In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8, we’re recognizing influential and powerful women at Zscaler who have made a significant impact within their careers, teams, and on the Zscaler family as a whole.
Jey Govindan, Director of Service Operations and Enablement, joined Zscaler in July 2020. Her role is focused on enablement, onboarding, and implementing tools and processes to help her team succeed. We spoke with Jey to get some insight into her career, what gives her fulfillment, and how she plans to inspire future generations of women in tech.
“I’m really proud of my career,” she said. “First of all, I want to thank the great leadership that we have here at Zscaler and also the leadership that I’ve worked with in my previous companies. That trust and confidence that they had in me gave me an opportunity to think out of the box and come up with innovative solutions—whether it is setting up teams, creating hiring strategies, or implementing tools and automation—that really helped me deliver results that made our customers happy.”
Q: What advice do you have for women wanting to get into tech?
A: Don't fear technology. Getting into tech is the same as getting into any space. We all have to develop our skills to be the best, regardless of the field. As long as we commit to working hard and giving it our best, there is nothing to fear—go for it! My advice to women is to not succumb to labeling and stereotyping—all that we need to do is self-analyze and understand from our deep, calm, inner self what we want to do, and stick to it.
Q: What professional advice would you give your younger self?
A: Have long-term goals. I planned my career, for the most part, in the technology industry and how I wanted to work within it, with goals to contribute to the leaders of that space. These were three- to five-year plans. If I were to advise my younger self, I would say to career plan ten years, or even 15 years, into the future and dream the full journey a bit more.
Q: Who was your greatest inspiration when you were growing up and why?
A: My dad has been my inspiration from day one, and he still is. He was a true multi-talented gentleman and we were very close. He was an elite sportsman, engineer, and math wizard. He worked hard and was always very kind and humble. For me, there is so much that I continue to learn from him.
Q: Based on this year’s IWD theme, “Choose to Challenge,” how will you plan to celebrate women’s achievements and forge a path for future rockstar women in tech?
A: I love this year's International Women’s Day theme! We all need to commit to ourselves to "Choose to Challenge." I am who I am because I chose to challenge in the past. With growing awareness, I am 100 percent sure that in a matter of years we won't have to fight it so much!
Q: Is there anything you’d like to add about your career journey or women in tech?
A: I am here as a sounding board, a mentor, or just simply to share my experience with young women.
For more about how Zscaler is celebrating International Women's Day and Women's History Month, read this blog: Fostering Corporate Inclusivity: Honoring Zscaler Leaders on International Women’s Day.
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