Time and again, research has shown how companies with strong gender diversity in leadership outperform their peers. And yet, women represent a small proportion of the workforce in tech, a trend even more pronounced in leadership roles.

To understand where we’re headed as an industry and how the trend is being reversed, we delve into an exclusive conversation with Ponni Carlin, COO, iVP Semi, and understand why inclusive leadership is essential to drive innovation in the technology sector, particularly in roles that call for agility and flexibility. Excerpts of our conversation below.

1. In your experience, how does inclusive leadership contribute to innovation and resilience in the fast-moving semiconductor industry? 

Inclusive leadership has always been key to power innovation and resilience. It’s about bringing people who are not afraid to challenge the status quo, share different views, and actually brainstorm over ideas. Over the course of my career, I have learned that innovation doesn’t come from everyone getting along, it comes from diverse ideas colliding constructively. Especially in the dynamic semiconductor industry, agility is critical. Diverse teams inherently handle uncertainty more effectively because they bring different experiences and approaches which help in addressing issues quickly. I believe, inclusive leadership is about active listening and valuing different points of view, making our teams better and solutions more robust. I’ve learned so much from mentors and peers who prized diverse collaboration, and that’s something I always strive to pay forward. 

Read more at: https://marksmendaily.com/leadership/inclusive-tech-leadership-is-shaping-the-future-of-teams/