👈 BACK TO NEWS & INSIGHTSInternational Women's Day Series 2025: Accelerating Action With Arpita Bhayani
This week is International Women’s Day 2025, the theme #AccelerateAction reminds us that progress toward gender equality requires more than just conversation, it demands bold, decisive steps. Across industries, women in leadership are not just breaking barriers, they are actively reshaping workplaces, policies, and cultures to create a more inclusive future.
Throughout this month we are running our Women in Leadership series! We have a fantastic group of inspirational women leaders, sharing their insights, challenges, and strategies for accelerating action. Their stories highlight what it takes to not only reach the top but inspire other women looking to progress their career into a leadership role.
In this instalment, we have Arpita Bhayani – Former Director of Engineering at JPMorganChase. Arpita is a highly experienced engineering leader who has built high-performing teams across FinTech, eCommerce, and B2B/SaaS sectors in both the US and UK, she is also a strong advocate for STEM education and women in tech, championing efforts to bring more diversity into the field.
1. Please could you provide an overview of your role (current or previous)?
I have spent my career in engineering leadership, working across FinTech, eCommerce, B2B SaaS, and enterprise technology solutions. I’ve led teams in software development, cloud platform engineering, and AI innovation, driving large-scale digital transformation initiatives. My role has always been a balance of technology, strategy, and leadership whether it’s building scalable and secure platforms, fostering innovation, or mentoring diverse teams. Beyond my core engineering leadership, I have been actively involved in programs that promote emerging talent and women in tech, ensuring we create a more inclusive and supportive industry.
2. What do you feel is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career so far?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is navigating biases both implicit and explicit that exist in tech leadership. Early in my career, I often had to work twice as hard to be heard in rooms where I was the only woman. It was challenging since I was always a working mother. Later, as I moved into leadership, I saw how systemic biases influenced hiring, promotions, and leadership opportunities. Another challenge has been advocating for diversity while balancing business priorities convincing leadership that investing in diverse teams isn’t just the “right thing to do” but also drives better business outcomes.
3. What are you most proud of in your career so far?
I am most proud of my impact on people whether it’s mentoring women and neurodivergent individuals in tech, building high-performing teams, or launching an emerging talent program that successfully brought in gender-diverse hires year after year. I’ve been fortunate to drive meaningful change in organizations, not just through technology but also by shaping culture. Seeing the individuals I’ve mentored step into leadership roles is one of my biggest career highlights.
4. What advice would you give to women who aspire to work in a leadership role?
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Own Your Narrative: Be confident in what you bring to the table. Don't wait for someone to validate your leadership, act like a leader, and the opportunities will follow.
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Find Your Sponsors: Mentors are great, but sponsors, the people who advocate for you in decision-making rooms are game-changers.
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Embrace Continuous Learning: Whether it’s business strategy, AI, or cloud technologies, staying ahead of trends gives you an edge.
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Speak Up: Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo. Sometimes, being the only woman in the room means you bring a perspective no one else does.
5. This year’s theme is ‘Accelerate Action’ – what factors do you think have caused an imbalance at the top of the ladder between men and women, and what do you think businesses need to do to improve gender equality in senior leadership?
The imbalance at the top comes from deeply ingrained structural and cultural biases:
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The “Broken Rung” Problem: Women are often promoted at lower rates early in their careers, limiting their pipeline to senior leadership. I have spoken on this in my talks and panel events – trying to drive change one step at a time.
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Lack of Sponsorship: Women tend to have fewer sponsors who actively advocate for them in leadership discussions.
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Workplace Norms: Leadership expectations are still built around outdated models that don’t account for flexibility or caregiving responsibilities, disproportionately affecting women.
To accelerate action, businesses need to:
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Fix the Broken Rung: Ensure fair and transparent promotion opportunities at the mid-career level.
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Measure & Be Accountable: Set concrete diversity goals and tie them to leadership performance metrics.
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Normalise Different Leadership Styles: Challenge traditional biases about what a leader should look or sound like.
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Create Safe Spaces for Growth: Women need environments where they can take risks, fail, and learn without fear of harsher scrutiny.
Progress is happening, but we need to move from talking about change to embedding it in systems, policies, and mindsets.
Huge thanks to Arpita for taking the time to share her experience and advice with us! Keep your eyes peeled for the next instalment of our International Women’s Day Series later this week.
If you are looking to take the next step in your technology career – get in touch with the team to chat about our current opportunities.
If you're looking to hire Technology leadership talent, our Executive Search Specialist Emily Jackson, can help find inspirational technical leadership talent for your business. Get in touch here
