By Sara Sehgal
According to Microsoft’s 2021 Diversity and Inclusion report, women currently make up just under 30% of the company’s workforce. Shaheena Attarwala is a design leader at Microsoft and her story is remarkable. Shaheena was in Uttar Pradesh, a state in Northern India, and grew up in the Dargah Galli slum in Mumbai. Living in a slum exposed her to problems such as sexual harassment and horrible living conditions at a young age.
Despite this, Shaheena was enrolled at St. Joseph’s Convent and studied there until 10th Grade. Although she wished to attend the computer classes they offered, due to her poor grades, she was forced to do needlework instead. But, she persisted. Shaheena was all too aware that many women in the slums ended up stuck or trapped in their lives with no freedom of their own. She was committed to making sure that the same thing didn’t happen to her. After much convincing, her dad let her study at a local college where she got a bachelor's degree in law and commerce. In order to buy her own computer, she skipped meals and walked back home instead of taking the bus. After completing 12th grade, or the equivalent of a sophomore year of college in America, she completed an HTML course where she fell in love with the design aspect.
Shaheena went on to work at popular companies such as shaadi.com and Wigzo. Shaheena joined Microsoft in 2020 and became a design manager. In interviews, she explains that she “[leads] design and research for the Emerging Markets team”. All of Shaheena’s hard work paid off, and in 2021 she moved to a nice apartment with clean air, greenery, and sunlight.
A huge part of Shaheena’s career has also been dedicated to uplifting young girls, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds. She is involved with fellowships dedicated to mentoring and educating girls. Additionally, she is still con
nected to the slum she grew up in and supports the girls who live there. She works to give them opportunities and raises aw
areness about girl’s education. Shaheena has also helped fund the education of a girl in Bengaluru, a city in India, who now studies forensic sciences.
Shaheena Attarwala is an inspiration to young girls all over the world and a reminder that anything is possible with hard work and dedication.
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