Gayatri Buragohain, an electronics engineer by training and a feminist by conviction, entered the women’s rights movement through the back door in 2006—working as a tech support person at a women’s rights organization. Witnessing firsthand the vast divide between the women’s movement and the world of technology, and recognizing how few were naming this gap, she stepped out in 2007 to build a solution.
She founded Feminist Approach to Technology (FAT)—India’s first organization dedicated solely to advancing women’s participation across all levels of science and technology, while critiquing the societal impacts of the gender gap. Starting from a humble workshop in her living room, Gayatri grew FAT over nearly two decades into a multi-state organization powered by a 20+ person team and supported by a portfolio of international funders. She navigated this growth while balancing single motherhood, personal trauma, economic precarity, and severe burnout.
When FAT faced an existential crisis in 2018, the young women who had grown up through its programs stepped up, fought for the organization, and claimed it as their own. Gayatri then transitioned into the role of a coach, mentoring these young leaders as they reshaped FAT in their own image.
In March 2026, as FAT celebrated its 18th anniversary, she formally stepped down as Executive Director to become a full-time Coach.