Meet Forbes ‘30 under 30’ recipient Dina Ayman

Egyptian-American software engineer is a panellist at the World Youth Forum in Sharm El Sheikh

Dina Ayman, 27, is a technical programme manager at Microsoft, an adjunct professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and CEO of Diversity and Inclusion Power. Photo Courtesy Dina Ayman

When Dina Ayman was choosing her degree major, her parents told her “engineering is not for women”.

The Egyptian-American, 27, went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, teach at the university, work at Intel and Microsoft, and start a consultancy dedicated to diversity and inclusion.

“I know that technology is still a male-dominated field and we still have so much work to do but I want to tell women that engineering and technology is for them,” Ms Ayman tells The National.

Her efforts were validated last month when she was honoured in the Forbes “30 Under 30” North America list for her achievements in enterprise technology.

The annual ranking recognises “young innovators on the verge of making it big”.

This week she is taking part in the fourth World Youth Forum in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, which concludes on Thursday. She spoke on panels including “the future of technology and post-pandemic digital transformation” and “diversity and inclusion power in technology”.

Ms Ayman is a technical programme manager at Microsoft leading a team of software engineers, an adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering at NJIT and chief executive of Diversity and Inclusion Power.

She is also working with Immigration Minister Nabila Makram as an ambassador for Egypt’s Haya Karima (Decent Life) initiative, a social development project that aims to reduce poverty rates and provide job opportunities in 4,500 villages in the next three years.

“[Dina] is a source of pride for Egyptian women abroad, as she is a unique and inspiring model that embodies the empowerment of women and youth at the same time, after she was able to achieve several successes in the field of technology, becoming an influencer in American society,” Ms Makram said in a statement congratulating Ms Ayman on the Forbes honour.

“Proud to represent Muslims, minorities, women of colour, Egyptians, Arabs, Microsoft and New Jersey Institute of Technology. This is for you, my family and my mentors,” Ms Ayman said in a LinkedIn post at the time.

Ms Ayman was born in New Jersey, moved with her family back to Egypt for elementary and middle school, and then returned to the US starting in high school. But owing to “immigration issues that took 11 years to solve”, her mother could not accompany them.

“During that time, as the oldest in my family, I had to take the mother’s role at home for 11 years for my three younger siblings,” she says. “Even though it was really tough to do so for a high-school girl, it absolutely shaped the person I am today.”

Ms Ayman says the experience taught her to work hard and strive to become a role model for others. She had wanted to become an engineer since adolescence and her love for technology grew in high school.

“The idea that I can create something here in the US that would be used on the other side of the world was always fascinating for me,” she says.

She decided to major in computer engineering at university, and had the opportunity to embark on her master’s degree before completing her undergraduate one. Her first job after college was as a software engineer at Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer.

Since March 2020, Ms Ayman has been a programme manager at Microsoft. In January 2021, she started to teach at her alma mater. And in August, she founded Diversity and Inclusion Power, connecting corporations and universities with training, speakers and events.

With nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram, she says she also loves “connecting with youth to help with their careers as much as I can”.

Following the Forbes honour, she says she is “super-excited” for the Forbes 30/50 summit taking place March 6-9 in Abu Dhabi to “meet some of the world’s most powerful women”.

The mentoring event will draw from the “30 Under 30” and “50 Over 50” communities on the occasion of International Women’s Day.