A powerful reflection on navigating male-dominated workspaces, offering five essential lessons for women building careers in tech and AI: confidence over talent, emotional intelligence, proactive opportunity-seeking, intentional networking, and the underrated power of humility and kindness.
Her Story
About Nalini
Nalini Garg is a technology consultant at Deloitte, where she specializes in AI and data solutions for clients. She studied computer science at a state university in Rajasthan, India. As the California State Ambassador for the Women in AI nonprofit, Nalini works to bring more women's voices into the field and break down silos that often limit opportunities for women in tech. She applies logical decision-making, a practice she learned from a mentor at Deloitte, both with clients and in her personal life. Outside of her consulting work, Nalini is a yoga instructor at the nonprofit studio GRN Yoga in Santa Clara, teaching at least one class every Saturday. She values humility, kindness, and loyalty in both her professional and personal endeavors, crediting her team for successes and maintaining strong connections with clients and colleagues.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nalini
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My mentor at Deloitte advised to bring emotions out of the picture when making decisions and think logically. I apply that lens with clients and family.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Take the opportunity given to you and identify one. Have every conversation with intention and purpose to keep people in your network and open more doors.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Proving my worth every day as a woman in tech. Women are shy about talking about their work and have to ask for opportunities while others are given them. Part of my work with Women in AI is to bring more women's voices out and break that silo.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Humility, kindness, and loyalty. Be humble about your work and credit the team. Bring more kindness as we are getting short of it. Be loyal to friends, family, work, and clients as they appreciate follow-up connections and you both grow together.
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Articles by Nalini
No One Handed Me a Playbook — I Built One
Five lessons for women building careers in tech and beyond: confidence, clarity, opportunity-seeking, intentional networking, and the quiet power of humility.
I remember the first time I sat in a meeting and realized I was the only woman at the table. I told myself it didn't matter. It did. Not because the men in that room were unkind - most weren't - but because I quickly learned that being good at my job was just the entry, not the reward. Every single day, in some quiet way, I have had to prove I belong. At work. At home. I still do!!
Fifteen years later, I am still very often the only woman in the room and this is what I would tell any woman starting this journey today, especially in a field like AI that is still being shaped, still deciding who gets to build it.
- Confidence, consistency, and grit will take you further than talent alone. Confidence isn't a feeling you wait for - it's a decision you make before the feeling arrives. Consistency outlasts talent almost every time. Show up on the hard days, not just the easy ones. And grit isn't loud. It's the quiet decision to try again tomorrow after today didn't go your way.
- Take the logic out of your feelings before you make a decision, not the feelings out of your life. Feelings are information, not instructions. When something matters, separate what happened from what it means - the story you tell yourself is optional, the event is not. The best professional decisions I've made were the ones where I brough the emotions out of the equation, and led with a clear head.
- Opportunities rarely announce themselves - ask before you're ready. I learned, later than I should have, that my male colleagues were often given impactful stretch assignments before they asked. I had to request mine. So I started asking loudly, early, and often, and I stopped apologizing for it. If you're waiting to be picked, you may wait a long time. Nominate yourself.
- Every conversation is a chance to build something with intention. After meeting someone, ask yourself one honest question: what could we build, solve, or learn together next? Follow up with that in mind. A good network isn't a long contact list - it's a small number of people who would actually pick up the phone for you.
- Humility, kindness, and loyalty are not soft skills - they're your edge. Humility isn't shrinking yourself; it's staying curious even after you've earned the right to be confident. Kindness is not the opposite of strength - in rooms that reward sharp elbows, it's often the rarer, more memorable skill. And loyalty, given wisely, is one of the most underrated career strategies. People remember who stayed.
"To the woman I was 15 years ago: I hope you asked for the raise, the project, the seat, without waiting to be offered."
"To every woman starting this journey now, especially in AI, ask before you're ready, lead with your values, and let your work make the case."
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