Webinar Review: Women Reshaping the Engineering Landscape

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

IPC celebrated International Women in Engineering Day with “Bold Breakthroughs: Women Reshaping the Engineering Landscape,” a webinar moderated by Teresa Rowe, IPC senior director of assembly and standards technology.

The event featured a panel of eight innovative engineers representing eight different countries, and each with varied backgrounds and in various stages of their respective careers. The panel included:

• Susann Chen, senior engineer, Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co. (China)
• Savita Ganjigatti, vice president, Engineering, Sienna ECAD Technologies (India)
• Milea Kammer, senior engineering manager, Materials Engineering, Honeywell Aerospace (United States)
• Susan Kayesar, PCBflow product manager, Siemens Digital Industries Software (Israel)
• Carol Marsh, head of Digital Systems, Celestia Technologies (United Kingdom)
• Raquel Rodriguez, CEO, INSYTE SA (Spain)
• Outi Rusanen, principal interconnection specialist, TactoTek (Finland)
• Corina Stocker, senior expert press-fit technology, Continental Automotive Technologies (Germany)

Each of these dynamic and talented women had much to offer in the sharing of their experiences and words of wisdom, significantly uplifting our perspectives and Monday mornings. While we continue addressing the same issues and challenges we’ve been discussing in this field for over 40 years, progress is being made thanks to successful women like these panelists, who generously share their time, experience, and hard-knock wisdom with future generations of young women engineers. 

Each woman’s engineering origin story contained a foundation of determination and perseverance. Some of these women were supported or mentored in their chosen career path, while others overcame challenges and roadblocks to get where they are today. Their words displayed wisdom that is only achieved through much hard work and life experience. 

We were surprised to discover several panelists didn’t plan to be engineers. Honeywell’s Milea Hammer studied and was passionate about theatre, but she enjoyed her physics class. Her instructor encouraged her that her unique combination of communication (performance) abilities would mix powerfully with her natural abilities in science. She can now boast she has touched hardware on the International Space Station. Kammer shared that her proudest accomplishment has been remaining true to her whole self and achieving balance among the demands of career, children, family, and friends.

Continental Automotive’s Corina Stocker was supposed to take over the family farm but was singularly determined to continue her education and pursue an engineering vocation regardless of familial lack of support. Corina made a significant change to the automotive industry, which was not without challenges, and is the first woman at Continental to hold a Senior Expert in Technology role.

In speaking about the accomplishments of which they are most proud, Susann Chen of CRRC Times Electric shared her pride in leading and helping others and helping to push the industry forward. Susan Kayesar of Siemens said that one of her most fulfilling achievements was to be viewed as a touchpoint for information both within and outside her company. Celestia’s Dr. Carol Marsh, a Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of an OBE, said her work as a volunteer promoting engineering and diversity has changed her life.   

The panel concluded with advice to other women in the field and included:

“Find the fun in what you do.”

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

“Leverage your network.”

“Teach skills that show women how to be heard, even if they are not the loudest or largest personality in the room.”

Savita Ganjigatti noted that “work is worship,” and that there are many blessings that come from working, as long as you balance your responsibilities and leverage your support networks.

Outi Rusanen of TactoTek in Finland said, “Don’t be afraid to fail. Failing is a great way to learn.”

Of looking for job opportunities, Kayesar pointed out that when women apply for a job, they will likely not apply if they only have six of the 10 required skills. Conversely, men will apply if they have only two of the 10 required skills. She appealed to employers to adjust their recruitment strategy and messaging to ensure they maximize their pool of talent to include many capable women. 

If you missed the webinar, watch the recording of the event  here.