Pooja Kaushal: Cultivating Diversity and Empathy in UX Leadership

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global celebration of women's social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. IWD reminds us to unite our efforts to foster gender equality, invest in women, and celebrate diversity. The theme of this year's IWD is "Inspire Inclusion."  

Over the next few days, MHS will highlight leaders—exploring their leadership style, knowledge, and perspectives.  

Pooja Kaushal is the Director of User Experience (UX) at MHS with nearly a decade of experience in the field of UX. Pooja advocates for UX design philosophy and leads a team of passionate designers, engineers, and developers. She works hard to maintain a UX culture that focuses on understanding our users’ needs and problem-solving, promoting transparency, accessibility, insights, and empathy. Beyond UX, Pooja is a devoted mother raising an active and rambunctious 3-year-old—teaching him the ways of the force and the Disney mindset of Hakuna Matata. 

This year’s theme of IWD is “Inspire Inclusion” – in your role, what would you do to ensure that inclusion is at the forefront of your leadership style? 

As a woman of color, I understand the importance of inclusion and recognizing individuals for their talent, skill, and potential. Seeing the joy and pride in my parents’ eyes has given me an immense feeling of accomplishment, knowing that I have achieved a dream they could not because of the challenges they experienced being first-generation immigrants. I feel more responsibility to ensure that I am creating the same opportunities that I’ve received from our leadership team at MHS.  

In my role as Director, I plan on making an intentional effort to create an environment where my team feels valued, respected, and heard. I think it’s important as leaders to seek feedback and learn from our mistakes—I want to continue to encourage my team to provide feedback so I can improve my leadership style. I intend to hold myself and others accountable for promoting inclusion, fairness, and equality within our organization. I wholeheartedly believe we all can advance and accomplish our goals if we’re given equal access to resources, opportunities for growth, and career advancement. Fortunately, with MHS, I can provide access to training and development plans for my team so they can reach their potential regardless of their background or identity. 

The United Nations identified that “investing in women” is a critical piece of inclusion. How do you believe investing in women directly accelerates progress, both within organizations and on a broader societal scale?  

We are fortunate to be a part of a company with a strong legacy of female leadership—whose contributions have immensely impacted our organization's growth and progression. I would not be in the position I am in without the investment in gender inclusivity and the investment in my career development. Inclusion and progression of women in society and within an organization not only addresses gender gaps or expands the talent pool but also improves our culture and fosters diversity in experiences, thinking, innovation, problem-solving, and decision-making. As women, we have different experiences, and representation within an organization ensures that the organization represents those voices in society. The continued advancement of women within our organization and society also creates role models to inspire new generations of confident female leaders. 

From a leader's perspective, what guidance would you offer to other women seeking to progress in their careers, specifically in STEM?  

My recommendation to women looking to progress their careers in technology or any industry is to trust yourself and your instincts. There have been many times I’ve had feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy, and at times, it feels that, as women, it can be difficult to avoid these feelings, but we can’t let them hold us back from our true potential. Through our experiences, hard work, and passion, we have unique perspectives and things to offer. Trusting in our capabilities and dismissing our “inner saboteur” can give us the strength and confidence to share ideas and innovate beyond what we think we can. I would encourage women to be the representation in the room you want to see, the voice you haven’t heard or want to hear and to trust that you are enough to get to where you want to be.