She Talks Tech

Guest: Inez Patel
Episode theme: UX, inclusive design, leadership, and building communities that help women thrive in design and tech.

Episode summary
In this in-person conversation in South Africa, Hlulani sits down with UX leader Inez Patel to unpack her “accidental” path into UX, what UX really is beyond pretty screens, and how user research shapes better products. Inez also shares her leadership journey, the realities of managing people, and why inclusive design matters… plus the impact work behind She Can Do and Girls Invent Tomorrow, and her involvement with One Young World.

What you’ll hear in this episode
How Inez went from a general BA and media studies into UX through an unexpected internship opportunity
The moment she realised UX is about empathy, research, and designing for real human needs
What a UX designer actually does day-to-day… research, wireframes, testing assumptions, and translating insights into usable experiences
The gap between what’s taught and what industry expects, and why UX education evolves so quickly
Consulting vs freelancing vs permanent roles… what she learned from each path
The shift into leadership… and why managing people can be harder than design work
Building impact outside a 9-to-5… She Can Do, Girls Invent Tomorrow, and creating pathways for women
Representation, intersectionality, and why uncomfortable conversations are necessary
AI and UX… why human understanding is still the core skill

About Inez Patel
Inez Patel is a UX leader and Design Director with experience across agencies, consulting, fintech, banking, and healthcare.
She is also the CEO of She Can Do, a nonprofit empowering women in design and tech through training programs, mentorship, research, and community events.
She is a co-director at Girls Invent Tomorrow, supporting high school girls through exposure to careers in tech and design.
Inez is also part of the One Young World global leadership community.

Organisations mentioned
She Can Do… nonprofit empowering women in design and tech
Girls Invent Tomorrow… nonprofit supporting high school girls
One Young World… international leadership community and annual global summit

Memorable moments
“UX is like scientific design”… backed by research, not just aesthetics
“Users don’t read”… but context always matters
Leadership is not just a title… community building is leadership
Inclusive design is not optional if you truly care about impact

Listener takeaway
If you’re entering UX… focus on understanding humans deeply. Tools will evolve. AI will change workflows. But empathy, communication, and inclusive thinking remain your strongest advantages.

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Season 4, Episode 1

Season 4 of She Talks Tech begins here.
In this opening episode, Hlulani reflects on the journey so far and shares what’s guiding the conversations this season. Season 4 continues the space built in previous seasons… honest, thoughtful conversations with women in tech.
Follow and subscribe to stay up to date with new episodes.
Also follow us on instagram @she_talks_tech_podcast
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In this episode, I sit down with my former classmate Matshidiso Tladi, now a Principal Technical Solution Architect, to retrace her journey from uncertainty after matric to leading high-stakes technology teams.

She opens up about quitting nursing after a month, dropping psychology, and spending years feeling lost before a learnership finally introduced her to tech. From hardware support to software development, consulting, banking and now architecture, her story is one of courage, curiosity and choosing purpose even when the path felt unclear.
We talk about imposter syndrome, being a highly technical Black woman in male-dominated rooms, the constant pressure to prove yourself, and how she anchors herself through competence, consistency and giving herself grace. She also shares the toughest chapter in her career, the moment she knew she truly belonged in tech, and what keeps her grounded today.
We close the episode with a beautiful letter she reads to her 10-year-old self… a reminder that you don’t need to have everything figured out to build a meaningful and impactful life.

What We Cover
How she discovered tech after years of uncertainty
Moving from hardware to software and finding her passion
Consulting, banking and navigating high-pressure technology environments
Transitioning into architecture and leading technical teams
Managing imposter syndrome and documenting her achievements
Being a woman of color in technical leadership spaces
Her advice for young women entering tech
The emotional letter to her younger self

Also follow us on instagram @she_talks_tech_podcast

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In this episode, we sit down with Quetzalli Meza, a Security Technical Consulting Engineer at Cisco, whose journey from a small town in Mexico to one of the biggest names in tech is as inspiring as it is powerful.

Quetzalli shares how her early curiosity for computers — and even hacking childhood games — led her into the world of cybersecurity. She opens up about growing up with limited resources, finding purpose through resilience, and how she discovered her calling in penetration testing and data protection.

We talk about:
How poverty and perseverance shaped her path in tech
Transitioning from functional testing to pen testing
The emotional and technical challenges of working in cybersecurity
AI, privacy, and the future of data protection
The importance of teaching, mentorship, and empowering women in tech
Why creativity is an underrated skill in cybersecurity

Quetzalli’s story is a beautiful reminder that curiosity, courage, and compassion can take you further than you ever imagined.
🎧 Tune in for a story that blends technical brilliance, emotional strength, and purpose-driven impact.

Also follow us on instagram @she_talks_tech_podcast
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💬 Show Notes:
From the streets of Zimbabwe to leading conversations on inclusive innovation at Philips, Nancy’s story is one of audacity, purpose, and becoming.
In this episode, Nancy shares how her early experiences during the HIV/AIDS crisis shaped her lifelong mission to bring equity into healthcare — and why she believes inclusion must be at the heart of innovation. We talk about career pivots, creating community in corporate spaces, and what it truly means to belong.
Nancy also opens up about founding BsquaredC, a podcast spotlighting the journeys of Black women in corporate spaces — a platform built to amplify voices, bridge representation gaps, and redefine what leadership looks like.

🎧 Listen to BsquaredC Podcast on Spotify
This is a conversation about courage, community, and carrying your dreams — even when no one else can see them yet.

🌍 Connect with us:
Follow She Talks Tech Podcast on Instagram and LinkedIn for more stories of women redefining what’s possible in tech.
Also follow us on Instagram @she_talks_tech_podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.