International Women’s Day – Françoise Gobbesso
 What drew you to an engineering company? |
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| I am not an engineer. It was by accident that I landed in an engineering company. | |
 What was your first job? |
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| It was in the financial department of a small company. | |
 Were you the only woman on the team? What was that like? |
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| No, the male/female ratio was the same. | |
 How was your career evolved over the years? |
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Throughout the acquisitions, I took the opportunities to evolve in my role within the company. Over the years, I specialized and found the right place.
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 Who has helped you along the way? |
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I met a lot of people from different countries who shared their experience and gave support. But only a few ones have been inspiring. It is not a question of gender but values and personality.
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 Do you think being a woman helped or hurt your career? |
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It is still complicated in some situations. This is a men’s world! However, I do think that competencies are recognized no matter whether you are a woman or a man.
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 What type of advice would you give young women looking to enter engineering? |
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Everybody has their own place with special characteristics. You have to be true to yourself.
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 Would you advise your daughter to follow in your footsteps? Why or why not? |
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Not especially. I am sure she will find her own way via her own experiences. It is not necessary to follow the steps of their parents to succeed.
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 What still should be done to make the world of engineering more gender equal? |
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We should respect the gender quota on both levels: employees and managers/directors. Furthermore, the wage equality should be respected as well!
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Do you honestly think gender equality is possible? |
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Honestly, gender equality is not possible because females and males are intrinsically different.
Personally, I do not think that we should try to find the equality, but rather we should highlight the positive difference between them and value it in business.
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