Women in DevOps: Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Success

By JFrog Team December 20, 2022

5 min read

Men have long dominated the tech industry, but that’s slowly starting to change. More and more women are breaking into the industry and making a name for themselves. But it’s not always easy.

We’re excited to share the stories of two inspiring women who have been awarded the swampUP 2022 Diversity Scholarship. This scholarship is for underrepresented groups in the tech/open source communities who can’t attend without financial assistance.

Ragashree Mysuru Chandrashekar and Jelena Moreca have faced obstacles as women in the tech industry. But they haven’t let that stop them from achieving success.

In this blog, they share their experiences and their excitement for attending swampUP 2022. We hope their stories will inspire other women in the tech industry to overcome obstacles and achieve success.

Get to Know Ragashree Mysuru Chandrashekar: Graduate Student at Carnegie Mellon University and Technical Lead at Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Security Technical Advisory Group

*From left to right: Stephen Chin, VP of Developer Relations, JFrog and Ragashree Mysuru Chandrashekar, swampUP 2022 Diversity Scholarship Recipient*

From: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ragashreeshekar

swampUP: New York City, NY

As a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University and Technical Lead at CNCF Security Technical Advisory Group, Ragashree Mysuru Chandrashekar’s research focuses on supply chain security. Her research explores the challenges of securing supply chains and the potential for new security solutions.

But her unwavering passion for STEM doesn’t stop at higher ed’s doors. Chandrashekar describes herself as an InfoSec Unicorn with extensive experience in enabling and driving end-to-end private cloud security strategies. She’s managed millions of virtual machines, thousands of bare-metals and Kubernetes clusters, hundreds of databases and applications, and enforced ISO 27001 and Cloud Security Alliance.

“The scholarship has been a tremendous way to give back to the community, and it’s allowed me to foster an environment of inclusivity and technical expertise, especially for women in STEM fields.”

“I applied for the swampUP 2022 Diversity Sponsorship to network with leading DevOps experts. I’m so glad I applied for the sponsorship because it’s helped me better understand the industry and the people within it,” Chandrashekar told JFrog.

The scholarship afforded her the power of networking and encouraged her to connect with and learn from some of the industry’s most innovative minds. Also, it’s allowed her to foster an environment of inclusivity and technical expertise, especially by spreading awareness about the possibilities for women in STEM fields. “The scholarship has been a tremendous way to give back to the community, and it’s allowed me to foster an environment of inclusivity and technical expertise, especially for women in STEM fields,” added Chandrashekar.

Meet Jelena Moreca, .NET Developer at MIFCOM GmbH

*From left to right: Ix-chel Ruiz Flores, JFrog Developer Advocate and Jelena Moreca, swampUP 2022 Diversity Scholarship Recipient*

From: Munich, Bavaria, Germany

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jelena-moreca-09baab133

swampUP: Munich, Germany

Jelena Moreca is a full-stack developer from Latvia, a small country near the Baltic Sea. “I always wanted to show that girls can do cool stuff too, and gender is just a word,” Moreca told JFrog. “I was one of the best students at my university for many years, but since I started my programmer career, I’ve faced a lot of prejudice, especially in Munich.”

With five years of work experience in programming, her current employer has been providing limited opportunities to her, which she’s been hoping would lead to a more responsible position. She’s always wanted to work in a large, corporate setting where she can have a say in how things are run, but she’s been shut out of those opportunities.

“I’m not just a girl in a male-dominated field; I want to be taken seriously as an expert in my field.”

Inclusivity in STEM was incredibly important for Moreca, and swampUP encouraged her love for tech in a diverse environment. “I want to be treated with the same level of respect and professionalism that my fellow male colleagues are. I’m not just a girl in a male-dominated field; I want to be taken seriously as an expert in my field,” added Moreca.

Everyone Matters

Diversity is an essential value at JFrog, and we’re excited to be able to offer the swampUP 2022 Diversity Scholarship to help make our community even more diverse and inclusive. We want to thank the CD Foundation and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation for their support in making this possible.

It’s essential to provide opportunities for underrepresented groups in the tech community, and we’re proud to be able to offer these scholarships as one way of doing that. The scholarship included a complimentary registration pass to a one-day swampUP 2022 City Tour event, which was an excellent opportunity for Chandrashekar and Moreca to network with like-minded individuals and learn from each other’s experiences.