Shridi, a 40-year old executive from the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm, is a tech pioneer in his community and an ambassador for the hi-tech sector in the Arab world. He frequently speaks with high school students about breaking into a world that many assume is inaccessible for them. But years of facing and overcoming challenges have positioned him as a role model for many.
"I grew up in Umm al-Fahm, but my parents sent me to a Christian school in Haifa, one of the best private schools in the country," Shridi says. "It was important for them to give me the best education they could afford. After that, I studied software engineering at Ben Gurion University. But an Arab graduating university doesn't start off with the advantages that Israelis get after serving in the army. My friends would tell me to give up, that I would never get a job in tech, and I had to make an effort to ignore them. But it was clear that I would have to work a lot harder to join the tech sector and all of the luxuries associated with it."
Shridi began his professional career at a startup in Herzliya, and later worked for geothermal energy company Ormat as a software developer, eventually working his way up to be the head of the company's software development team. He was the only Arab in a company of over 100 people.
In 2017, Shridi left to work at General Electric as technical lead, and a year later, he was hired as CTO of the innovation laboratory of the Sompo Corporation in Israel, one of three worldwide innovation centers for the global Japanese insurance company.
"When I was starting out, there weren't as many jobs available as today," Shridi says. "Arabs coming out of university now have a much better chance of landing a good job than 10 years ago."
Shridi now works with the Tsofen organization to promote hi-tech in Arab society, speaking in schools and bringing groups to visit his company's offices in Tel Aviv. He is encouraged by the changes he sees.
"I try to give the students I speak with an accurate picture of what to expect, including the challenges they will face," Shridi says. "They need to understand that, as a minority, they will face many challenges, and they will have to work hard to prove themselves. But they need to know that they can join this train that drives the economy, put themselves in a much better position, and improve how their community is perceived from the outside and inside."
"There are a growing number of Arab students studying science subjects, including women," he says. "About 33% of all computer science students at the Technion are now Arab, and 40% of those are women. My professor from Ben Gurion University tells me that while there were once just two Arab students studying computer science there, now there are more than 100."
Shridi sees working in a mixed environment as essential for peaceful relations between Jews and Arabs. "Most people I work with are Jewish, and when you work closely together for so many hours a day, learn to understand each others' issues and challenges, and relate to each other as human beings," he says. "There are some things about our world that make me really angry. At work we are equals, but when we get home, our worlds are not equal. But when we work together, we start to understand those differences on a personal level. If you just stay working in the village your family lives in, you don't get any of that. Working side-by-side in the tech sector makes a really good bridge to encourage understanding between both sides."
Ultimately Shridi wants to help more Arabs feel confident interviewing at Israeli tech companies. "Arab youth are generally not good at presenting themselves- they lack the experience of people who have grown up a certain way and traveled," he says. "I want them to understand that recruiters are looking for good talent, and that if you can go in with the confidence that you are the best candidate for the job, Arabs can make it in Israeli hi-tech."