Lessons from Women Working in Sci-Tech: Mentorship Program Closing Panel

Lessons from leading female professionals in sci-tech fields were the focus of the closing panel Sci-Tech Women: Mentorship Program at the closing ceremony of the Tech Mentorship Program for graduate students at the IE School of Science and Technology.

The panel exposed and examined everyday challenges faced by women in technical, male-dominated industries, and outlined strategies to overcome them. The mentors emphasized the crucial nature of self-confidence, thorough preparation and female solidarity to tackling culture and pay gap issues.

The Tech Mentorship Program allows graduate students from the IE School of Sci-Tech Masters to meet high-profile tech experts who provide one-on-one professional advice on forging a career in science and technology sectors. This year, 133 students and 98 mentors participated, 30% of which were women. Female mentors thus provided additional advice to their mentees on what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated industry.

“We need to empower more girls, [leading women in STEM] need to be like a mirror for them,” said Concepción Díaz, responsible for AI trainings at Google and professor at IE School of Sci-Tech, “We lack female role models, so we need to make as much noise about the great projects we are working on, which is why initiatives like this one are super important.”

All panelists agreed that the presence of female role models is crucial for building self-confidence in aspiring women in STEM. Díaz quoted her personal experience as a professor and data demonstrating that women are less self-confident in their professional capabilities, and hence less likely to ask for higher salaries or to apply for jobs with a moderate match for their qualifications.

“When I am teaching using simulators and something isn’t working my male students will tell me ‘Conchita, the simulator is broken’, but when I have female students who are failing, they say ‘Conchita, I am not able to do it’,” said Díaz, “We are our worst enemy, which is why we are sometimes unable to negotiate higher salaries.”

Erdoo Tor-Agbidye, Data Governance and Literacy Manager at a leading sports company, emphasized the importance of preparing data-backed arguments before a job interview in order to obtain a fair salary.

“Research the average cost of living for where you’re looking to live, and consider the expected lifestyle that you want, including taxes and how much you want to save for your retirement” said Tor-Agbidye, “All of these factors should be what you use to evaluate your salary so that you are advocating not just for an immediate paycheck but for your future, and that’s your responsibility.”

Agbidye also gave advice on tackling the imposter syndrome by identifying the difference between being experienced and being qualified. She stressed that although one may lack experience, qualification is just – or even more – important in determining worthiness for a position or role.

Carmen López, Chief Data Officer of Just Eat was another mentor at the program, who emphasized the importance of building a community of women in STEM who can help and support each other. She praised IE School of Science and Technology’s initiative to specifically support women in their Tech Mentorship Program.

Raquel Cabero, Academic Director for the Master in Business Analytics and Big Data, led the Program and organized the panel alongside Mar Hurtado, Vice President for Global Recruitment and Marketing and leader of the Rise with IE Women initiative to uplift and empower the women in the IE Community.

“Initiatives like this one are so important because even though the numbers [of women in STEM] are not very bright nowadays there are many initiatives pushing for the picture to change and every single effort adds up to get a result,” said Hurtado.

IE School of Science and Technology is committed to recognize and address the specific hurdles female students will have to overcome in the professional world, and continues to empower its students to build a successful professional career. Its Impact Xcelerator program provides complementary opportunities to further academic interests and build an entrepreneurial spirit through Labs and Global Gateway Programs.