International Women’s Day
Although each year sees more women in STEM fields like engineering and increased diversity in telecommunication, there are still disparities. We asked some of our own engineers what can be done to encourage more women in these fields.
Contributions from:
- Zelia Madigan, Non-Executive Director
- Muireann O’Sullivan, Founder & Senior Software Engineer
- Hadeel H.Alhalaby, Managed Service Supervisor
What advice would you give young women considering a career in telecom or engineering?
Go for every opportunity, every promotion. Do not be your own bias! You are the CEO of your own career, only you can make it happen.
Stand by your decisions, never be shy to raise questions. Ignore those who underestimate your potential.
If you like work where you can easily see the results of your efforts, then go for it! Good job satisfaction.
Why did you decide to go into engineering and telecom?
I enjoyed programming and liked the simplicity of producing something. It is clear if you achieve results or not.
We are (as women) always trying to connect all our families, friends and colleagues together. This is the same thing telecommunication engineers do.
For the opportunity to travel and work all over the world, live and experience different cultures and the chance to learn about new innovative technologies, that have changed people’s lives, everyday.
What do we need to do as a society and industry to encourage women to join these fields?
We need to start early, that is at primary school level, to share the opportunities available to all with a degree in Engineering. Parents and teachers need to be made aware of the diversity of experience and career options available from software developer to CEO with a degree in Engineering. Encourage children at an early age to embrace the STEM subjects and computer coding so they will have the confidence, no matter their gender, to continue at the highest level in these subjects through secondary school and then university.
Not an easy question to answer. All I can say is that it needs to start from primary school level. Girls need to be shown from early on that they can do whatever interests them. If our industry wants to see more women at graduate-level then they need to promote those subjects from early education.
We should support each other by sharing our knowledge and experience.
How can we encourage more women in leadership?
Encourage women at all levels to push themselves forward at every opportunity. Empower women early on in their careers so they will grow and learn and have the confidence to put themselves forward for leadership roles.
We need to spot light on the successful stories for women working in this domain.
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