Shelmina Babai Abji: Expert Empowerment
Shelmina Babai Abji, TEDx speaker and former IBM Vice President, empowers leaders especially women and minorities to rise with confidence, purpose, and measurable impact.
Quick Facts:
- Highlights:
- Former Vice President at IBM, overseeing $1B+ in annual global revenue
- TEDx speaker and international leadership keynote presenter
- Board member and angel investor supporting women-led initiatives
- Featured at Google, Harvard, Edward Jones, and major STEM events
- Formats: Keynote Speaker | Leadership Mentor | Diversity & Empowerment Advocate
- Audiences: Corporate executives, emerging leaders, women in business and technology, DEI professionals, and global organizations focused on inclusive leadership and career advancement.
- Outcomes:
- Practical frameworks to lead with confidence, clarity, and impact.
- Empowerment strategies for women and minorities to amplify their voice and visibility.
- Actionable steps to align purpose, performance, and personal growth.
- Travels from: Seattle, WA
- **Fee range: On Request
Talent Services
Keynote Topics:
Show Your Worth
If you’re a woman, especially a woman of color, you know this already: You face unique challenges and obstacles as you work to scale the corporate ladder. From not seeing other faces in the room that look like you to dealing with the stereotypes and (often unconscious) biases in the workplace, you may know what to do to succeed, but not how to get it done in this environment. Show Your Worth shows you how.
In pages that are both inspirational and practical, Shelmina Babai Abji speaks directly to professional women—especially women of color—about how the power of being intentional and strategic can help transform the headwinds you face into much-needed tailwinds.
Talent Short Bio
Shelmina Babai Abji is an acclaimed leadership and empowerment speaker, TEDx presenter, board member, and former Vice President at IBM, where she led global teams generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue. From her beginnings as a software engineer to her rise as one of IBM’s top female executives, Shelmina’s story is one of courage, perseverance, and purpose-driven leadership.
Born and raised in a small town in Tanzania with no access to education beyond 10th grade, Shelmina became the first in her family to graduate from college. Her journey from limited opportunity to corporate success drives her mission: to equip women and underrepresented professionals with the tools to lead with confidence and clarity.
With advanced leadership training from Harvard University, UCLA, and IBM, Shelmina brings evidence-based strategies and lived experience to every stage. She has inspired audiences at Google, Edward Jones, Harvard University, the National Center for Women in Technology, and Black Women in STEM events.
Shelmina’s message blends personal authenticity with actionable strategy—showing audiences how to recognize their value, own their power, and accelerate their leadership trajectory with intention and purpose.
Read Full Bio
Shelmina Babai Abji is a TEDx speaker, board member, former vice president at IBM, and an angel investor. She started her career as a software engineer and then moved into sales and sales leadership, leading global teams to deliver over $1B in annual revenues and serving as a key decision-maker in hiring and promoting hundreds of professionals.
She received extensive leadership training at IBM, Harvard University, and UCLA. As a global empowerment speaker, Abji has addressed attendees at companies, conferences, and colleges that include Google, Edward Jones, National Center for Women in Technology, Black women in STEM, and Harvard.
Shelmina Babai Abji comes from a small town in Tanzania which did not have education past 10th grade. Driven by her desire to lift herself and her family out of poverty, she was first in her family to graduate college.
When Shelmina Babai Abji started her career, there was no one in the room that looked like her. She was afraid to speak up in meetings and underestimated her worth.
There was no books written for women like her to achieve career success.
Through the many challenges and opportunities she came across, she discovered a blueprint that transformed her career and enabled her to become one of the highest ranking woman of color at IBM while raising her two children as a single mother since they were 4 and 2.
She started her career as a Software Engineer and then moved to Sales and sales leadership. She has led global teams and various businesses in multiple sectors. She has delivered over $1B in revenues annually and has consistently maintained high client satisfaction as well as team morale. She was a decision-maker in hiring and promoting hundreds of professionals.
At the peak of Shelmina Babai Abji career, she left IBM to share her blueprint to help other women transform their careers and emerge as leaders.
Through mentoring thousands of women, speaking at corporations, colleges, and conferences globally, she realized that women are still struggling with the same challenges she faced during her career. They are ambitious and looking for ways to achieve career success.
They inspired her to write a book. Her ultimate goal is to create gender equality in leadership roles.
Shelmina Babai Abji has degrees in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, and Mathematics from Wadia College in Pune, India. As part of IBM’s top talent, she received extensive leadership training at IBM and Harvard.
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Talent Videos
Shelmina Babai Abji | Can Fear Advance Your Career? | TEDxMercerIslandHSWomen
In her powerful TEDx talk, Shelmina Babai Abji—former IBM Vice President and global empowerment leader—reveals how embracing fear can become the catalyst for courage, confidence, and career growth.
Video Summary & Key Moments
In this 18-minute, 13-second TEDx talk, Shelmina Babai Abji delivers an inspiring and deeply relatable message about reframing fear as a force for advancement rather than limitation. Drawing on her personal story of rising from a small town in Tanzania to the executive ranks of IBM, Shelmina explores how fear—when faced with awareness and intention—can fuel growth, confidence, and meaningful leadership.
She begins by sharing her early experiences as one of the few women and people of color in global corporate spaces. Initially afraid to speak up, she realized that fear itself could be a compass—pointing toward opportunities that mattered most. By confronting her insecurities, she built the confidence to lead teams generating more than $1 billion in revenue and became a mentor to other women pursuing leadership excellence.
Throughout the talk, Shelmina provides a framework for transforming fear into power.
She encourages audiences to:
-
Recognize fear as a natural signal of growth and potential.
-
Reframe self-doubt into curiosity and preparation.
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Take bold action in alignment with purpose and values.
Through personal anecdotes, humility, and humor, Shelmina shows that fear isn’t a barrier—it’s a teacher. Her story resonates with anyone who has ever doubted their place in the room, reminding audiences that fear can be the spark that ignites leadership and empowerment.
Key Moments
02:15 – Overcoming fear of being different and unseen in corporate spaces
05:00 – Lessons from rising to IBM Vice President and leading global teams
08:30 – Transforming fear into fuel for courage and leadership growth
12:10 – Empowering others to speak up and embrace their worth
15:45 – The mindset shift: fear as a signal for purpose-driven action
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