First row, left to right: Aisha Maywandi, Juliana Peng
Second row, left to right: Ravneet Kaur, Salvi Keele
As 2023 draws to a close, we would like to highlight four remarkable women who are part of the Information and Instructional Technology Services (IITS) at the University of Toronto Scarborough - Aisha Maywandi, Juliana Peng, Salvi Keele and Ravneet Kaur. From navigating challenges, celebrating victories and imparting wisdom along the way, these women have come a long way. In this final article of the year, we delve into their stories as they continue contributing to the services offered at IITS.
Aisha Maywandi
While a psychology student at UTSC, Aisha Maywandi joined IITS in 2016 as a Student Helpdesk Support. When her contract expired, Aisha found herself applying for a permanent position at IITS and made the decision to pursue a career in IT. Despite not having much trouble navigating the industry, she believes that her lack of knowledge made her more likely to be questioned than her teammates. With no prior education in IT and a strong desire to succeed, Aisha took matters into her own hands and completed training to understand the basics of working with hardware, networks and computer systems.
Today, Aisha, an Information Technology Specialist is a self-assured contributor in IITS and credits her success to her grit, courage to speak up in situations she might have previously found overwhelming and letting go of self-doubt. She draws her inspiration and the confidence to let go of her inhibitions from her mother. Along with trying to find her way in a fast-paced, dynamic industry, the mother-daughter duo fought through her mother’s ovarian cancer. She highlights how the support from IITS and the faith her supervisors had in her gave her confidence during a difficult period in her life.
With the hope of going back to school and moving up in this industry, Aisha is keen on exploring various aspects of IT, especially Information Security and Communications. She resorts to sports and nature to keep her mental health in check. Playing volleyball and taking long walks help Aisha balance her life and career. Like all other women featured here, Aisha encourages more women to take up spaces in the tech industry and make the changes that they are capable of, while also stressing the importance of more informational sessions and opportunities for growth within IITS and the IT industry.
Juliana Peng
As a Systems Administrator at UTSC’s IITS, Juliana and her team members play a crucial role in managing the infrastructure, servers and storage that form the backbone of UTSC’s tech space, thus providing a stable, reliable work environment for the community.
Coming from an engineering background, she initially pursued electrical engineering during her undergrad years, only to realize it wasn’t her true calling. Juliana entered the IT industry at a small startup, inspired by her friend and the industry’s boom. After moving to Canada, Juliana spent six years working for York University before joining UTSC ten years ago.
Prioritization and time management are her essential tools for successfully navigating the challenges of balancing her personal life with her career. Beyond her tech skills, Juliana enjoys hobbies like sewing and dancing. Her motivation comes from the direct impact she has on users and contributing to the ever-changing digital landscape; she also hopes to see more women influence the dynamics of this sector.
Ravneet Kaur
A social worker turned leader—this sums up Ravneet Kaur’s journey of growth and resilience. From doing the work to leading it, Ravneet has come a long way, transitioning from the private sector to the public and navigating between centralized and decentralized IT. A graduate in Psychology and Middle Eastern Studies from UofT, Ravneet aspired to become a psychiatrist. Her first step into the tech industry was at a help desk while also volunteering at a distress center. Five years of community work and a certificate in Project Management later, Ravneet joined UTSC as a Project Coordinator in 2011. Since then, she has donned many hats in Project Management, obtained her MBA from the Rotman School of Management and is now the Director of Strategy and Business Transformation at IITS.
As the only female leader in IITS at UTSC, she embraces each day as a leader, not letting gender define her role. With a strong focus on learning, integrity and fairness, Ravneet prioritizes the growth and well-being of her team while empowering them to strive towards their ambitions. Influenced by her mentors she shifted her focus from tasks to people. Her leadership is now characterized by compassion, commitment and the realization that technical strength isn’t the sole determinant of effective IT leadership.
In her role as Director at IITS, Ravneet envisions continuing to socialize the benefits of EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion), fostering inclusion in decision making, and reviewing existing structures to remove biases against underrepresented individuals. With a vision to bring state-of-the art technology experience to UTSC and an aim to see more women in leadership roles, Ravneet highlights the importance of believing in your own skills and passion without being constrained by others’ perceptions. Her advice for aspiring women in IT is to never stop learning, to never give up on yourself and to build a robust support system to lean back on.
Daily dances with the family, at the end of the work day, helps her create a divide between work and personal life. Ravneet hopes to inspire her daughters in all walks of life and help create a future where they can aspire to achieve anything they set their minds to.
Salvi Keele
Salvi Keele, a New Media graduate from UTSC, originally intended to become a graphic designer. Salvi joined IITS as a Junior Web Designer in 2008, juggling work and academics. 15 years and multiple roles later, Salvi is now the Web Services Lead and provides technical and strategic leadership to the IITS Web team while also looking after the operational tasks and bringing in innovative process changes.
While Salvi did not come across major challenges while moving up in the industry, she highlights the lack of women in the team, often having to seek help from male counterparts when learning something new. To overcome her struggle with self-expression and fear of speaking up, she joined the Rose Patten mentorship program, finding guidance from a female director at the Rotman School of Management.
A working mother of two, Salvi values the encouraging environment at UofT, especially in IITS, where she has seen a visible increase in the number of female contributors. Salvi is constantly learning and manages to balance her time between baking, playing the ukulele, and spending time with her family.
She encourages women who are on similar paths to speak up, look for mentorship, and make use of the resources that are available within UofT while also pushing their comfort zones and inspiring and supporting each other. Salvi intends to keep learning and hopes to continue to advance her web development skills.
Additional Resources:
Rose Patten Mentorship Program
UTSC Leadership, Education and Development (Lead) Program
Leadership Development Program
Soar with MENTOR