urge all companies to discover for themselves the power of ENGs. For those already utilizing them, I encourage everyone, whether you consider yourself a part of that affinity group or not, to participate in whatever way you feel comfortable — by listening to understand, joining a conversation, attending an event, taking a leadership role, or advocating as an executive sponsor.