INWED 2019: Focus on CEGE’s Aisha Al Saifi

One of the most frequently asked questions about my choice in engineering is which one comes first? Being a mother, a wife or an engineer? I don’t think this is a question male engineers regularly come across! And I don’t think women should feel the need to address it or justify it to others.

We are a combination of all of these and each role represents an essential part of us. They form who we are today. I was an engineer before I became a wife and later a mother. And I find it a matter of concern for girls when selecting engineering as a profession. They were made to think that their choice in engineering will negatively impact their other life choices. And this is an incorrect perception.

I have been always told that engineering as a domain is blunt. Some way or other, that made me hesitant in the past to be who I am as a person and to preserve my natural personality; emotional, compassionate and expressive. But with time I realized that engineering is fundamentally led by people and delivered to people and that people are actually our centre of attention. 

As women, we should not feel like lesser engineers, or incapable of leading roles in our profession. What some perceive as weaknesses are in fact our strengths as female engineers in this domain. The human dimension is a core focus for me. I’ve always been fascinated by the sophistication that we have as humans, and the uniqueness of each society I have worked in around the world. That, to me, is part of the beauty of engineering, and is what makes me a proud engineer!

Engineering like many other domains is currently male dominant. The higher you go up the ladder, the less females you come across. Those who will be successfully progressing in their engineering career will come across situations where they will be the only female in the meeting room. They will be likely in a situation where they are the only female member in a project team. 

But having worked in the engineering industry for the past nine years in different parts of the world, I can see that this reality is gradually changing. We should not be made uncomfortable or feel under extra pressure to perform because of our gender. We are laying the foundation and opening the doors for other girls to pursue their paths without fear of judgement or potential failure.

We need more initiatives such as INWED, where we have the platform to start the conversation among each other as females and also with our male peers to identify the barriers and the gaps that hinder female participation in engineering. Working collaboratively to push the conversation to the next level should be our aim, so we truly see more and more female engineers in the industry, enabling its sustainability, growth and resilience.

Aisha took over CEGE’s Instagram account for INWED2019. Follow us @cege_ucl to check out her posts! 

Links 

• UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
• Engineering for International Development MSc 
• UCL Centre for Engineering Education's INWED 2019 campaign
• INWED 2019 website

Image 

Credit: Aisha Al Saifi