WOMEN IN TECH – Kithu: Test Design Engineer at PULS

Qualified specialists in the STEM fields (mathematics, information technology, natural sciences, technology) are needed to drive technological and social development forward. According to a recent study only 38% of STEM graduates in Europe are women. Female representation in tech roles is currently only 22%. The situation has become even more critical since 2016: the percentage of female bachelor graduates in STEM subjects has dropped from 33% to 32%.

Women are even less represented in professions or fields with a clear technology profile (e.g., Cloud or DevOps), which are growing rapidly and thus need more technology talent. Without action, the percentage of women in the tech industry could drop to 21%. By 2027, there will be a shortage of between 1.4-3.9 million skilled workers in the technology sector. This makes it even more important nowadays to encourage women in technical education and professions.  

At PULS, we support women in technical professions. One of them is Kithu, who has been part of PULS since 2013 and works as a test design engineer in the research and development department at the headquarters. We interviewed her about her experiences in this field.

Interviewer: Thank you, Kithu, for sharing your experience with us. In today's world, it is unfortunately still the common perception that technical professions are men's professions.
So, what made you choose a technical profession?

Kithu: My interests for technical field started with a fear for electricity. The more I learned about electricity at school, the more I got curious, because I just could not understand the whole concept. The fact that you cannot touch or see electricity, but its impact is unimaginable, made it even more cunning. I decided to learn electrical and electronics engineering to understand more about it. I am glad I followed my curiosity. This field never bores me. Every day there is something new to learn.

Interviewer: Did you have or do you have a female role model who encouraged you to pursue a technical profession?

Kithu: In my home country, women were expected to be a stay-at-home Mom/wife, leave alone technical field. Nevertheless, there were women at that time, excelling in all fields, be it politics, astronomy, health, teaching, engineering, you name it. In my childhood days, the newspapers would also be filled with successful Women. They made the younger generation accept that it is normal for women to work in any field of interest. So yes, I would say I had female role models. When the time came for me to join university, it was very normal for girls to take up technical field as their field of study.
My parents also made sure that I got all the possible support for my education and career. “No matter what we do, we will get judged, so why not get judged for following your interest“, was their comment. I think this still holds true.

Interviewer: What challenges do you face specifically as a woman in your job?

Kithu: I miss female colleagues in my field. I am sometimes little jealous of my female friends back home who have female colleagues in the same field. Although PULS is setting a good example, it has not yet become the norm in our society. I have the feeling that women and girls still do not have the courage to follow a technical career path. But I would be so happy if I would have more female colleagues in my field especially here at PULS.

Interviewer: I do not think it is a secret that many women in the technology industry feel that their gender has affected the way they are perceived or treated. Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you deal with it?

Kithu: Well, I am lucky enough to have nice colleagues here at PULS who trust me with my work and capabilities.

But I have also experienced it in a different way during my life. For some people it takes time to trust us in female capabilities especially in technical field. Many people have a traditional view in which there are certain predefined field of work reserved for women. And if women step out of this reserved area, there are some ‘curios’ looks of disbelief, I guess. Other than ignoring them and not letting them affect you, I have not yet found a solution for this. I faced this situation when I was job hunting. For the same work profile and experience, the offered pay for female was much lower than for a male. I find this very unfair. Unfortunately, this situation seems to continue in many companies even now.

But I am even happier that I have been in a company for 10 years now, where such injustices do not exist.

Interviewer: With your experience so far, how do you think it is possible to encourage more women to learn and work in technical professions?

Kithu: I do see more women in technical field nowadays than before. The current generation should prove to the next generation that technical field is also for Women. This takes the whole society to change their mindset and expectation. It cannot happen in a day, but slowly I see the wheels turning that way. The more we show the success of women in technical field, the more they are convinced.

Interviewer: What advice would you give to the younger version of yourself?

Kithu: I would just say, follow your interest and dreams and ignore the comments that makes you feel less confident about your decision. There are many Women ahead of you who have already paved the path for you and many ready to follow you. Just be one amongst them.

Interviewer: Where would you like to develop professionally and personally in the near future?

Kithu: Professionally I would like to bring myself forward with more confidence irrespective of my task or field of work.

Personally, I would like to be this person for my kids who makes them understand that all are equal irrespective of their gender, age, origin, color, profession etc. I together with my husband, also want to make them understand that there is no predefined task explicitly meant for women or men.