Why being an outsider gives you an edge

She is driven by the power of technology to transform the lives of young people. With a background in sustainability & innovation, she has developed innovations and built partnerships powered by a clear vision and mission.

Manjul holds an MA in Sustainable Design from the University of Brighton and was awarded the Prime Minister’s Point of Light commendation. She has presented at events such as eMen Conference, Women in Games European Conference, Public Health England (PHE) Annual Conference and the NHS Confed Expo and has featured in media publications including the BBC. She’s also the co-founder of the UK’s first child-led avoidable sight loss initiative ‘Eye Heroes’. Previously she worked as an Innovation Lead at Shift delivering social impact projects nationally and internationally.

When you picture a tech CEO, chances are you imagine someone white, male, and middle-aged.

That’s no coincidence – it’s because the industry has been built by (and for) people who fit that exact mould. In fact, up to 90% of tech CEOs conform to this ‘Silicon Valley archetype.’

Consequently, women have minimal representation at the top. This can feel like a double whammy if you’re not only a woman with ambition, expertise, and experience striving to reach the top but are also a migrant and a person of colour – often being the only one in the room who doesn’t fit the stereotype.

Early in my career, someone told me, “You’ll always be judged for something or another, so you can’t hold back because of this.”

I realised that instead of trying to conform to an image of a person I could never be, I had the choice to be myself and be proud and confident in who I am. So, I started presenting myself as myself and found that this worked in my favour (in most cases). I could speak freely without pretending to be someone else, filtering my thoughts, or editing my accent.

Being an outsider has given me the power to develop a unique perspective. I bring this perspective to situations where people like me often feel marginalised. Creating new products and services for better mental healthcare, especially for individuals that mainstream services struggle to reach, has become a significant driver for my work.

If you’re a woman in tech (especially a migrant) your outsider perspective is an asset. Here’s how to use it.

Reframe your frustrations as opportunities

Pay attention to what frustrates you about the system you’re working within and use this as fuel. Your unique insight is valuable and can enable you to frame your frustrations as business opportunities that others might have missed, for example “we’re excluding this demographic – here’s how we could better serve them”; or “I know that this group won’t respond to that messaging, let’s try this instead.” Find data (even anecdotal) that helps back up your points and don’t be afraid to speak up. The best innovations come from solving unmet needs in your own community.

Take mental health care for example. According to the NIHR, ethnic minorities have poorer access to mental health services and see poorer outcomes. I set out to fix this problem: my mental healthtech company, BFB Labs, creates mental health interventions which drive disproportionately high levels of engagement and positive outcomes among children from ethnic minority groups compared to traditional services. It figures.

When systems are broken for a particular group, people from that group are best placed to drive change because they have experienced the inequality firsthand. Your perspective matters.

Challenge the default user

When you’re designing solutions, consciously challenge the idea of a “default” user. Ask yourself: “Who would struggle with this? Who might this exclude?” Some of the most universally useful features, like smartphone dark mode or voice assistants, came from designing for edge cases first. The fact is, the very idea of a “default” user is exclusionary, because one-size-fits-all approaches can’t really accommodate everyone. Identifying these gaps could be your way to break into a saturated industry.

Build a rich mix coalition

Find other people who see the world differently too. Look for collaborators who’ve had different life experiences than the typical tech crowd. When you work with other outsiders, you’ll spot problems – and solutions – that homogeneous teams miss.

According to research, groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform those of high abilities. This study referred to mathematicians specifically, but its findings are widely applicable. Think of a University Challenge team, and how diversity of expertise within a team is such an advantage. The same applies to bringing together different perspectives when designing tech products. Diversity and creativity are intimately linked.

We take this to heart at BFB Labs. Our management team comprises three women from ethnic minority backgrounds, and 45% of the team is ethnically diverse. I see our unique perspectives as a particular strength, helping us to build inclusive solutions.

As a tech leader from a marginalised community, I’ve had to learn how to turn disadvantages into assets. By designing tech with inclusivity in mind, we can create products which foster equality for the benefit of wider society. The world is shifting, and soon, when we think about leaders in tech, there won’t be one standard archetype.