This is the most uncomfortable true thing I am willing to publish under my own name, and it has been stuck in my mind for a long time. The leave gets discussed. The law gets discussed. The return does not. There has… more
Jyoti Gupta · VP of Engineering · Mother · Wife
The career ladder was not built for women carrying children. Let's talk about climbing it anyway.
This site is for women who take their careers seriously and do not want to lose their personal lives climbing the ladder. It is also for leaders who want to treat the women they work with better, because with women supported, we can reach anywhere. Ask me anything, anonymously; I answer in my own words.
Who is answering
An engineer since 2012. A founder who put her own savings in, built the technology herself, and sold the company herself. A VP of Engineering who has sat in the engineer's chair, the founder's chair, and the manager's chair. A mother and a wife. I never want to be number one; I always want to be number two, because it keeps me improving. And I think somebody has to go first.
Ask a question
Ask what you can't ask out loud
Anything you are carrying quietly. There is no question here that is too small, too messy, or too late to ask.
Not sure where to start?
No name, no email, no trace. It comes only to me.
I read every one myself. I answer what I can, in my own words, a few at a time.
What happens after you send: any identifying detail is removed before anything appears here, questions may be lightly edited or combined with similar ones, and not every question gets published. Since there is no email, there is no way for me to reply to you directly: check back, or follow the feed to see new answers the moment they publish.
Recently answered
This is the question I get asked most often, so let me answer it the way I actually answer it in person. I use help, a lot. That is the whole secret, and I am not embarrassed by it. I try to… more
First, the truth nobody says out loud: it is only a very few women who are not serious about their jobs. Most of the women I have worked with are deeply serious, and most of them feel exactly this guilt. So you… more