6 Female Engineers You Should Know

Today is International Women in Engineering Day, a day to recognize and celebrate women engineers who are changing companies and the world for the better. Keep reading to hear some of Radiall's own female engineers share why they chose engineering and what challenges they have faced, and let us introduce you to some other female engineers you should follow!

Linda Desire, Field Applications Engineer (FAE) at Radiall
Recently, during a discussion with a friend, I observed something that I never realized before: a majority of FAEs at Radiall are men. I was surprised by this because I never feel a difference between my colleagues and myself, because we are a community: the FAE community. We have the same approach to our work and similar experiences, regardless of the BU or continent. Radiall has contributed to this success, due to their philosophy that values gender equality.

My greatest wish is that one day the topic “a woman in a man's world” is obsolete. This is the mindset that I want to pass on my children and close friends.

Natalie Panek is an aerospace engineer who builds space robots. She once built and drove a solar powered car across North America. Follow her here. 

Coralia Vega, RF&I Process Engineer at Radiall
I decided to become an engineer because of my curiosity. I think it's incredible the infinite possibilities that exist when we use scientific and technological knowledge. We are able to explore space, we fly on planes and we can communicate with the entire world using a device that fits in our pockets. This is just amazing to me, and I wanted to understand it and be part of it.

What I enjoy the most about being an engineer at Radiall is having different challenges every day and being able to use my ingenuity and knowledge to solve them. 

I have faced some challenges for being a woman in engineering, like when my male classmates underestimated by abilities when I was at school. Some of them believed that engineering was not for women and that I didn't belong there, but with effort and dedication I showed them that women can be as good as men when it comes to engineering. 

Dr. Larissa Suzuki is an engineer with experience in smart cities, machine learning and emerging technologies. She’s a big advocate for diversity in tech. Follow her here.

Alejandra Antolin, Process Engineer at Radiall
Since I was a child, understanding how things work has been one of my passions. After starting to study engineering, I discovered skills that helped me create new things by myself. My curiosity and newly-acquired knowledge made me believe that “I can do it.”

One of the main social restrictions that I faced was the idea that “engineering is just for men.” Most of the people close to me asked me why I chose engineering, and my reason was always that I wanted to create new things.
 
What I enjoy most about working at Radiall Obregon are the day-to-day challenges, new lessons learned and knowledge acquired. I have proposed several goals that were considered hard, but they were completed successfully with the support of my team. I am still growing and learning as an engineer, but I am proud to be a woman and to belong to Radiall´s family.

Dr. Anita Sengupta is an aerospace engineer and former NASA rocket scientist. She’s worked on technology that has allowed exploration on Mars, asteroids and deep space. Follow her here.

Joyce Han, Senior Field Applications Engineer at Radiall
When I was a little girl, I was interested in the toys that boys liked. When I went to university, I was determined to pursue a technical career. I wanted to prove that I can be as good as a boy, or even better.

And now I enjoy the work I do as an engineer: solving problems, helping other people, sharing my technical insight, persuading customers from my unique view, creating value for Radiall.

One challenge I have faced as a woman engineer is that most people do not regard me as an engineer at first. People naturally think I am in customer service or some other position that looks more "suitable" for a young woman. My hope is that people will not be judged by gender but by their ability.