Anders celebrates Women in Engineering Day

On this, the 6th Women in Engineering Day, which aims to raise the profile of women in engineering across the world, we speak with our NPI Quality Engineer Team Leader, Jihye Kim about her career, where it started and her inspirations.

What can you tell us about yourself?

I am originally form South Korea, where I studied electronics and electrical engineering at Yeonam, South Korea.

I am involved from the development stage of the production lifecycle, where I assure quality is built-in by reducing potential risk during the design and engineering process.

At Anders we Design For Manufacture (DFM), therefore we want to optimise the product performance during the initial design stage to ensure we are confident to transition the product and process from customer approval, into the manufacturing environment.

What about your recent achievements and challenges in your career?

I won’t lie, it was a significant challenge for me to learn about LCD display and touchscreen technology whilst on the job, however, it was also one of my largest career achievements to date. It’s such an interesting industry, across many diverse market segments. We hold knowledge of such a wide range of industries from the high-reliability fields of automotive, marine and medical, to industrialand consumer home appliances or smart meters. Size, layout and formats all vary, from the large form factors through to small handheld devices.

What inspired you to go into engineering?

It’s in my blood! I spent the majority of my childhood in my father’s car repair shop. I used to build fairy castles with components and restoration tools were my makeup kit!

Do you feel that engineering is a male dominated field?

Only 10 – 20% of engineers are women in most geographies. However, looking at this positively, the numbers of females in tech is growing.

What does International Women in Engineering Day mean to you?

Whilst it feels great to be recognised and appreciated as a woman engineer, we engineers do tend to work in teams, certainly we do at Anders, therefore I’d like to give recognition to engineering as a profession regardless of gender.

Why is important to encourage woman into engineering roles?

The current perception stems from misconceptions and inaccuracies. Stereotypes. Don’t listen to what other people say, and have faith in yourself and your abilities.

What should workplaces do to encourage more women into the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)?

I think we should continue to educate the next generation about the reality of the workplace environment, and how diverse it can be.

Lastly, what does Anders do to attract and retain women in engineering? 

Quite simply, I see first-hand that Anders is an equal opportunities employer. It’s about getting the best candidate for the job, regardless of age, nationality, or gender.

Do you have any question for Jihye on how we can simplify your display and embedded development process? Get in touch!