Celebrating the women of TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods: Palwasha Rahim

For 2023, the United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.” With women making up less than a third of the world’s workforce in tech-related fields, the theme calls on all of us to close the digital gender gap and celebrate women who are championing the advancement of transformative technology.* Diversity sows the seeds of innovation. Elevating different voices and ways of thinking can help unlock better data insights, decisions and solutions for all. In fact, analysis by McKinsey & Company found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 per cent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile.**

Palwasha Rahim is based in the U.S. where she leads our platform team, developing technology solutions that enable our customers to be more productive and efficient. Learn about her journey in tech and how she is driving innovation and transformative technology in our industry. What is your role? As the Head of Platform, my primary responsibility is to develop a strategic vision and roadmap for our Platform team that aligns with the overall business objectives. Our team provides workflows and solutions to our customers and to the application engineering teams to improve their development experience and assist the business in making data-driven decisions. To achieve this, I collaborate extensively with teams across the organization to ensure that we are meeting our customers' needs and incorporating valuable feedback. In addition, I prioritize building a high-performing platform team by recruiting and nurturing top talent. Another essential aspect of my role is developing relationships with external partners and exploring new and existing technologies to standardize on. By doing so, we can stay ahead of industry trends and ensure that our platform remains scalable, reliable and secure. Overall, my goal is to create a platform that enables our customers to be more productive, efficient and successful, while also driving business growth. What do you enjoy about your job? One of the things I particularly enjoy about my role is building relationships with various members of the organization. Collaborating with others towards shared goals is not only gratifying, but it also allows us to achieve more together than we could on our own. However, what truly drives me is knowing that the work we do has a positive impact on our organization and our customers – this motivation propels me to strive for excellence in all that we do. How do you think more opportunities can be created for women in tech? In my opinion, we are already making strides towards creating more opportunities for women in tech. However, there is always room for improvement, and I believe that addressing biases and promoting diversity and inclusion is crucial to creating a welcoming and supportive environment for women in this field. One effective strategy could be to provide education and training to employees on unconscious biases and actively promote diversity in hiring and promotions. It's also important to increase the representation of women in leadership positions, not only to create a more inclusive culture but also to provide role models for other women in the industry. Another effective approach, as TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods has already demonstrated, is to offer flexible work arrangements such as remote work or flexible schedules to create a more inclusive work environment. Balancing work and personal responsibilities can be a challenge for anyone, regardless of gender. Flexible work arrangements are beneficial for all employees, including men who may also have caregiving responsibilities for children or elderly family members. By providing these options, companies can create a more supportive and inclusive work environment for all employees.

We’re committed to promoting and celebrating diversity and inclusion across our business and within our communities. By embodying our values, we strive to help make life better for our customers, team members and the communities where we live, work and serve. Join us. Explore open roles.