Women in technical careers: Dayani de Oliveira's story

Dayani de Oliveira is Head of Technology at CI&T and a Women's action group member. Among the Academy of Architecture for Women project leaders, which aims to contribute to more women in technical careers as architects, Day, as she likes to be called, gave us an interview about her career path and perspectives. 

- Tell us a little about your career path: what did you study? Why did you choose Technology?

Since I was a kid, I've always loved playing on the computer. My dad gave me one when I was a kid, and I kept formatting it, playing around with everything I could.

As I was very fond of science back then, I took a risk and did Computer Science. I didn't really know what I would do afterward; at that time, the market in this area was not so heated. 

But it all worked out in the end. I did my first internship right there in the second year of college. From then on, I also started to take part in monitoring groups, and towards the end of the course, I did an internship at a company that made a news website in the city. It was then that I really started programming.

Then I graduated and ended up going back to college, but this time as a contractor. I started a Scientific Initiation project for a master's degree, which was in the area of agronomy. In this project, we sought to improve input use in agriculture using geolocation. This gave us insight into where resources were most needed.

Soon after that experience, I moved to another company and started my career in Java Development. I worked at several companies until an acquaintance came to Campinas and called me. It was then that I heard about CI&T.

- And at CI&T, what was the path to leadership like?

I've been at CI&T since 2012, following the Software Architecture path. I've had different types of contracts, different clients, sectors, and complexities. I used to work more closely with the client. I began to flex other muscles and had a very technical viewpoint, but through exposure to clients, I gained maturity. I started to exercise resilience and communication, and I constantly had to show what we were creating and the references for what we were doing. 

In one of these opportunities, I worked closely with the Heads of Architecture. I had to take a broader, more strategic view. Not looking solely at the operation but also helping the client's architecture team follow this strategy, using the places where CI&T was connected to create learning and share with the company.

This ended up having results for the business. We leveraged customer service during the pandemic, leading to me being Head of Technology from end to end. 

Now, I focus not only on Tech but also on contributing to CI&T's goals and having other responsibilities. I am concerned with things that, although I already cared about them in my daily life, are now genuine concerns, such as: engaging and training and giving people autonomy to create their stories.

- What does being Head of Technology in a multinational company like CI&T mean for you? 

It is a source of great pride. Not only as Head of Tech, but since the beginning of my career, when I started to work more in leadership roles in architecture, I've never had much representation, being the first in some positions. 

This position may seem unreachable for some women, but it is possible. Now I face this role feeling responsible for "how can I get other women to go into this career and understand how this is possible, and how can I help them feel confident being here?".

I think the Academy of Architecture answered things I had never even thought of. We asked for feedback for this initiative, and many of them see the academy as something positive precisely because of the issue of representation. Women often think they can't get there, but with representation, it becomes more tangible.

- Did you have mentors along the way? If so, how did this help you? 

I had a touch of imposter syndrome. I'm indecisive, and we read in market research that women must be much more prepared to say yes than men while running for the same job. Moving from role to role, I often didn't feel confident, but I had people by my side who told me that I was ready to take that new step. 

This gave me confidence and made me accept the challenges posed throughout my career. Having this support network was essential. There were key moments, especially as a developer, where I needed to take more initiative and participate. 

There was also some friction along the way, and I even thought about giving up, that I shouldn't continue this career because it was very difficult. At those times, some people listened to me, understood me, gave me strength, and helped me stay on the path.

These people were essential because sometimes I didn't even believe in myself. I used to say: can I really do it? Is this right? And most of the time, it worked out.

- What were some difficulties you’ve encountered during your journey, and how did you deal with them? 

I think one of the things is that when I first took on this leadership role, I thought I had to have all the answers, and I got really overwhelmed. I put this pressure on myself. It wasn't the team's fault. They were asking for help. But, I've learned that if you're continuously solving problems, you don't leave room for the team to grow.

If I had gone on like that, I might not have been able to handle it. So I began to see that I needed to count on the team. This freed up space to think about other things as well.

You need to know who to go to, where to look, and how to find your way. You need to look at your peers and know that you need to share with them. Decisions can be made by the entire team, not just one person.

We don't need to be heroines all the time, we need to have partners to help and contribute to a given problem.

- How can we raise up other women to reach leadership positions?

By giving back what was given to me: mentoring is important, being someone available and open to help create these environments where women can feel confident to say what they want. 

I think we also need to have channels to talk about these things, that it's normal to be insecure, and it's normal not to know everything. These conversations show that this is part of anyone's everyday life. 

So, I see myself in the role of helping with training and the technical career. Providing these accelerators. I think academia is an example of this; in CI&T as a whole, other things are essential: mentoring, leadership training, and talks on imposter syndrome. Having women in daily life as leaders who manage to have that vision and the same concern.

There's a lot that needs to be done. I see myself contributing to the technical training and providing this safe environment, showing representation, and helping with whatever it takes.

- What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

Don't be afraid to expose yourself, to ask questions, to question. Throw yourself into challenges, and believe that it is possible. Everyone learns, and sometimes learning by doing during the challenge is what helps you gain confidence.

Identify who your leaders are, the people you can count on and don't be banging your head against a wall, suffering alone. Use that support network you think will be important to keep in touch with. Be aware of your goals and what you need to improve.

The important thing is that we are happy, doing what we enjoy. Many things can help and contribute to your evolution daily. 

You can do it.

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