Today she’s known as the first female leader of Microsoft Arabia, with the title of Developer and Platform Evangelism Director. But that’s not the only ‘firsts’ she’s achieved. She was also the first female people manager overseeing the IT department at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the first woman hired to work at the Saudi Stock Exchange.
Upon graduating high school, Al-Yahya had hoped to pursue Artificial Intelligence, only to pick Computer Science as an alternate and closest option.
Having completed her degree, Al-Yahya began working as a software engineer with Samba, making her the first female in the bank’s IT department.
She developed fresh interests while working at the bank which included an appreciation for Tadawul (Saudi Stock Exchange). Her application for a position was turned down at the time because they didn’t hire women. But that did not discourage her. Al-Yahya was determined and kept applying until King Abdullah’s decree opened doors for women in the Kingdom in all industries. Yet again, she claims her applications were rejected since companies still lacked the right facilities to accommodate women.
Al-Yahya, as ambitious as she is, took the bull by the horns and crafted a strategy for their tech department which she submitted with her latest application. “This is what I can do,” Al-Yahya explained. “I told them that even if they didn’t want to hire me, they’re free to use it.” Her conviction and perseverance earned her the position she wanted.
Following her tenure at Tadawul, she went on to run the E-Services Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The obstacles followed her to her new workplace too. “I would call people and they’d hang up the moment they heard my voice,” she said in an interview with Destination Jeddah.
Al-Yahya said her colleagues never took her seriously because they would assume she was a quota hire. She was often excluded from meetings, and most of the time had to have a male escort present with her. However, Al-Yahya was persistent to fight her way to fit in using her work and ideas to speak for her.
The dream of the 12-year-old Al-Yahya finally came true when she received a call from Microsoft Arabia offering her a position at the company. She started her journey with Microsoft as a Professional Development Resource Manager for about a year before being promoted to her current position.
“Show – don’t tell – others how valuable you are,” she said in a message to women. She also urges women, especially those interested in the tech industry, to get ahead of the curve. “In every step of the way we have a choice, either to throw the stones, to stumble on them, to climb over them, or to build with them. That choice is what matters therefore, choose wisely.”
