4 tips from women who found their way in male-dominated fields
As our Women In Tech Series continues, we shine the spotlight on Susana Valente and Michelle Siu based in our CBC Vancouver office.
Both women are pioneers in their field, pursuing careers in largely male-dominated fields. Susana, a recording engineer and video editor, says she was determined to persevere and create a role for herself.
“For me, it was — this is what I wanted to do and no one was going to stop me,” she says.
Similarly, Michelle, an admin assistant in the Vancouver newsroom and former audio technician, was determined to carve out a role for herself.
“Working as a woman in tech is challenging but very rewarding,” she says. “As a woman you’re walking into these rooms filled with men with great experience, and they are for the most part welcoming. There were people that wanted to teach me new things, and I wanted to learn.”
Here are four pieces of advice Susana and Michelle offer for women working in tech.
1. Sometimes the best learning happens after your shift
When Susana was first hired, there were six other recording engineers — all men. She volunteered to go to recordings after hours to learn as much as possible.
“After my shift I would go to the concert halls and hang out and try and learn from the other engineers. And they accepted me after a while,” she recalls.
Be considerate of other people, she says, noting that you want to be eager without stepping on people’s toes. And if you come up against people who aren’t welcoming, stay the course.
“Sympathy and kindness goes a long way — even when someone is not nice,” she says. “It doesn’t bother me. Be true to yourself.”
2. Find a mentor
Michelle says having a mentor was invaluable. Having a guide will help you learn the ropes but also stop you from being too hard on yourself.
“When you’re doing technical work it’s really easy to only remember the things you did wrong and forget your successes” ” she says.
“[My mentor] Cathy wouldn’t let me forget that I’ve had a lot of success.”
3. Ask a lot of questions
Never be afraid to get answers to your questions, particularly in the technical field, Michelle says.
“It’s always better to ask questions and get clarity rather than look like a fool.”
4. Don’t panic, study hard
Both Susana and Michelle advocate for having a solid education. Michelle job shadowed with a technical producer on a music shoot and then decided to go back to school and learn how to work with audio in the studio.
Susana completed a Master’s degree in sound recording before starting her job. She says that even though the position didn’t require it, having the training proved invaluable.
“It was a really big advantage coming here because I understood a lot,” she says. “In the moment of panic — when something happens and you have to figure it out, if you have the training, you’ll be able to get yourself out of that mess by yourself.
Next in our series we will chat with Marie Buban about career life lessons for Women In Tech.
