When It’s Time to Stop Thinking That Women Engineers Are Less Than Men Engineers
As a woman in tech, what was Agny Dyah’s take on the challenges they faced?
When the moment of rejection brought her to something she loved
Becoming someone who did testing on softwares was never part of Agny’s plan. Initially, she tried her luck on becoming a software engineer. However, Agny was not able to secure a seat as software engineer back in the day she was still a fresh graduate. However, that moment of rejection did not succeed in taking her down. It was then when she ventured from her initial plan after she was challenged to be a software tester.
Agny had no clue about what software testing was, but when she got herself involved in it, she finally fell in love with it. For Agny, software testing was like playing games. She got to play around with products, identifying bugs that would eventually help her fellow engineers in building better products for the users, doing something that actually mattered.
All those bug-findings and product-testings was exciting until it was not. Longing for growth both professionally and technically, Agny decided to take a more challenging road, working and studying at the same time. It was in 2016 when she found out about Mapan from a friend who was interested in joining Mapan. That was the conversation that finally brought Agny to Mapan, to have her wish in growing herself granted when she jumped ship to Mapan.
In tackling stereotypes put on women in tech
“Having women engineers is important. A lot of issues out there are only experienced by women. We also have lots of products which have more women users than men users. Having women engineers then is important as they can empathize more when they are developing a product,” said Agny, one of Mapan’s Sr. Software Quality Assurance who had become part of Mapan’s tech team since 2016.
Back then, Agny heard a lot of stereotypes put on workers in the field of tech, that they had to work long-hour being one of those stereotypes. She felt that those stereotypes were what hindered more women in getting their hands dirty on the field.
But if those stereotypes kept going around, how would women start checking on those opportunities in tech, laying around to be discovered by them?
“The key is in not being scared in the first place when you haven’t even tried it by yourself. Moreover, lots of tech companies are offering flexible working time and the privilege of working from home nowadays, Mapan is one of them. So there is nothing to be scared of,” said Agny who was also a working mom.
Having heard many stereotypes in the field, Agny was fortunate that she had never experienced something bad in the field. Instead, she always met people who were willing to teach her anything she asked. “Even though most of the engineers were men, I have never encountered people who thinks that women engineers are less than them. They are always willing to help when I asked questions. Just like at Mapan, I feel like we’re more than colleagues, it’s more like family to me.”
Realizing that having more women engineers was important, Agny encouraged women engineers out there not to be scared or discouraged when they still lacked of technical skills. For her, the most important thing was the growth mindset, the willingness to learn those skills even though it would be hard.
And what exactly did women engineers need to do in growing that growth mindset?
“Some women engineers I know are more skilful than men men engineers, so they should never think that they’re any less than their men counterparts,” said Agny.
And by that statement alone, Agny encouraged women engineers out there or engineer-wannabe to not be discouraged when they haven’t even tried the path, when society told them that they were no better than men engineers. Being scared was okay, but women engineers should take the challenge and prove people wrong.
Mapan is a tech company with a strong social mission in helping low income communities in gaining access, dignity and income that has helped more than 2,3 million Indonesians.
Curious in how your knowledge and skills in tech can be used to the betterment of society? Feel free to send us your updated CV to recruitment@ruma.co.id!
