I cannot easily assign how my not-so-binary gender impacts my leadership, but if part of leadership is paving paths for people, then my breaking the mould of what an engineering leader looks like can help unlock possibilities for women in this industry.

• Tacita Morway, SVP Engineering Textio

Being a woman, I often bring a different and often underrepresented perspective to most discussions.

• Maira Benjamin, Senior Director Engineering, Change.org

Saying out loud that you don't know something lets other people in the room admit the same. It is a great way to form bonds that help a team function better.

• Brittney St.Germain, Vice President of Technology, Forward Financing

I know about challenges faced by women. Therefore, I make conscious effort towards inclusivity in thoughts and ideas as part of the team.

• Anita Jindal, Sr Director Engineering, VMWare

Being a woman leader helps me have a transformational style of leadership, put people before myself, have a high degree of empathy and influence change through motivation.

• Sue Nallapeta, Vice President Engineering, Apartment List

As a women leader, I create a culture of excellence, transparency and empathy. This is important for fostering an environment where teams flourish bringing successful outcomes.

• Sribharathi Modukuru, Sr Engineering Manager, VMWare

My own experiences as a woman in tech have taught me that many women (including me!) undersell ourselves and can feel intimidated in an industry where we are the minority. It's important to me to build teams that foster inclusion and psychological safety so everyone feels comfortable enough to do their best work.

• Cindy Chu, Vice President Engineering, imgix

Helping teams and organizations succeed in whatever they set out to do.

• Anu Krishnan, Director Engineering, LinkedIn

Being able to challenge myself everyday and being able to elevate people and create a culture of Empathy and Ownership.

• Monica Bajaj, Vice President Engineering, Okta

Getting to develop the next generation of leaders in tech and helping redefine what leadership looks like, where values like empathy, inclusivity and being yourself are at the forefront.

• Farzona Pulatova, Sr Director Engineering, MasterClass

Coaching, mentoring and feeling gratification on team accomplishments.

• Mamta Suri, Sr Engineering Leader, Workday

I very much enjoy being part of a team that creatively solves problems for our customers with technology. The best part of leading the engineering team is the continuous learning, being one in a room with more questions than answers every day.

• Reena Stripling, Vice President Engineering, When I Work