As March comes to an end we take this moment to reflect on how we celebrated International Women’s Day at Isovalent in 2026. We aligned it with the official theme of this year “Give to Gain” and we truly resonated to it. Nobody can flourish in total isolation; at some point or another, someone has given us their trust, or our first opportunity before we felt fully ready. And then there are times when we get to do the same for someone else. This month we invited everyone to reflect on this fact, either how they were given or how they were giving those opportunities of growth to others, raising awareness across teams. Some of our Isonauts shared their personal stories about the moments when they received support, someone gave them a voice, helped amplify their work, offered guidance and how they supported others as well. The stories we got were very different one from another, but all of them showed the power of being there for each others, they were real, grounded and sometimes vulnerable. We are sharing below some of the reflections by our Isonauts. Each of them is very personal in nature with a unique perspective, a powerful insight, or a meaningful experience. We hope that reading them inspires you to notice these moments in your journey and hopefully create them for those around you as well. Namratha Kallavi My then manager placed immense trust in my abilities - Namratha Kallavi, Software Engineer at Isovalent I was handed over complete control of an important project, with just a one-liner requirement. The deliverable was directly gating the product delivery, so, stakes were pretty high. However, my then manager placed immense trust in my abilities to understand a new domain and also make significant contributions to it. This was quite a big deal as I was just about 3 years into my career. Eventually we did make a successful delivery as well. I got introduced to several new areas - Boot time security, Linux kernel basics, Firmware specs like EFI, Cryptography among others. This provided a solid foundation for my understanding of Security concepts and paved the way for my transition into security domain. Alvaro Uria The value lies not in the quantity of feedback but in the diversity of perspectives providing it - Alvaro Uria, Engineering Manager at Isovalent Over the years, while studying in mixed schools and universities and working both as an individual contributor and a manager, I have never believed that a poor student or worker was related to a person’s gender. However, I have reflected on situations where student groups or workplace teams lacked diversity. Through conversations with women at work and during interviews, and working side by side, I have come to see the gender gap as fundamentally an opportunity gap. It represents an opportunity for individuals with different career paths or goals to receive mentorship or sponsorship, to be heard, to share advice, or to take a chance. Often, the value lies not in the quantity of feedback but in the diversity of perspectives providing it, which helps break groupthink and fosters great things. I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given in life, and I seek doing the same with guidance (including specialists such as recruiters, or fellow female colleagues). Camilla Conte Mentors helped me build my confidence and my communication skills - Camilla Conte, Software Engineer at Isovalent My boss at a small company used to tell me how good I was with Python coding, and he seemed convinced about it. The next time I had a job interview, I was talking about my skills with much more confidence. Few years later, I joined a formal mentorship program. There, they showed me how to write about my achievements, so that shortly after I was promoted. These and many other mentors helped me build my confidence and my communication skills. Today I try to do the same by encouraging others and leading by example. Where I'm today I feel satisfied. My younger self would be proud. Donia Chaiehloudj Today I built something for other women, so that in their most vulnerable moments, can read words written for them - Donia Chaiehloudj, Software Engineer at Isovalent 2 hours in bed for International Women’s Day. Something quietly building in the back of my mind for a while. A nurse brings handwritten poems, from strangers, from people like you and me, to mothers in maternity wards in Gaza. She places them on the walls, so that women, in their most vulnerable moments, can read words written for them. I thought, what if anyone in the world could contribute? So I built Shaerlik. شعرلك, “poetry for you.” A place to submit poems from anywhere in the world, in any language. A space where words can travel, reach someone who needs them, and stay with them. What I enjoyed most wasn’t just the result, it was the process. I gave myself room to try things, change direction, improve as I went. No pressure to get it perfect, just following the idea and seeing where it could go. Building something for others made it different. It pushed me to keep going, to care more, and to learn along the way. That’s what I take from it. When you create while giving to others, you end up gaining just as much for yourself. If you write poetry, in any language, go to Shaerlik and offer a poem. Sejal Korenromp …learn from your own challenges & opportunities! - Sejal Korenromp, Global Marketing & GTM Strategy at Isovalent Participating in the Cisco International Women's Day panel for the Netherlands. It was impactful for me seeing how much "just" sharing my experience is appreciated and can have a positive impact and help others grow, build connections and learn from your own challenges & opportunities! Erica Parker Looking back, that single internship opportunity truly shaped the trajectory of my entire career, and I’m incredibly grateful for it - Erica Parker, Sr. Global Event Manager at Isovalent An opportunity that shaped my life was landing an internship at VMware right as I was graduating college. That one position became my foot in the door to the tech industry, but more importantly it introduced me to people who would go on to have a lasting impact on my career, even to this day. I joined a small team of three responsible for managing all corporate trade shows for VMware, supporting 16 business units. Early on, I was assigned many of the shows no one else wanted, events like Cloud Foundry Summit, OpenStack Summit, KubeCon, Grace Hopper, re:Invent, Black Hat, Interop, and more. It was very much a “thrown into the fire” experience where I had to learn quickly, navigate high expectations, and at times deal with the “you’re lucky to be here” mindset and challenging dynamics in a male-dominated environment. Through those experiences, I traveled the world on my own, built strong relationships with many of the business units, especially the NSX team and eventually earned their trust to the point where they specifically requested to work with me over more senior event managers. After being hired full-time, those relationships and connections helped open the next doors in my career. I went on to work at the Linux Foundation and later at CoreOS, where I led an event and field marketing program on my own for the first time while riding the early Kubernetes wave. During that time, I had the privilege of working with incredible people and becoming deeply connected with the cloud native community, which ultimately became my community where I went on to Tigera, Lighstep, Gitlab and now Isovalent. I have not just made great colleagues but life long friendships and met my husband. Looking back, that single internship opportunity truly shaped the trajectory of my entire career, and I’m incredibly grateful for it. Rachel Leekin Many of those women, are doing well in their careers and chose to take jobs/roles that they might have considered before - Rachel Leekin, Solutions Engineer at Isovalent Since I started my career in Tech, I have usually been the only woman on my immediate teams or only technical woman in the larger organization. I didn't think I had much influence on other women's career paths. But when I started posting on LinkedIn about my work, presentations and achievements, my inbox started getting flooded by women asking for advice. I started doing 1:1s with these women, providing feedback and guidance and this was very rewarding. Fast forward, many of those women, are doing well in their careers and chose to take jobs/roles that they might have considered before we chatted. This was impactful because I felt like I was making a difference even though that wasn't my original intention. My intention was just to help where and when I could. So to make such a large impact that I have in such a short space of time, I'm very proud of that. Jenny Schiffman …hearing each women come up and speak about their own accomplishments- and how it inspired others around them - Jenny Schiffman, Director, Revenue Operations & Strategic Accounts at Isovalent When I was at Google, I was a led/facilitated a workshop called "I am Remarkable" on International Women's Day. This workshop empowered its participants to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond. It provided tools to overcome self promotion hurdles, reduce imposter syndrome and challenged social modesty norms- the feedback was incredibly positive and the women in the room left feeling empowered by their accomplishments. It was impactful for me hearing each women come up and speak about their own accomplishments- and how it inspired others around them. Beatrice Ghorra I wish someone encouraged me when I was young to persue my current dream job - Beatrice Ghorra, Solution Engineer at Isovalent I am running a Public Speaking workshop for the Women of Impact at Cisco. I also support young girls in STEM through the Connected Girls initiative. This has led me to do volunteering at schools to bring awareness on Cybersecurity and AI. I wish I had someone like me, encourage me when I was young to persue my current dream job. It's my way of giving back to all the mentors I had. Aline Horn Phil and Thomas gave me an opportunity when I almost lost hope. I found a place where I could finally give my best - Aline Horn, Employee Experience Manager, Culture Bee at Isovalent A few years ago, I found myself in a very tricky situation. I had made the decision to leave a company where flexibility was a foreign word and work-life balance felt impossible — especially as a new mother. I resigned from my current job and nothing was working out. Roles weren't the right fit, or I wasn't given a chance. It was exhausting, and discouraging. Then, one day, I received a message from a friend of mine, Phil, who shared a job opening from a company called Isovalent, and after a surprisingly swift interview process, I stepped into a world that felt completely different: a startup company full of openness, kindness, flexibility, and genuine human understanding. The transition wasn't easy or quick. It took me nearly a year to truly arrive — to exhale, to trust, to grow. But during that very year, I joined the Culture Team, an experience that opened yet another door I didn't even know to look for. More than three years later, I'm still working for Isovalent, I'm still growing and being tremendously grateful for this new path. This is what Give to Gain means to me. Phil and Thomas gave me an opportunity when I almost lost hope. I found a place where I could finally give my best — to my work, to my family, and to myself. Never underestimate the power of passing something on. You never know whose life you might quietly change. Thank you to everyone who took part in this initiative by either submitting a story or by using it as a reminder to give more to all women. This month has really shown to us that we all need this little push sometimes. Whether it's a kind word, a helping hand, or just being there for someone, we can all make a difference in each other's lives. And that's how we grow, by helping each other out and giving each other chances to shine.