[100 Emerging Women Leaders] Why this former Uber engineering manager believes in the power of code
Anwaya Aras, currently an engineering manager at Web3 software company Mysten Labs, is fascinated by the impact a few lines of code can have on the world.
Born and brought up in a middle-class family in Bombay, Anwaya Aras was always a hardworking child. Her parents always encouraged her to pursue her passion, even if that meant making some sacrifices.
“Sometimes, the fees for JEE coaching, etc., would be so expensive. But my parents supported me and my dreams, in whatever capacity they could,” she recalls.
Today, Aras is an engineering manager at
, a Web3 software company. Prior to this, she worked with Uber for almost six years.Although Aras was interested in the tech world, she was more inclined towards academia than landing a job. She wanted to complete her PhD before entering the corporate world. But a job opportunity from Uber changed her trajectory.
Her love for tech goes back to her school days when she got her first computer for scoring well in the Class 10th Board examination. But the realisation that tech was her calling came during her college days in BITS Pilani.
“You can literally write a few lines of code while sitting in your house, and it is probably delivering food through some app or helping people interact online. For me, it was fascinating to think that the few lines of code that I was writing could potentially impact millions of lives in the world,” she says.
After completing her BE in computer science, she moved to the University of California, San Diego, to do a master’s course in computer science, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI).
Looking at her time in Silicon Valley, Aras says it is a good launching pad for those who work hard.
“A good thing about Silicon Valley is that you get to work in really high-impactful places if you work hard and prove yourselves. But, sometimes, being the only one from a certain ethnicity or gender in the room can be scary and lonely too,“ she adds.
Her mantra as a woman leader is clear: being mindful to overcome conscious and unconscious biases.
“At every point when making decisions, I try to identify biases and be as honest as possible. There are frameworks to assess conscious biases. But it is the unconscious biases that I am afraid of. Learning to overcome biases is a journey and you can do that as long as you are mindful and honest with yourself,” she says.
The coder feels women often inhibit themselves because of social expectations and the need to break free.
“Be cognisant of enforced social expectations and free yourself. Women have imposter syndrome - we question our capabilities and qualifications. But it is totally okay to not be good at something. We just need to identify weaknesses, make them our strengths, and become stronger,” Aras concludes.
Edited by Teja Lele