June/July 2018 71
STEM careers will have the role models and female mentors that
she didn’t.
“We need to think about what pressures divert extremely capable
minds from pursuing careers in science and engineering as
opposed to the arts and literature and history. In other cultures,
like China, there are way more women in math and science and
they continue to excel in it.
“I hope it’s changing. That’s certainly reflected in the increased
number of undergraduate and graduate students entering science
programs at Stanford.”
And if a young woman today asked her for career advice? “I
would say, ‘Don’t choose to be a scientist. Choose to follow a
major question that will keep you busy your whole life,’ ” says
Shatz. “And if that happens to be a scientific question, then great;
become a scientist.”
SUKHINDER SINGH CASSIDY
Making an impact
IT WAS DAY TWO of Sukhinder Singh Cassidy’s first job in Silicon
Valley, and it wasn’t going well. Her boss, concerned about Cassidy’s
assertiveness, told her she was “scaring the secretaries.”
In the months that followed, Cassidy, who had arrived in California
with a successful track record in Wall Street finance and
London media, was given junior responsibilities while watching
a man in the company reap rewards for his volatile behavior. She
quit the job after six months.
“That early signal to me was that I was too aggressive, and if
I had listened to it, I would have left Silicon Valley,” said Cassidy.
“If you’re aggressive, you’re seen as sort of bitchy, and that’s
considered a negative characteristic for a woman vs. a positive
characteristic for a man. At the same time, to really get anywhere,
you have to find your voice, advocate for yourself and be assertive.
I don’t think I’m unique in having that experience.”
Luckily, Cassidy went on to find jobs and workplaces where her
aggressive style was not a liability but an asset. She was welcomed,
praised and rewarded for it. This included roles as business development
SOCIETY HOSTESS JILLIAN MANUS SHARES HER STRATEGIES
manager at Junglee, an e-commerce startup later acquired
by Amazon; co-founder and senior vice president of business
development at financial site Yodlee; president of Asian and Latin
American operations at Google; and CEO of Polyvore. She also
founded JOYUS, an e-commerce site that increases customer
engagement through video, and she has served on the boards of
TripAdvisor, telecommunications company Ericcson and Urban
Outfitters.
Cassidy, who currently lives in Atherton, was born in Tanzania
and grew up in Canada, the daughter of two doctors who ran
their own medical practice. Her father particularly enjoyed the
business aspects of the practice, and passed his enthusiasm for entrepreneurship
and business savvy on to Cassidy. At age 8, she was
already doing his ledgers; by the time she was 12, she was doing
his tax returns; and by 18, she had built him an Excel program to
do his tax returns.
In addition to business skills, her parents also taught her the
value of working for herself and making an impact on the world.
”For both of my parents, it was very clear that a vocation and
a purpose was the same thing. They went to work every day and
had tremendous passion for what they were doing, but they also
felt it was their life purpose. Those two things were completely
fused,” she said. “So that’s behind the feeling I’ve always had that
a job isn’t just something you do, but it’s an expression of who you
are and the impact you want to have on the world.”
Another influence on her approach to life and career was her
family’s religion. Cassidy was raised as a Sikh in a deeply religious
household. She says the tenets of that faith strongly emphasized
the value of service to others.
“If you’ve ever been to a Sikh church, the church is known for
having free meals for anyone. You can walk in off the street and
someone will serve you a warm meal. So the idea of being of service,
with service meaning how you show up in the world, is kind
of a cultural value,” she explains.
Cassidy says the service ethic of her religious upbringing has
also influenced her view of business.
“If you’re in business, you’re meant to serve the people who
work with you; you’re meant to serve your customers; you’re
meant to think about what you’re giving back to the world.”
One of the ways Cassidy has manifested this service influence
is by founding the theBoardlist, an online platform that connects
Luckily, Cassidy went on
to find jobs and workplaces
where her aggressive style was
not a liability but an asset. She
was welcomed, praised and
rewarded for it.
Sukhinder Singh
Cassidy with Freada
Kapor Klein and
Mitch Kapor at the
#BoardForward
Awards