Shafina: I took a break of 10 years to raise a family at the peak of my career in Australia. Of course, [it] greatly impacted my career [and overall] growth. In fact, technology had changed, and Cloud was the new flavor when I returned to my career. I had to understand all these developments while upskilling myself to be on a level playing field. In those 10 years, however, I did freelance and successfully set up a thriving F&B business, so I did learn other skills that I can leverage now. There will be many times in a woman’s life that they may face such challenges but rest assured that with perseverance and faith, hard work always pays off.

Venny: In my job, most clients are men. [There was a time] during a meeting, they seemed uninterested and made disrespectful jokes. When questions came up, they looked at my male colleague, doubting my abilities. I decided to prove myself, vowing to excel in my field despite being a woman and younger than them. I took [that as a] challenge [that I need] to overcome [and eventually, I succeeded].