Four professionals from BBVA's Engineering and Organization department share their point of view, free of stereotypes.
Today when it comes to computer science, programming, software development, the stereotype of the nerdy (male) computer scientist is now outdated. Technical profiles such as those relating to the scientific, technological and engineering fields are increasingly numerous, eclectic and multifaceted.
This is the case of Jennifer, Natalia, Berta and Ilse, graduates in technical-scientific disciplines, who currently work in BBVA's Engineering and Organization department.
Jennifer Sesmero, IT engineer, responsible for training and attracting new talent to the Corporate Security unit. Natalia Heredia, telecommunications engineer, responsible for cross-network projects in Architecture. Berta Gómez, physicist and data scientist, expert on the Advanced Analytics team. Ilse Anahi Esquivel, a graduate in Computer Science, who carries out her activity in the Data Processing Center in Mexico, in the department of Infrastructure and Operations.
Our four protagonists all agree on one point: we must believe in ourselves. "I don't like to generalize, but in many cases we women tend to suffer from impostor syndrome, to feel insecure or to ponder our choices too much", says Berta.
Women have always played a fundamental role in the development of information technology since the early 80s. As of early 1984, 37% of US computer science students were women. We also find similar figures in Spain, with 30% of female students in 1985. However, in the following decades, a decline of 12% or 15% was recorded in Spain, according to data from research conducted by Juan Julián Merelo and Cecilia Merelo.
"When I started studying Computer Science in 2003, at the European University of Madrid, I was the only girl in the first year. In the following years other girls joined us and there were three or four of us in all. And because of that, we've been great friends for almost 20 years", says Jennifer with a smile.
Something similar also happened to Natalia: "Since I started Telecommunication Engineering I have moved into a world where we girls were the minority, but I never let myself be influenced. On the contrary, I believe that the fact of being women enables us to provide added value to the scientific and technological world, contributing with our innate abilities".
IT, telecommunications or physical engineer
“Changing, living in a state of continuous learning, doing something innovative, constantly improving, this was what I liked,” Ilse tells us.
Berta, on the other hand, was inspired by her high school physics professor: "He told us he was going to give lessons as if we were at university and he impressed me very much. I really enjoyed the effort I had to make to disengage myself from everything, to get an overview and, starting from there, be able to solve any type of problem" recalls Berta.
Oggi, la percentuale di donne professioniste nei campi della scienza, della tecnologia, dell’ingegneria e della matematica (STEM, in inglese) si posiziona intorno al 30%, una cifra simile a quella degli esordi, anche se c’è ancora un po’ di strada per raggiungere la parità.
Why choose technical-scientific careers?
“The technology field offers many opportunities,” says Jennifer. “It is a very large sector, there are many choices, different roles and many possibilities”.
For Berta, on the other hand: "Scientific training enables me to tackle almost any problem with perseverance. A scientific perspective is to take a big problem and break it down into smaller pieces that can be solved more easily. If you can't solve a problem, try and try again by looking at it from another perspective. And this is very useful in everyday life. The idea is not only to illustrate the benefits we get by training in science and technology but to demonstrate how we can contribute ourselves in these areas".
According to Natalia: “If, in addition to knowledge, you have the ability to relate and know how to maximize the potential of each person, you will surely be successful. I think it is important to add some innate abilities of women to individual personal skills, such as attention to detail, empathy etc.".
Science and technology, beyond gender stereotypes
“In Physics, Mathematics or Chemistry, at least in my experience, there is a fairer gender proportion than in the engineering or computer science sectors. I believe that from childhood we encounter obstacles in certain areas”, says Berta.
José Antonio Gallego, Head of Diversity at BBVA, in the opinion column ‘Women and STEM: a path full of obstacles’ reports how the main obstacles facing women according to the AAUW (American Association of University Women), a non-profit association that works in favor of gender equality, are: gender stereotypes, predominantly male professional environments and a scarcity of female “role models”.
Another factor to take into account is the cultural aspect: “I believe that the choice between one degree course and another is strongly linked to the activities that women and men have historically carried out, at least in Mexico”, the country of origin and the one in which our colleague works.
How can we motivate young women to choose Science and Technology?
Ilse bets in favor of “curiosity and continuous learning, not to fear changes and to be able to take advantage of all the opportunities that are offered to us. The only message I want to send to the girls and women who read us: fight for what you like, I'm sure you will be able to reach your goals, as it happened to me”.
“I have a son and a daughter and the best thing I can do for them and for society is not to label them, not to fall into stereotypes and not to judge them. Who decides what is suitable for a man or a woman? I let them have the freedom to find out what they really love and above all I try to convey to both of them that they should not be afraid of making mistakes, they should not see error as something negative, because in engineering error is precisely the key to achieving great things", concludes our colleague Natalia, a telecommunications engineer.
More women holding key roles in technology and science does not just mean moving towards a more balanced and egalitarian society. It is a necessity, a challenge in which we all play a fundamental part. Technology and science cannot be just a thing for men.
