Meet Lasya.

She’s a business and data analyst in Technology Service Management at Barclays. But her career goals are about more than job titles – they’re about making a positive impact. From driving productivity and sustainability, to creating an employee support group for neurodiverse colleagues, Lasya has turned her career into a force for good.

“I think for anybody who's in their early career, it's really important to have that flexibility of working with different teams and learning different technologies.”

At university, she gained a Masters in Information Management, with a focus on data analytics. Despite not having a background in finance, Barclays recognised her potential, and she joined through the Grace Hopper cohort (a programme dedicated to women in technology).

Initially, she was nervous about entering a financial institution without prior experience. But her teammates were warm and welcoming, while the environment enabled a great deal of internal mobility. This gave her the freedom and flexibility to explore different functions and sub-functions at the bank, so she could develop a well-rounded skill-set, while also discovering her strengths and interests. For Lasya, this culture was just what she needed to nurture her early career.

Empowered to take on responsibilities.

“I always thought that I would just be shadowing someone with their work.”

As a new-comer, Lasya was expecting to have a passive role, simply shadowing her mentor’s desk. Instead, she was encouraged to be proactive and take on exciting challenges and bigger responsibilities. This was a massive confidence boost – not only was she getting hands-on experience, but she learnt she truly had a voice on her team.

Leveraging technology to make a positive impact.

From there, her career progress accelerated. She began instigating discussions about ways to improve our business with technology; from solving problems at scale, to automating manual tasks in order to decrease workload, boost productivity, and enhance both customer and colleague satisfaction. Most significantly, she began developing technological solutions to streamline processes, “thus reducing a lot of resources, consumption, paper usage and also reducing environmental impact,” she says.

“I have a huge passion for inclusivity and addressing unique needs for neurodiverse individuals. I believe that every neurodiverse individual is very different and Barclays has vast resources for mental health and neurodiversity.”

Later on, Lasya was able to use her voice to support neurodiverse individuals. Having struggled with anxiety herself, she sought support at Reach, Barclays’ global employee resource group that focuses on Mental Health and Neurodiversity. While she felt the benefits of being part of this community, she also noticed a gap in resources for those struggling with anxiety and ADHD. So, she proposed having a separate subgroup dedicated to that specific group of people. Despite being relatively new, she was able to set up meetings and connect to the right people to make her goal a reality.

“It's never monotonous.”

Nowadays, Lasya is working as a business and data analyst, doing a wide range of cross-functional tasks that stimulate her intellect and inspire her to keep making a positive impact on her colleagues, on our customers, and even on the world.