Show more

International Women in Engineering Day

International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) is an opportunity to raise the profile of women in the industry. By encouraging women into engineering careers not only does it increase diversity and inclusion for society, but it makes our teams more efficient and creative.

23 June is an opportunity to celebrate the women who work in our industry, to reflect on the progress we've made and to think about how far we can go.

Women have always been under-represented in engineering, with countries like the UK and the USA only seeing about 12%1 or 14%2 respectively, of women in the industry. However, despite most of the roles being filled by men, the number of women entering the engineering workforce has been growing over the last decades. The promotion of STEM subjects earlier in school makes it more likely that girls will want to pursue these subjects, engaging them from a younger age to break gender stereotypes. The growing number of women in engineering also means that there are more women who have become successful in the industry providing great role models for girls, showing that you can succeed no matter your gender.

As gender stereotypes get broken down and women feel more empowered to embrace what they want, we will hopefully continue to see more women making an impact in the engineering industry.

At CELO, our engineers are shaping the world everyday, helping us design and manufacture the most efficient, time-saving and cost-effective fasteners. We actively seek inspiring women who can help us develop the most innovative fasteners, and provide them all the support they need to get their work done.

We are proud to have a professional team of female and male engineers who work side-by-side together everyday to take our products to the next level.

Today we asked them what led them to where they are today and why they would encourage other women to get into the world of engineering:

Q1: How did you get interested in Engineering?

Q2: Which advice would you give to female students interested in engineering?

Cristina Farrando

Logistics Manager
CELO Industry Division

A1:  I was very interested in the different properties and applications of materials and how they could change when chemical, mechanical or thermal compositions were modified. My beginnings were completely focused on research and technical environments, I loved working in this field of science and engineering. During last years I have been assuming roles related to management, which are also very interesting and not as far from engineering as some may think.

A2:  Study what you are most interested in and do not get carried away by prejudices. A priori very masculine environments can be led by women without giving up our own style. I encourage more women to go to technical careers, all the rest is a matter of time to see the change.

Jacqueline Lu

Quality engineer CELO
CELO China

A1:  I'm interested in engineering for two reasons:

Invisible way: I am interested in challenging work because every successful challenge is exciting. The post is exactly what I'm interested in(coordination, communication and problem solving).  I can learn a lot by solving problems.

Visible way: Also CELO has a very good encouraging policy, some financial incentive like paid holiday, staff party, bonus…to motivate and boost the morale. We get job satisfaction.

A2:  Home and work balance.

Jin Mei Ping

Tooling
CELO China

A1:  When I first saw the 3D model, I think it looks very amazing and cool! My main responsibility is to draw the fastener´s model by following the customers’ drawings and requirements. I know that there are more men working in this industry, but women are definitely more prudential and patient.

A2:  Practice is the best teacher! At work, everyone can complement each other. Love your work and life. Do your best in everything!

Engracia Gonzalo

Marketing and Product Manager
CELO Industry Division

A1:  Although I didn’t have any engineer in my family, as a child I enjoyed questioning why and how things were made. I was quite creative and good in math and physics in high school, so, I thought that engineering would allow me to go more into these subjects. I chose industrial engineering, specialized in mechanics.

A2:  Go for it! There’s a lot of opportunities for engineering graduates. Women style of leadership is highly valued and needed in the industry.

Gabriela Werner

Industry Sales Enginer
CELO Poland

A1: It was strongly related to my family. All of them were graduate at Silesian University of Technology so, I also decided to go there. In my opinion I have choose the most interesting faculty, and 7 years after graduating, I am here in CELO.

A2:  Contrary to the common opinion that technical studies are a secret knowledge reserved for men (sic!), there are quite a few girls studying technical subjects. Women do very well in faculties traditionally considered "male". Science and technology need women! My little piece of advice dedicated to all female student is that, you must stay strong. Sometimes will be hard but every victory won in pain tastes better.

Skyler Zhou

Quality department
CELO China

A1: I like a simple social relationship, there are more males than females in the engineering workplace, it will be easier to get along with my colleagues. When I came to CELO, I found the women are also very friendly here. A friendly atmosphere makes me interested in this work.

A2:  Work harder and be the leader of men.

Yuling Mao

Tooling Engineer
CELO China

A1:  I chose the major to study mold design and manufacturing by chance when I was in college. I even didn’t know what mechanics and molds are. At that time, there were only 5 girls in the class. However, there are less dispute when there are fewer girls. Persistence is my motto in the past ten years. I studied very hard at school, and I learnt CAD software and UG software by myself. Then I started working in a fastener mold factory for an internship. I realized my shortcomings, so I worked very hard. Even in the difficult time, I still remained persistent, and become what I am today.

A2: I learnt a lot from working at CELO, together with the good working atmosphere which makes me feel motivate and satisfied. Self-worth is a very important thing for me, even if you are a girl, you can definitely do a great job. If you choose a path, you have to go through trials, hardships, and be persistent.

Maggie Lu

Quality Plant
CELO China

A1: My main motivation is to apply my knowledge into the engineering field.

A2:  Working in engineering field is very challenging job, and it is good to be surrounded by men.

 

1https://www.wes.org.uk/content/wesstatistics

2 https://engineeringonline.ucr.edu/blog/the-growing-presence-of-women-in-engineering/