1.Praniti Lakhwara, CIO, Zscaler
India is moving fast on AI supported by clear policy direction and a rapidly evolving technology ecosystem. It’s an exciting moment, because AI has the potential to accelerate everything from citizen services and financial inclusion to enterprise innovation and productivity. But as adoption scales, so does complexity and the attack surface grows right alongside it. That’s why trusted, AI-enabled security and a future-ready cybersecurity workforce aren’t “nice to have.” They’re essential to sustaining India’s digital growth with confidence.
In cybersecurity, the stakes are uniquely high. We’re seeing adversaries use automation and AI to move faster, hide better, and target organizations at scale. At the same time, businesses are under pressure to innovate quickly – often across hybrid environments, distributed users, and expanding data footprints. Navigating that tension requires not only the right technology, but also strong security leadership and talent that can think strategically about risk, resilience, and trust.
That’s also why representation and inclusive talent development matter so much, especially in a field like cybersecurity, where diverse thinking directly strengthens outcomes. Women bring critical perspectives to security: from risk assessment and policy to user-centric design and decision-making under pressure. When teams reflect the diversity of the communities and customers they serve, they’re better equipped to anticipate threats, challenge assumptions, and build security that works in the real world.
Through Women in Zscaler Empower (WIZE), we’re building a community that fosters mentorship, accelerates career progression, and develops the next generation of leaders in cybersecurity. For many women, the biggest barriers aren’t capability or ambition they’re access, sponsorship, and visibility. WIZE is designed to help address that gap by creating connection, guidance, and pathways to leadership.
We’re equally committed to building broader talent pipelines because the scale of India’s digital ambition demands it. Our newly launched AI & Cyber Threat Research Center with Bharti Airtel is one example of that commitment in action, helping develop the next generation of security talent and advancing research to stay ahead of evolving threats. These investments aren’t peripheral to innovation they’re what make innovation sustainable.
For India to deliver digital ambition at scale, inclusive talent development can’t sit on the side. It’s foundational to building secure, trusted infrastructure and to ensuring we can keep pace with a threat landscape that will only continue to evolve.
2. Pooja Vashisht, Head – Marketing & Communications, Techno Digital
“In infrastructure, we design redundancy to eliminate risk. In leadership, we must design opportunity to eliminate exclusion. This International Women’s Day theme, “Give to Gain,” is not philosophical; it is operational. Progress in mission-critical industries like digital infrastructure happens when access is intentional and opportunity is structured.
Digital infrastructure runs on precision, discipline, and long-horizon thinking. It performs better when the teams designing power systems, planning capacity, managing risk, and shaping strategy reflect diverse expertise. Inclusion is not a parallel initiative; it is a performance advantage. Mentorship compounds capability. Sponsorship accelerates confidence. Exposure builds decision muscle. When we give women stretch roles, real authority, and measurable outcomes, we don’t just uplift individuals, we strengthen the operating system of the organisation.
Gender equity in STEM will not be solved by visibility alone. It will be solved by access to core functions, to boardroom discussions, to technical ownership, and to leadership pathways. We are deliberate about creating those pathways. Infrastructure excellence and inclusive leadership are interdependent. When women are trusted to design, operate, and lead mission-critical environments, the organisation becomes more resilient by design.
In an always-on industry, reciprocity must be engineered just like resilience. What we give deliberately opportunity with trust and responsibility, we gain sustainably in execution, relentless innovation, and unbreakable impact.”
3. Mandy Andress, CISO, Elastic
“This International Women’s Day, we recognise that when we invest in women, offering time, influence, and opportunity, we exponentially increase our collective strength in STEM and innovation. Their talent, diverse perspectives, and better ideas are essential for developing technology that uplifts the world.
While countries like India see women account for over 42 percent of STEM graduates, the dramatic drop-off in senior technical and executive roles is a global concern. This discrepancy represents a massive, untapped capability at a time when the world urgently needs skilled technologists. For me, as a CISO, equity in STEM isn’t merely a matter of fairness. It is fundamental to our resilience and innovation pipeline.
In complex fields like cybersecurity and data science, diverse teams consistently engineer more robust solutions, which is critical to protecting our digital infrastructure. By expanding access to mentorship, advanced training, and leadership pathways for women, we not only strengthen our respective fields and build the confidence of emerging professionals but also accelerate enterprise and societal impact.”
