Radhika Patel 
Capco
Excellence in Innovation
Radhika Patel notes that her greatest professional achievement was building an innovation lab from the ground up, within a consultancy, over the course of a year. "The work that we produced secured sponsorship from key internal stakeholders and I was able to scale the lab from 1 to 3 development teams during the pandemic. Given that it has been a period of cost-cutting for everyone, it's a real testament to the perseverance and resilience of the lab team that the company has made this investment into the lab."
Patel believes the challenges faced by women are difficult to assess because many assume that women should be able to identify that the challenge they are experiencing is based on gender. She says, "It's not always obvious and I don't think it's fair to make it a woman's responsibility in identifying those challenges. It's everyone's responsibility to tackle biases towards women in the workplace and more broadly. Something that continues to surprise me, although it shouldn't since the data on this has been floating around for eons, is the distinct lack of confidence of women compared to male peers both in consulting and tech. I'm certainly not exempt from this list but being more and more aware of it allows me to proactively support other women when they are in my team."
Recently Patel received what she called "really good advice," extolling her to trust in her future self. "I think many of us, men and women alike, are so afraid of failure that we end up worrying about whether a decision we made now will go wrong in the future. For example, "Is the direction I've decided to take the team in the right one? What if our presentation doesn't go well? What if?" In these moments I tell myself that I trust my future self will be able to manage those situations. This way I can free up my mind from that limiting anxiety and better face challenges in the present."
Q&A: What does winning a Women Leaders in Technology award mean to you?
"To be acknowledged as a leader in tech and chosen from a suite of accomplished, international women, is a genuine honor. Hopefully, it will improve visibility of females in leadership positions, put a spotlight on the fact that women are able to have a voice within Innovation and Tech specifically, and encourage others not to shy away from what they really care about."
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