Frequently Asked Questions

on being a woman in a male-dominated industry

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?

Perfectionism. I just finished a blog post about this. Some of the skills which we rely on hold us back at the leadership level. Perfectionism is one of them. Girls get lots of positive reinforcement for perfect work which means that society expects it of us, more so than with men, and we expect it of ourselves. We’ll take less risks and not go for the really hard things that will develop us into leaders. You have to make mistakes to learn. Try to build that into your goals each semester. What will you try and fail at? If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough.

As a woman in science and technology what are some of the ways you feel women impact the field in positive ways?

I have had amazing mentors throughout my career, a lot of them female! Women have a different perspective than men do. People of color have a different perspective. They come to conclusions in unique ways so it’s important to have their voices at the table. In my company, I can name a handful of women leaders that have shaped projects and teams in a way no one else could. This has a domino effect on their design, projects, and ultimately our communities as I work in the public sector.

What advice would you give to young women trying to break into engineering and technology fields?

There’s space for everyone! We’re seeing so many more women in leadership roles than before. The rate is still low and we’re still underrepresented but we’re slowly moving that needle.

What is some the advice you share with young women entering a male dominated profession?

Some days will be hard. You’ll need male and female allies and you’ll need to be loud about the challenges you face. If you’re quiet then people don’t know what’s happening and they can’t help to course correct. Be prepared to ask for help when you need it.

As a female leader, what has been the most significant barrier in your career?

I am a very young project manager. Often times I am managing teams of incredibly talented, older white men. They are not used to being told “no” by a young woman. This year has especially been hard with some of my current projects and current teams. I often have to remind and remind my teams that I do have a background in groundwater engineering and that I don’t need to be senior to be able to manage a budget. During these conversations I normally bring a mentor (someone older or male) that these engineers respect. I don’t have the privilege of immediately having respect — I have to earn it and reearn it every week. It’s an unconscious bias that as an industry it is slow to chisel through.

What advice would you give to young girls aspiring to be leaders in their fields?

Everyone has hard days and different people deal with them different ways. For me, I like to analyze through them. I talk them through with my best friends, partners, therapist, mentors, and peers at work. Being emotionally well is just as critical as being physically well. Make sure you take care of your whole self, especially on the days where you’re so busy you feel like you just don’t have time for it.

on self-doubt and personal struggles

Did you ever think you wouldn’t succeed in becoming an engineer?

I struggled with some of my classes in undergrad, especially Calculus 1. Because those classes are necessary for an engineering degree, I knew I had to pass them. There’s no other option. So I took extra lessons, built a study group, and switched to doing the classes in the summer when I could fully focus on that material alone. Almost everyone struggles through an engineering degree at some point — even me, an otherwise A+ student. Engineering builds an endurance and grit that’s necessary to be solving our global challenges. It’s perseverance through the difficult parts that make us uniquely qualified for this career.

Do you ever experience self-doubt?

I think everyone has a bit of imposter syndrome. I am no exception. I put in my very best effort so at the end of the day, that is something that I can be proud of. Somedays my best effort is more than other days. The mindset is to know that you did your best for that day.

on working with different personalities

Have you ever felt that you had to pretend you aren’t as smart as you are in order to fit in or get people to like you? If so, how did you deal with that situation?

As a civil engineer, my job requires as much social intelligence as it does technical intelligence. In some situations, I need to communicate my authority and credentials so that people understand my technical credibility. But in other situations, I disarm people or downplay those same credentials. I’ll ask people to explain it like I’m five or I won’t call a timeout when they start to do the dreaded mansplaining. In those situations, I consciously make the decision to appeal to the crowd or else I’ve decided that this situation doesn’t require intellectual respect from all parties. It’s not worth the stress to always fit in with my intellectual peers, especially if they are people who won’t be changing their viewpoints easily. I see this as a human experience and not necessarily a woman’s experience. As the poet John Lydgate says “you can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all the people all of the time”.

 However, there are certainly situations where my capabilities are called into question purely based on my demographic. Unfortunately because of bias, the situations above happen way more often to women than men. It’s important to then decide if it is worth the energy to dissuade opinions or pretend I’m less knowledgeable than I am. I know that I can always lean on my allies to talk me up to those people if needed or I can ask my allies to repeat what I’ve said so that the content is respected, even if I don’t get credit personally for it. It takes a lot of work to become socially aware of how other people respond in each situation.

 In my personal life I find that I downplay my capabilities more often than in my professional life. Around new people I am cautious around people’s preconceived notions about women in STEM. I have come to expect people to be impressed and maybe a bit intimidated by my career choices (and how much I excel at them). Once I begin to be more familiar with people, no one is confused about my strengths as well as my faults. I keep the people in my life that are okay with my authentic self, both strengths and faults.

 My advice is this, be confident in who you are. If you are confident, then it doesn’t matter how anyone else perceives you. Find your worth and make sure that no one else has control of it but you.