This is Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Ticaro.
Speaker AFrom the corporate office to the cab of a truck, they're here to inspire and empower women in all professions.
Speaker ASo gear down, sit back and enjoy.
Speaker AWelcome.
Speaker AWe're an award winning show dedicated to empowering women in every profession through inspiring stories and expert insights.
Speaker ANo topics off limits.
Speaker AOn our show, we power women on the road to success with expert and celebrity interviews and information you need.
Speaker AI'm Shelley and this is Kathy.
Speaker ACan women be great coders, programmers and IT geniuses?
Speaker AAbsolutely.
Speaker AThe problem is, even in the 21st century, there aren't as many women in certain fields.
Speaker ATech is one of them, which is crazy considering tech is the future.
Speaker ASTEM programs and other educational opportunities are starting to bridge these gaps by encouraging girls to go into what they may have been taught were not their roles.
Speaker AJasmeet Kaur is a cybersecurity professional, motivational speaker and business coach who's determined to get more women to succeed in it.
Speaker AShe's an advocate for gender equality in the tech landscape.
Speaker AShe's also the author of the book Code Her Empowering Women Across Borders, Navigating Challenges and Cultivating Success.
Speaker AHer book dismantles gender disparities and talks about the essential elements of empowering women in the tech field.
Speaker AJasmeet's goal is to create a space where there's no existence of gender.
Speaker AThat would be wonderful if we could get to that place everywhere.
Speaker AWe wanted to talk to Jasmeet about her book and her advocacy for women, so we invited her on the show.
Speaker AWelcome, Jasmeet.
Speaker AThank you for being with us.
Speaker BThank you for having me.
Speaker AThis is wonderful.
Speaker AFirst of all, I wanted to say bravo for what you're doing.
Speaker CNo kidding.
Speaker AYou know, you're amazing.
Speaker AI mean, you're giving women a voice to succeed in one of the highest paid industries.
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker BAnd I think it's high time that we realize this.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo we are about 27 to 28% of women's end technology and we need more of us so we can have better jobs, better work, life balance and better vision for ourselves.
Speaker BAnd I think my book Code Her Rising actually is focusing on what is needed to either start your career in technology or even thrive in technology.
Speaker BAnd when you read it, you will see what are the key things that we really need.
Speaker AWhat are the disparities?
Speaker AI mean, how many women are in it versus men?
Speaker AIs it a huge disparity?
Speaker BOh, yes, absolutely.
Speaker BAs I mentioned, it's like 27, 28% of women in technology.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd you know, if you're, if when you are working technology, you will see, you'll have, you're part of big meetings, conferences and interviews even.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd you were maybe like a handful in those big rooms or office buildings.
Speaker AWow, that's got to be intimidating to be one of the few.
Speaker AAnd I would think that that kind of puts women off too.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BAnd I think that's the point.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BWe have to stop thinking like, oh, yes, or we can't do it, it's hard.
Speaker BOr, you know, we are the small number.
Speaker BBut, you know, if you start making a bigger impact, you know, if we start leading the meetings, if you start leading, we are in the leadership role.
Speaker BThat would really change the trend because we can advocate for better policies for women.
Speaker CHere in the mine, there's not a whole lot of women, there's only 8% in on curl that work for Imperial here on site.
Speaker CAnd yesterday I had a very first.
Speaker CThey're trying to do a women in networking meeting.
Speaker CAnd so we had our initial dinner last night.
Speaker CAnd because I'm such an advocate for women out in the world, the lady who's co hosting or co chairing the new committee, she asked me to be a part of the committee.
Speaker CAnd I immediately shrunk back and thinking, what?
Speaker CLike, I don't, I don't know how to do meetings.
Speaker CI don't know how to.
Speaker CLike I work out in the field, I'm out on heavy equipment, I'm playing in the mud in a giant sandbox.
Speaker CI don't know how to.
Speaker CI mean, I have a hard time.
Speaker CI can manage a zoom, but only because Shelly's the queen of this.
Speaker CAnd I immediately, my.
Speaker CAll my insecurities came rushing to my head.
Speaker CAnd you know what I did?
Speaker CI said, absolutely, sign me up.
Speaker CGood for you.
Speaker CJust because when I feel so afraid of something that it scares the crap out of me, I automatically do it because that is where growth lies.
Speaker CThat is where I am going to change, even though I have no clue on how to do it.
Speaker CI said, absolutely.
Speaker CPut me up.
Speaker CRight.
Speaker AYou follow your, your motto.
Speaker AWhat is it?
Speaker AFeel the fear and do it anyway.
Speaker CAnyway.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CAnd besides, I mean, how else am I going to grow and change?
Speaker CAnd this is only another tool for get women in networking in an area where they might not feel comfortable.
Speaker CSo, yeah.
Speaker CSo there you go.
Speaker CThat's my story.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BI will define that as your warrior spirit ready to take a challenge.
Speaker AYou really do have to just face it head on.
Speaker AJasmeet, what would you say are some of the Reasons women aren't going into this are girls being told, you're a girl, you can't be good at math, you can't be good at coding.
Speaker AIs that still being said?
Speaker BI don't think so.
Speaker BI think that the problem is both ways, right?
Speaker BNot only our younger generation, right?
Speaker BEven for us adults, we don't really want to enter field of technology, right?
Speaker BEven we are scared.
Speaker BLike, we have less examples, less mentors to actually tell the younger generation of girls, like, you have to look up to somebody, right?
Speaker BAnd if we are not out there, if we are not sharing our store success stories, then they really don't know what's out there, right?
Speaker BSo we not only have to educate them, like to train them, but also share the success stories and tell them it's okay to fail, right?
Speaker BWhen you do programming, right?
Speaker BYou write a program, it works one time, it doesn't work, you fix it, you try it again, right?
Speaker BSo accepting failures and working through that has to be the spirit in.
Speaker BAnd it goes both ways, right, adults?
Speaker BBecause we need to face our challenges if we are in technology and maybe not yet fully established careers in technology, but we have to keep moving.
Speaker BWe have to keep challenging ourselves.
Speaker BAnd for the younger generation, we have to teach them, keep trying.
Speaker BIt's maths or coding or computer science, any field.
Speaker BJust keep trying.
Speaker BIt's okay to fail.
Speaker BIt doesn't mean that.
Speaker BFailure doesn't mean that.
Speaker BYou know you're going to fail rest of your life, right?
Speaker BAs my mom used to say, failure don't define you.
Speaker AI like that.
Speaker AI like that.
Speaker AAnd try, try and try again, right?
Speaker BExactly.
Speaker BYou know, you learn from your mistakes, you learn from your failures and you keep moving on.
Speaker BIn fact, you have a better lesson now.
Speaker BYou've learned your lesson.
Speaker BSo you know what to do and what not to do, what to focus on.
Speaker BWhat is your strength?
Speaker BWhat is your weakness?
Speaker AYou know, the mentor programs, those would be so important.
Speaker AAnd it's true.
Speaker AIf you don't have somebody as a child or a teenager to look up to, who, say is in the IT field, if you're given a bunch of code to look at, that looks so intimidating.
Speaker AIt's like, what the heck are all these symbols?
Speaker AWhat is that?
Speaker AYou know, you're going to shy away, you're going to be intimidated just because of that.
Speaker AIt's another language.
Speaker BExactly.
Speaker BBut the thing is, you know, technology, technology doesn't only mean coding.
Speaker BThere are multiple other jobs in technology where you can flourish, you can work through, you can lead, you can learn.
Speaker BBunch of Tools, learn the workflow processes and identify what works best for you or what really you want to work into.
Speaker BIf you want to design workflows, there are many tools out there that you can learn.
Speaker BIf you are an artistic, you want to do AI tools.
Speaker BIf you want to do in data sciences or database, you really have to figure out if you love numbers and tables.
Speaker BAnd it's not that hard.
Speaker BI think we just, you know, we just say, you know, it's, it's a shift in mindset.
Speaker BYou know, we need to just accept that.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BWe need to challenge ourselves.
Speaker BWe need to try, try a few times.
Speaker BAnd I think in my personal life, what I have learned is that you will succeed if you really want to.
Speaker BIf you have this burning desire within you that you have to do it, there is no option for no, you will be able to achieve it and there is no replacement.
Speaker AYep, yep.
Speaker ATotally agree with that.
Speaker CWhen you want something so bad.
Speaker CLike, I know when I got out of homelessness after losing my nursing career and I was 42 and had to restructure my life, the desire to change my life overruled any fear or insecurity that I had inside.
Speaker CSo, and I think that's what is one of the keys to change is you have to have.
Speaker CIt has to, it has to be something that's literally burning inside.
Speaker CIt can't just be a mere thought or, you know, oh, maybe I'll try or maybe I won't know.
Speaker CYou have to want it so bad.
Speaker CAlmost like you need air, you know, you nailed it.
Speaker BIt's the fire within you.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CAnd that's, that's what I had and that's what I did.
Speaker CRight.
Speaker CAnd that's what it took.
Speaker CThat's what I used.
Speaker CI used all my pain and inner turmoil and fear and trauma and insecurity.
Speaker CI flipped it around and I used that as a motivator to push myself out of the hole that I was in and say, no, the buck stops here.
Speaker CAnd this, I'm going to fix this.
Speaker CRight.
Speaker CI don't care how long it takes, I'm going to fix this.
Speaker BYep.
Speaker BAnd actually that very much coincides with the warrior women, right?
Speaker BI mean we, you guys talk about warrior women and what it takes to be a warrior, right?
Speaker BYou need the strength, yes.
Speaker BYou need the muscles and strength, but you need the courage.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd having that self confidence and faith in you, even though you know, you know that maybe you'll not win this war or battle in life, but having that faith within yourself will take you some place at least, right?
Speaker BYou won't.
Speaker BIt won't put it pull you down, make you feel miserable or in depression or anything else, right?
Speaker BAt least you will have that inner strength and belief that yes, I can achieve it.
Speaker BYes I can do it.
Speaker BKnow to what level, what extent sometimes you know really depends on you know what you are trying for.
Speaker BBut you will still keep moving forward.
Speaker AStay tuned for more of Women Road warriors coming up.
Speaker DDean Michael, the tax doctor here.
Speaker DI have one question for you.
Speaker DDo you want to stop worrying about the irs?
Speaker DIf the answer is yes, then look no further.
Speaker DI've been around for years.
Speaker DI've helped countless people across the country and my success rate speaks for itself.
Speaker DSo now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems.
Speaker DWhat are you waiting for?
Speaker DIf you owe more than $10,000 to the IRS or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free consultation and get your life back.
Speaker AIndustry Movement Trucking Moves America Forward is telling the story of the industry.
Speaker AOur safety champions, the women of trucking, independent contractors, the next generation of truckers and more.
Speaker AHelp us promote the best of our industry.
Speaker AShare your story and what you love about trucking.
Speaker AShare images of a moment you're proud of and join us on social media.
Speaker ALearn more@truckingmovesamerica.com welcome welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Ticcaro.
Speaker AIf you're enjoying this informative episode of Women Road Warriors, I wanted to mention Kathy and I explore all kinds of topics that will power you on the road to success.
Speaker AWe feature a lot of expert interviews, plus we feature celebrities and women who've been trailblazers.
Speaker APlease check out our podcast@womenroadwarriors.com and click on our Episodes page.
Speaker AWe're also available wherever you listen to podcasts on all the major podcast channels like Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, Audible, you name it.
Speaker ACheck us out and bookmark our podcast.
Speaker AAlso, don't forget to follow us on social media.
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Speaker AWe want to help as many women as possible.
Speaker AGetting more women into it is the goal of Jasmeet Kaur.
Speaker AShe's a cybersecurity professional, motivational speaker and business coach.
Speaker AShe'd like to see the day when gender doesn't matter in the IT world and more.
Speaker AWomen are taking seats right next to the men as coders, programmers, and IT executives.
Speaker AShe's the author of the book Code Her.
Speaker AEmpowering women across borders, navigating challenges, and cultivating success, Part of leveling the IT playing field and closing the gender gap could lie in providing more examples or role models and eliminating the fear of technology.
Speaker AThere need to be more mentors for girls as they're growing up that will bring more women into the field.
Speaker AIt's also important to teach that failures happen in coding.
Speaker AA program may work once, but it may not work a second time.
Speaker AAccepting failures and working through them must be the spirit.
Speaker AJasmeet says it's important to teach the younger generation to keep trying and it's okay to fail.
Speaker AFailure does not define you.
Speaker AYou learn from your mistakes.
Speaker AThere are many opportunities in IT as well.
Speaker AIf a woman doesn't want to code, there are many other jobs in technology that they can assume.
Speaker AYou just need the courage to try.
Speaker AJasmeet, did you always have that kind of faith within yourself, or were there some obstacles that you faced that really galvanized you to really become an advocate for women in this industry?
Speaker BThat's a great question.
Speaker BYeah, I mean, I wasn't like this all my life.
Speaker BLike, if you meet my school friends, they were like, oh, you really changed.
Speaker BYou know, I.
Speaker BI used to be such a shy, quiet person.
Speaker BAnd like now, yeah, I'm absolutely at a new person altogether.
Speaker BAnd what really changed that is, you know, being an immigrant woman.
Speaker BI came to this country about 20 years back and was blessed to be here with in the land of opportunity and.
Speaker BBut it's still a challenge, right, where you don't have much support, so you really have to find your way out.
Speaker BAnd I have my master's in science and I started my career in science initially.
Speaker BSo I transitioned to IT and cybersecurity eventually.
Speaker BAnd the main reason behind was definitely the work life balance and the money.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd there were many times where I've gone through these comments and situation where people say, oh, okay, you make only this much.
Speaker BOh, you have majors and still you make only this much.
Speaker BOkay, maybe, you know, you, you guys, for you guys, masters doesn't mean anything.
Speaker BYou know, in science, it has no value.
Speaker BAnd that doesn't, you know, say that I'm not good in things.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd it used to, like, really like, I would listen to those comments, but it really used to bother me within.
Speaker BAnd I decided like, you know, okay, how hard it can be to transition.
Speaker BWell, it wasn't easy, but I never gave up.
Speaker BI worked through and I wasn't scared of anything.
Speaker BI think that was the biggest thing.
Speaker BI would, you know, go to interviews, go to meetups, I would, you know, go to different conferences just to learn, to find, mentor, find people, talk to people who are in this field, right?
Speaker BSo you need to do your groundwork of whatever you want to achieve, wherever you want to go in life.
Speaker BIf you don't have mentors, reach out, find what is available out there.
Speaker BAnd there's so many free things available like, you know, meetups, conferences, or even, you know, some, some people like, even podcasts, right?
Speaker BSo there are so many good podcasts that can really help you in different fields, right?
Speaker BSo the thing is you have to keep looking for options.
Speaker BYou have to keep looking for opportunities and keep learning, enhancing yourself.
Speaker BAnd not only this, I wasn't a good speaker, right, like coming to this country.
Speaker BAnd it wasn't that easy for me to just stand up in meetings and talk in big, big conferences or even meetings.
Speaker BAnd I worked on myself.
Speaker BI did Toastmasters for multiple years.
Speaker BI was a champion in many contests and I never limited myself, you know, so I just keep trying.
Speaker BYou know, maybe I did fail.
Speaker BYou know, it's not that.
Speaker BOh, it was all a success story.
Speaker BYes, I failed multiple times too, but it's okay, right?
Speaker BAnd one of the things that really helped me in my journey is my, you know, as I say, my grace.
Speaker BThat is my gratitude.
Speaker BG for gratitude, R for resilience, A for adaptability, C for continuous learning, and E for establishing my community.
Speaker BSo I did need like, like minded people, right?
Speaker BSo there are not many women who will be supporting you when you're going through a hard time, right?
Speaker BNot, not.
Speaker BSo when you fall, you have to build your own courage to stand up.
Speaker BThere's no one else coming, right?
Speaker BBut once you achieve, you have to see, right, there are people who have gone through things and now there are so many sisterhood communities, support groups, right?
Speaker BYou really need to build that support group, that community where people or women help each other, support each other, mentor each other.
Speaker BI don't think most of us really need someone to handhold us and teach us, but just giving us an example of how they achieved it will make a big impact.
Speaker CI agree.
Speaker AOh, I do too.
Speaker AI do too.
Speaker AAnd I think the support system is something that women lack in many, many industries across the board, men have had their networks for years, but women need to rely on each other and have a place and not, not be afraid to reach out.
Speaker AWhen you think about it, with cyberspace, with the Internet, there are so Many places you can network and there's so many groups you can join.
Speaker AIt's a wealth of information and support.
Speaker BYep, absolutely.
Speaker AWould you say too in the school systems perhaps there should be more mentors?
Speaker ADo you think that maybe the approach to technology needs to change a little bit to get more girls to get involved and consider this career?
Speaker BI, to some extent, yes.
Speaker BI think the more we have like a reach out in schools where, you know, even at the elementary level, you know, we, we invite some guest lectures, you know, people who are established and who, you know, pretty, are doing pretty good in the field of technology and welcome them to share their story.
Speaker BThat, that itself will motivate them because they, I don't know if they really need like bunch of classes and opportunities like to learn because definitely they're, you know, that's one thing, but that, and if they have the internal desire, each and every opportunity will be made of use.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo once you, once they really know that this is something that they would, this is a career they want, this is a life they want, then they will reach out, they will look for options.
Speaker BAnd, and nowadays kids are so smart, you know, they have all this technology, all this resources.
Speaker BIf they want to learn something, they have a lot of opportunities.
Speaker BBut the only thing that's missing is that desire to switch.
Speaker BAnd I think that desire would come from mentorship, looking for, looking up to somebody and that will definitely make an impact.
Speaker AWell, they're growing up with gadgets.
Speaker BExactly.
Speaker BThey know a lot.
Speaker AOh yeah.
Speaker AAnd I've actually heard from different people.
Speaker AIt's rewiring their brains in, in how they learn.
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AWhich is interesting.
Speaker AYou know, you see three year olds with, you know, these gadgets and they're fast.
Speaker AIt's like, wow.
Speaker CI know, right?
Speaker AYou know, and the video games, of course that they have and, and then of course you hear about hackers and they start young.
Speaker BYeah, exactly.
Speaker BAnd when I look at some of the high schoolers, right, when they have to do some projects for school, like research, I mean the depth that they have, like how much they can.
Speaker BSo that their research, right, the content they can research up to and in the knowledge they have, it's, it's amazing.
Speaker BLike, I mean at that age we didn't have that much exposure or even knowledge of things and these kids are way, you know, beyond, you know, limits to actually, you know, learn and absorb the information.
Speaker AOh, it really is.
Speaker AWell.
Speaker AAnd of course they've got, I think the majority of schools do have a lot of computer labs and computers throughout the school and the classrooms and all of that, which even in the 1980s they didn't have.
Speaker BYeah, definitely.
Speaker BAnd that's, you know, it limits your outreach, you know, of knowledge that you can really look for.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BThings that you can research for.
Speaker AWell, and when you think about it, if there isn't the equipment that you can work with, you don't understand technology.
Speaker AYou don't understand how it works.
Speaker AAnd having people come into the classroom and showing how it's exciting.
Speaker AAnd I remember what in kindergarten, we got to go to a fire station and the firemen came to the classroom.
Speaker AYou know, this kind of stuff.
Speaker AYeah, it was exciting.
Speaker AAnd in creating the inspiration, because children have imaginations and they don't see anything but potential in their life if they're given it.
Speaker BAbsolutely, you're right.
Speaker BThey really need that.
Speaker BThey're good in that imagination.
Speaker BIf it's given the right direction, they can, you know, really make good use of it and establish and flourish in the field.
Speaker AStay tuned for more of Women Road warriors coming up.
Speaker DDean Michael, the tax doctor here.
Speaker DI have one question for you.
Speaker DDo you want to stop worrying about the irs?
Speaker DIf the answer is yes, then look no further.
Speaker DI've been around for years.
Speaker DI've helped countless people across the country, and my success rate speaks for itself.
Speaker DSo now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems.
Speaker DWhat are you waiting for?
Speaker DIf you owe more than $10,000 to the IRS or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free consultation and get your life back.
Speaker AIndustry movement Trucking Moves America Forward is telling the story of the industry.
Speaker AOur safety champions, the women of trucking, independent contractors, the next generation of truckers, and more.
Speaker AHelp us promote the best of our industry.
Speaker AShare your story and what you love about trucking.
Speaker AShare images of a moment you're proud of and join us.
Speaker ASocial media.
Speaker ALearn more@truckingmovesamerica.com welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Taccaro.
Speaker AJasmeet Kaur was galvanized to make her life a success.
Speaker AShe decided at an early age to go into it.
Speaker AAfter coming to America, she made her way without the traditional support system.
Speaker AShe transitioned to IT and cybersecurity out of science.
Speaker AShe liked the work life balance and the money that it offered as a career.
Speaker AAnd she never gave up.
Speaker AShe networked and sought out mentors.
Speaker AAs Jasmeet says, you need to do your groundwork for whatever you want to achieve in life.
Speaker AReach out, find out what's available out there.
Speaker ASee who can help you keep your options open and keep looking for opportunities.
Speaker ANever stop learning.
Speaker AJasmeet is an advocate for women in the IT world and wants to see a day when gender doesn't matter.
Speaker AShe recommends women practice grace to guide them on their path.
Speaker AThat's an acronym that stands for gratitude, resilience, adaptability, continuous learning and establishing your community.
Speaker AJasmeet is the author of Code Her Empowering women across borders, Navigating challenges and cultivating success.
Speaker AJasmeet, I'm seeing that you have the female code that you, you talk about.
Speaker AYou encourage women to help themselves by using that with tools that include self respect, positivity and self reflection on their path to success.
Speaker ADid you want to talk a little bit about that?
Speaker BSure, absolutely.
Speaker BIn my book, I definitely one of the big thing is this focus on self respect.
Speaker BI feel the self respect also comes from, you know, when, when we don't respect ourselves, nobody else will.
Speaker BIf we don't trust ourselves and have faith in ourselves, nobody else will.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo whatever we want to achieve in whatever direction we want to go, we have to have that from within and have this positive sound in our head or talk, give ourselves a positive talk saying, yes, I can do it.
Speaker BI'm going to work on it.
Speaker BIt's okay.
Speaker BI failed.
Speaker BI'll try again.
Speaker BThis doesn't define me.
Speaker BEven if I failed two times, it's okay.
Speaker BEven if not only this, right?
Speaker BWe talk about imposter syndrome.
Speaker BYou know how many times imposter syndrome, if you Google it, relates to women's only.
Speaker AReally, I can know that.
Speaker AThat's interesting.
Speaker AImposter syndrome.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo, you know, if we fail in the meeting, if we fail in presenting something, even a minor thing that maybe nobody ever noticed, right.
Speaker BWe.
Speaker BWe just start pulling ourselves down.
Speaker BOh my God, I failed.
Speaker BOh my God, this was horrible.
Speaker BOh my God.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BAnd on the other side, right.
Speaker BI mean, we can be the.
Speaker BYou can be the most beautiful person in this world, Right?
Speaker BBut if you keep feeding yourself negative or if you start believing what people say about you, well, you will feel like you are not even worth anything.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BSo just having that positive talk is important.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker CYou know, I can speak from personal experience from that because years, and I mean decades of being told how useless and stupid and ugly and fat and being a waste of skin and how I pollute the air, well, did that affect my decisions and how I felt about myself?
Speaker CAbsolutely.
Speaker CBecause I wasn't Taking chances on opportunities because I didn't believe in myself enough.
Speaker CI didn't think I could do it because everybody else was saying how awful I was.
Speaker CWell, fast forward, you know, after years of therapy and now my, this job has taught me to flip that switch in my head and I'm like, wait a minute, woman, look at what you're doing.
Speaker CTake a minute, stop, look around, exactly who you are, who you've become, how hard you've worked.
Speaker CAnd as soon as I do that, all of a sudden it's as if I sit taller in my seat.
Speaker CI stand, I walk with more confidence.
Speaker CAnd people can feel that.
Speaker CThey can feel someone who believes in themselves, who's got that self confidence and they can feel that someone who, who doesn't, who doesn't make eye contact, who wants, who's trying to shrink in the, in the, in the shadows sort of thing.
Speaker CRight.
Speaker CAnd I, and I really believe that what you put out there is what other people pick up and how they, they will respond to you.
Speaker AThat's true.
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BYou know, I say the only thing between you and your goals is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.
Speaker BNothing can stop you if you just say, okay, you know, I'll work on this, I'll achieve it.
Speaker BI'll work.
Speaker BMaybe it is like five years project like, okay, but I divided into every year, every six months.
Speaker BThis is my goal, you know, so plan yourself, plan your life, plan your dreams, and definitely you will achieve it.
Speaker AAnd you know, with the right mindset, if you have the self respect, even if you do encounter people who don't want you to succeed, because we all will run into people like that all the time.
Speaker AThey don't have the strength to influence us.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd there'll be people who want to bring you down.
Speaker BBut you know, it's their life.
Speaker BI mean, it's, I just sometimes, you know, you think like it's their karma, you know, is that is their act and that's okay, you know, let them behave the way they want to behave.
Speaker BBut it shouldn't stop me from keep working on achieving my dreams, my goals.
Speaker BAnd I think that is the warrior spirit.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BWarriors don't worry how many are with them when they fight.
Speaker AThat's right.
Speaker BThey could be a lone single person, but they keep going, moving forward with all their strength.
Speaker AThey have their eye on the prize.
Speaker BYes, that's right.
Speaker AAnd being around people who bring you down.
Speaker AThere are people out there who, they don't want you to succeed because they Feel they can't.
Speaker AAnd they're more comfortable keeping people in this rut.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker CAnd that can include your own personal family members.
Speaker AYes, it can.
Speaker AYes, it can.
Speaker CYes, it can.
Speaker CYou have to learn to weed out the toxic people and step away from those that are negative and trying to pull you down in any way, shape or form.
Speaker CI know when I was in recovery, at the very beginning, I had to step away from my own personal family because of their issues.
Speaker CAnd it was, it wasn't helping me, it wasn't giving where I was at mentally at that time.
Speaker CI wasn't getting any strength from them.
Speaker CSo I just chose to just step away until I could focus on myself, until I became strong enough to be able to deal with my own family.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker BYou know, there's a thing which is, I think it said negative comparison, you know, so we have to stop doing that.
Speaker BThat, oh, she achieved and I did not.
Speaker BSo I'm just going to wait for her to fall and laugh on it.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BThere are many people like that.
Speaker BBut the, the thing is you don't achieve anything by doing that.
Speaker ANo.
Speaker BYou don't make a story, you know, you don't inspire anyone.
Speaker AThat's right.
Speaker BSo you choose what you want to be.
Speaker CIsn't there a saying, I know I'm going to botch it, but something along the lines of a great leader is not one who promotes himself but makes everyone around them a leader as well or, you know, uplifts everyone around them.
Speaker CYep, it's something like that.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker CI'm not saying it right, but you get the gist.
Speaker AWell.
Speaker AAnd when you think about it, that's the way humanity succeeds, you know, it really is.
Speaker AAnd women so often encounter things that, where they have the imposter syndrome simply because of the people who are around them.
Speaker AAnd it's rather interesting, Jasmeet, that you're seeing it more with women.
Speaker AIt's rather than men.
Speaker ASo there's a message that is being ingrained somewhere along the line where women have this self doubt all the time, Right.
Speaker BI mean, if you look at the way we bring up the bring up boys and girls, right?
Speaker BFor boys, we let them run, play soccer, get dirty, do monkey bars, they fall, they get hurt, they, you know, it's like, okay, brush it off, keep running, keep moving.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BWith our girls, we want to make them perfect, look pretty all the time.
Speaker BYou know, we don't really want to groom them to be tally kit, Right.
Speaker BWe want them to be more brave.
Speaker BIt's okay for them to fall.
Speaker BIt's okay for, you know, if they fail in life, if it's okay if they fall or get hurt, but they have to have the courage to stand up.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BAnd.
Speaker BAnd that starts from the very, you know, I would say toddler age, right.
Speaker BLet them run, let them, you know, get hurt.
Speaker BLet like.
Speaker BLike we do for boys, right.
Speaker BPut them in tough sports, let them get that from within, and it's okay.
Speaker BYou're just making them to achieve better in life because things will happen when they grow up.
Speaker AOh, absolutely.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BIt's not going to be rosy.
Speaker BRosy for them, you know, when they grow up.
Speaker BSo they will have to learn to deal with rejections, deal with issues and problems and things not working out.
Speaker BBut that doesn't mean that there's a problem with them.
Speaker BSo they just need to understand the situation, build the courage, accept it and move on, focus on the next step, next thing in life.
Speaker ADealing with rejection, that's something that people have difficulties with.
Speaker AAnd I think it's really profound.
Speaker AWhen you're a teenager, you want to be like everybody else.
Speaker AYou don't want to be rejected.
Speaker AAnd that's a real stumbling block.
Speaker AI would imagine boys feel the same way, but I know girls definitely do.
Speaker BI.
Speaker BI agree, you know, to some extent.
Speaker BLike, boys may.
Speaker BMay feel it, but I think they still have learned to brush it off much faster than girls.
Speaker BI think for girls, it goes way deeper within them.
Speaker AIt really does.
Speaker AYou feel absolutely wounded.
Speaker AYou know, I remember doing feeling that way in schools.
Speaker ALike, wow.
Speaker AYou know, they say sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt me.
Speaker AAnd I never thought, yeah, words do hurt.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BYou know, yeah, that's true.
Speaker BAnd I think you just need to learn to get over it.
Speaker BI mean, that's the.
Speaker BAnd.
Speaker BAnd I don't want to mention one thing, right.
Speaker BLike, you have to build them strong.
Speaker BAnd that's what I want for my daughter.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BI always encourage her to stand up, you know, face challenges.
Speaker BIt's okay if things don't work out and don't always, you know, focus on the negative things in life.
Speaker BAnd not only my daughter, in fact, even my son.
Speaker BAnd a few years back, I know where we were, we were in a picnic or something.
Speaker BAnd I did mention him one thing, which I remind myself, too, and I said to them that when you grow up, your professional life and your personal life are two different things.
Speaker BIf one of them is not working, don't mess up the other one.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIf personal life, that's a different situation, try to keep your emotions you Know, compose them in a different way that it doesn't impact your professional life.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BBecause I feel like when we start mixing everything, the message that we give us ourselves at that time is that, oh, we are not worth it.
Speaker BOh, my God, this is horrible.
Speaker BOh, my God, this has happened.
Speaker BBut that will not give us the strength.
Speaker BJust being able to segregate emotions is also a very big tool that can help you go further in life.
Speaker AI like that.
Speaker ABasically.
Speaker AWhat?
Speaker ACompartmentalize.
Speaker APut things in their little area because otherwise then it's just super overwhelming.
Speaker BExactly.
Speaker BEspecially for teenagers nowadays.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AOh, gosh.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AYou know, being a teenager is complicated.
Speaker AIt does even so much more complicated.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker AYou've got some wonderful chapters here, Jasmeet.
Speaker AThe odyssey of continuous Growth, Decoding self respect.
Speaker AI like that.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker ABuilding a fortress of supportive community, Breaking through barriers, Shaping opportunities through open dialogue.
Speaker AAll of these things.
Speaker AAnd then you've got stories of triumph.
Speaker ASo you've got actual case studies, if you will, success stories of people who've done these things to really inspire the reader.
Speaker ADid you want to kind of maybe give the Cliff Notes on some of that and what people could expect in your book?
Speaker AYour message is good for anyone, even if they're not going into technology.
Speaker AI think this is a powerful message.
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker BYou know, my book actually focuses on many aspects.
Speaker BYou know, I'm just.
Speaker BAs I say it, it's going to empower you.
Speaker BIt is a manual for you to strengthen your own abilities to succeed both professionally and personally.
Speaker BAnd when I say that, like in the book chapters, right, Where I share different stories of established women's and mentors and different programs that are out there for women to achieve their goals in technology and personal life.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BBut at the.
Speaker BThe most important part of the book also, I would say, is the.
Speaker BAt end of each chapter, I have this pause and reflect section.
Speaker BSo what you are going to read, you have to absorb it.
Speaker BAnd you have to think, like, how it relates to me now.
Speaker BWhat am I going to do about my situation?
Speaker BBecause just reading is not going to help you.
Speaker BYou have to plan out your own action.
Speaker BAnd that is the key of the book.
Speaker BWhatever you read, you absorb, you digest, and you figure out how I'm going to implement this in my life, how this is going to change my life.
Speaker AIt's a way to internalize it.
Speaker AI like that.
Speaker CYeah, me too.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker ASo where do people find your book, Jasmeet?
Speaker BIt's available on Amazon.
Speaker BYou can just search up for Code Horizon, Amazon, and you should be able to see it okay.
Speaker AAnd it's called Code Her Rising.
Speaker AEmpowering Women across Borders, Navigating Challenges and cultivating Success.
Speaker AI love all of those topics and I love how you're empowering women across borders.
Speaker BThank you.
Speaker BThank you so much.
Speaker ADo you see technology changing with a lot more women going into it?
Speaker AI would love to see that, definitely.
Speaker BAnd I think as you mentioned, right, not only kids or younger generation, even us women's, we have a really good imagination, right.
Speaker BWe are such good designers, we are such good in art, right?
Speaker BSo if you talk about AI, how it can change things, how, you know, just designing a process for a system, you know, for a corporate, Right.
Speaker BWe can be very, very creative in that.
Speaker BYou know, we can look for the gaps we can think around.
Speaker BYou know, the.
Speaker BBecause we always, you know, being mothers, you know, we always think of what can go wrong also.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd that is definitely one of the best and our best approach we have.
Speaker BWhen we design things, we design tools or even when we are using them, we can look for, even in quality assurance, we are so good because we can actually think of, yes, this is a smooth process, but what can go wrong, at what point it can go wrong, what we need to figure out.
Speaker BAnd in hacking, when you learn the tool, you can think of what needs to be checked, what is missing again, in compliance, in it, right?
Speaker BYou know, okay, this is a tool.
Speaker BWe have these protocols that we need to focus on.
Speaker BBut what is still missing?
Speaker BWhat is, did I receive the complete answer or do I need to reach out for more information?
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo we are a very sincere, hardworking community and we just need opportunities and I think a support because a lot of us women, we do take career break, right?
Speaker BOnce we have family, we have kids, we want to spend time with them.
Speaker BAnd that's important, you know, that we are with the kids and we raise them.
Speaker BBut that doesn't mean that, oh, after five years or 10 years that I can't go to work now, right.
Speaker BI cannot go back to working in an office because, oh, I haven't worked for so many years.
Speaker BWell, we definitely need.
Speaker BIf we have more of us in technology or in the leadership role, there should be policies around that that support women who come back to work after taking a few years off.
Speaker BAnd there should be some trainings or mentorship or support for them that can give them the confidence and courage.
Speaker BAnd I'm not saying handholding them, just sometimes you just need that little support and then, you know, you are pretty good from there, right?
Speaker BSo I think that's.
Speaker BThat's what is needed and we need.
Speaker BThat's why we need more of us in that leadership role in the.
Speaker BIn technology.
Speaker BSo it can really, you know, people, the corporate can see, you know, how we can benefit and how it's.
Speaker BIt's important to have an inclusive community, an inclusive workforce.
Speaker AAmen to that.
Speaker AWomen bring so many wonderful things to the table.
Speaker AAnd the way our brains work, like you were talking about, if you're designing a program and you're looking for what a hacker could do.
Speaker AWell, when you think about it, the biological brain.
Speaker AWith a woman, you're always trying to figure out what your kid's going to be doing.
Speaker AYou have to be thinking ahead.
Speaker ASo it's really the same functionality in the brain.
Speaker AWe're wired to do that.
Speaker AIt's like, what's going to be going wrong here?
Speaker AWhat could happen to jeopardize this particular infrastructure with a cyber attack or something like that?
Speaker AI could see that women could easily be some of the most valuable workers in the technology industry across the board.
Speaker BI agree.
Speaker CAbsolutely.
Speaker AAnd to accommodate that kind of genius just makes sense.
Speaker AI mean, companies are going to make money if they've got really great employees.
Speaker BYes, absolutely.
Speaker CI think the hardest part is getting the women to believe in themselves that they can make a positive impact.
Speaker CJust a small example just from my world here.
Speaker CYesterday at that women in networking meeting, it was very hard to get women to even come to the meeting.
Speaker CAnd there was about, I think, 25 people that showed up and there was only seven women.
Speaker CIt was all men.
Speaker AWow.
Speaker CRight.
Speaker CAnd so even when I was suggesting to people on our crew, hey, are you coming?
Speaker AOh, no.
Speaker CYou know, they don't want to get involved or.
Speaker CIt's really tough to change the mindset of a group as a whole.
Speaker AIt is.
Speaker CBut I believe that by people like Jasmeet and myself and trying to get out there and change the social consciousness, I think that's the first step in.
Speaker CBecause people will see.
Speaker COh, okay.
Speaker CWell, you know, she's involved and she's involved and she's empowering.
Speaker CWell, maybe my voice does matter.
Speaker CAnd it does.
Speaker AYes, it absolutely does.
Speaker AI love that, Kathy.
Speaker AJasmeet, I love what you're doing.
Speaker AAnd where do people find your book?
Speaker AAgain, just in case they didn't write.
Speaker BIt down, you can search it up on Amazon.
Speaker BAnd the book is called Code Horizon.
Speaker AExcellent.
Speaker ACode Horizon.
Speaker AYes, Me.
Speaker ABravo.
Speaker AThis is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Speaker AAnd this is what's going to make the change that we need.
Speaker BI agree.
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker AIt's been an honor having you with us.
Speaker AI could continue to talk, but we do have a time limit.
Speaker AThis has been great.
Speaker BThank you for the opportunity.
Speaker BIt's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker AThank you.
Speaker AJasmeet, you're one of the champions.
Speaker CYou made my day.
Speaker BThank you.
Speaker CYou did go to work and I'm thinking, damn, I got this.
Speaker AThat's right.
Speaker AThat's right.
Speaker AWe hope you've enjoyed this latest episode and if you want to hear more episodes of Women Road warriors or learn more about our show, be sure to check out womenroadwarriors.com and please follow us on social media.
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Speaker AThanks for listening.
Speaker AYou've been listening to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tacaro.
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Speaker ACom.