Women in Engineering #INWED21

International Women in Engineering Day is celebrating its 8th year in 2021. Brought to you by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), INWED is an international awareness campaign which raises the profile of women in engineering and focuses attention on the amazing career opportunities available to women and girls in this exciting industry. Therefore we interviewed our candidate Ines Bounaouara who is working as a project manager in the engineering sector.

Please introduce yourself. 

My name is Ines Bounaouara, I am an Energy Engineer and I have been working in the field of technical building equipment for 5 years. Currently I work as a project manager at PlanerAllianz, to be more precise at the company’s subsidiary Construct Planungsgesellschaft.

What was it that inspired you to start a career in Engineering ?

The challenge and variety inspired me most to take up the job. From designing and testing machinery to improving existing processes and researching and developing new ways to generate energy and minimise environmental damage. Not only that, where you work can change; you can be based in an office, lab, client site or off-shore location. 

It also inspired me to be a part of producing energy, whether it be from natural or renewable sources, supporting the global concern to operate more sustainably. 

How many women are working at your recent employer ? 

The company has about 100 employees, 7 of whom are women. I am currently the only woman working as a project manager.

The engineering sector is heavily male dominated. Did this affect your ambition to start a career in engineering ?

Honestly no, that has not influenced me at all. There is so much work going into the sector to make opportunities for women more available and encouraged; from public salary surveys, women associations and training and development opportunities. The opportunity to develop your career is very much the same for men and women and diversity is improving year on year across the sector. 

What do you think can be done to make the industry more diverse and attract more women into engineering ?

It is important for me to have equal career opportunities for everyone, to close the gender pay gap and to have a fair distribution of management positions in companies.

Have you heard of Women in Engineering before ? 

Yes, I am aware of the initiative and I have to admit that such actions strengthen and motivate me as a woman. International Women in Engineering Day is a great annual event to raise awareness of women’s profiles in the engineering industry and highlights the career opportunities to women and girls in this truly exciting industry. 

 

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