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.
Dianhuan Lin is a Principal Data Scientist and has been with Zscaler for two years. She prides herself on never shying away from a challenge and fully embracing opportunity when it presents itself.
“In my career, I am most proud of being able to follow my passion and choose among opportunities, instead of having the opportunity choose me,” she said. “As far as advice I have for women wanting to get into tech, I’ve found that there is always this negative voice that says, ‘this is too challenging’ or ‘this difficult for women.’ And I always turn those negative thoughts into positive ones, translating it into, ‘that's exactly for me.’”
Dianhuan believes big dreams can be achieved through small efforts when you put in the necessary work.
“As Jay, the CEO of Zscaler, said, ‘it doesn’t matter whether you are a woman or a man—dream big. It is important.’ Once we take that first step or dream big, we must then work backward in terms of what we need to do, take little steps, make those marginal gains. And one day, you'll be surprised how far you have come.”
Outside of work, Dianhuan enjoys hiking and painting, and during quarantine, she has picked up other creative endeavors.
“I started learning how to play piano during quarantine with an online tutorial,” she said. “Although I'm not good at music, I try to get out of my comfort zone, and right now, playing music is my favorite.”
Wendy Case is Director, Regional Sales for the Midwest Major Team at Zscaler and has been with the company for more than three and a half years. A true tech veteran, Wendy has been in the industry for more than 20 years, and didn’t initially know if it would be the right path.
“I took a chance on technology years ago after graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in finance and a minor in accounting and Spanish,” she said. “I'm so glad I did because tech has great opportunity. I gave it a chance and thought, if it didn't work out, I could always get out of it. But look where I am now, twenty-something years later, still here, still in technology.”
Reflecting on the International Women’s Day theme for 2021, Wendy said that she wants to normalize the technology field as a viable option for all women, even if they don’t have a technological background.
“I definitely encourage young women to get into technology. When I think about the International Women’s Day theme, ‘Choose to Challenge,’ I am passionate about challenging my own daughters, as well as their friends, to think about technology as an option,” she said. “There are so many opportunities and so many things that women can take advantage of in a technology company. I think it's an underserved market and we need to keep getting the word out about that.”
She also stressed the importance of advocating for yourself, staying hyper-focused on your goals, and chasing your dreams.
“If I had one piece of advice to give myself from years past, it would definitely be to lean in. I wouldn't have known what that term meant 20 years ago, but I definitely know opportunities passed me by because I didn't lean in,” she said. “I didn't voice my opinion. I didn't let leadership know what I was interested in pursuing. So I'd highly encourage my younger self to do that. And I encourage all the women at Zscaler to do that—make sure that you are heard. Make sure that people know what you want to do, and they can help make your dreams come true.”
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.
Further reading:
Celebrating Women at Zscaler: Ashley Albiani on Staying Motivated and Effecting Change
Celebrating Women at Zscaler: Nicole Martinez on Influential Women and Giving Back
