EngineerHer

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the problem with excellent women in engineering. I got some great feedback, but one primary bit of feedback I got was from women in engineering who’s confidence has been completely shot.

Some of this is by the constant challenging of their credentials and competencies by others on the team. Some of it is from being assigned the “office housework” for so long that they start to wonder are they engineers at all. Some of it is from the consistent micro-aggressions they experience in the workplace.

(Required note: not all workplaces, not all engineering teams, not all women in engineering. But enough, or all three…)

So, I thought I’d write a bit about what has helped me increase my professional confidence.

Self awareness

One of the major things I have done is to sit down and list the things I am good at. And when I say “list the things” I mean, I went into detail. As in, I had “tying shoelaces” on there. I had “reading books” on there. I also had “buying books”, because as all readers know, buying books is an entirely different hobby to reading them.

But on a more serious note, by listing my professional abilities, I started to build a picture for myself. I started to show myself, that actually, there are things I am pretty damn good at. As in, there are few enough maintenance systems or processes that I can’t plan out, manage, master, etc. After 20+ years in the business, there are some parts of maintenance, reliability and asset management I can and have done in my sleep. (Some of my former bosses can attest to the sleep bit as well)

Completing something like the Gallup Strengths can really help here as well. Actually, any of the personality tests you can complete are probably worth it. These help you get to know yourself. Both as you see you and as the people around you see you.

Meyers-Briggs, DISC, Enneagram, Insights (or the colours one)… all of them offer you more information about yourself and how others see you. That self awareness and the awareness of others around you is key in building confidence.

Build a support network

I recently read some research saying women need two support networks: one for professional and one for personal support. (Greguletz, E., Diehl, M.-R. and Kreutzer, K. (2018) Why women build less effective networks than men: the role of structural exclusion and personal hesitation. Human Relations. Vol 72, No 7. pp1234–61. AND Papafilippou, V (2020), ‘Women in…’: do internal and external women’s networks contribute to equality in engineering?, CIPD Applied Research Conference
2020, [Online] available at:
https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/comms/getinvolved/events/womens-networks-engineering_tcm18-
76929.pdf)

And this is true. It can also be divided into a network internal to the workplace/organisation and external to the workplace/organisation. Internal networks in particular are vital in addressing any inequalities in the work place. Now, to be fair, the same research shows these networks need senior leadership support to gain any traction for change, but it’s still important to consider.

When was the last time you sat down and thought about your support network? Who would you identify as part of a support network? Are there official groups in your organisation or do you need to create an unofficial network for yourself?

Having other women in engineering to talk to has saved my sanity at times, and I don’t say that lightly. Another woman in engineering will probably be the first to challenge you if she thinks you are overthinking an incident or dwelling on something you don’t need to worry about.

They’ll also be the first to point out where you can help yourself a bit more.

Get to know the other women in your organisation. And if there isn’t another woman in your organisation, have a look at women’s netwokring groups. It’s worth the effort, trust me!

Embrace being you

You know the best thing I ever did for myself?

Stop pretending to be someone I’m not.

I stopped pretending to be an introvert, to be a closet man, to not like pretty things or baking, or sewing, or cooking… I stopped pretending to be anything other than what I am.

These days? What you see is what you get.

And it was the best decision I ever made.

I don’t hide things like the fact that I’m a reflexologist any more. I mean, I don’t announce it in every meeting or anything, but when it comes up, I’ll say it. I’ll also be very clear about the fact that I have zero interest in sport. I stopped worrying about whether I dressed like everyone else – I’m a plus size woman, professional choices are limited. People can deal or comment, as they wish….

It frees up so much energy just being myself. Because I don’t think in sports terms for example, I can sometimes word things in a different way that brings a different perspective to light. Or because I’m usually shorter than most people around me, I can bring a very definite different perspective to things!

Is this an overnight change?

Of course not. I’ve typed above like everything is just as easy as clicking your fingers. It’s not. And it never will be. But that’s no reason not to change, seriously.

Life is better with a bit more confidence. And some of this comes with time. When you’ve been doing a job for two decades, you can’t help but admit you might have learned something about it! Don’t be shy about saying what you’re good at. And if you’re stuck, ask someone to help you identify what you’re good at.

Organisations don’t hire and keep people who aren’t pulling their weight. So take pride in that, if nothing else!