I have been part of teams where I was the only woman.
I even had experiences where women engineers were not welcome on the team.
Even I’ve met with clients who wanted to talk to a man instead of a woman.
But this didn’t stop me from giving my best. And perceptions drastically changed when these peers realized my capabilities and skill sets. I have been fortunate to showcase women as equal to men, both in technical abilities and project management too.
I noticed a difference when I joined IBM Korea, pleasantly surprised to see that the team was well balanced by both men and women. The team climate encourages inclusivity. I joined the security business unit just when IBM decided to make security business more strategic. Here, once again, I represented the only woman on the technical presales team.
As a consulting IT specialist, I interact with clients who are constantly looking to add new cloud security solutions, improve their architecture and secure their online transactions from lots of frauds. Also as an integrated technical leader, I manage technical presales teams both software and service in IBM Korea security. I consciously try to be inclusive and look for constant motivation and growth for my team members.
Being the only woman in IBM Korea Security technical presales, I felt encouraged to join many communities, such as WISE (Women in Security Excelling) and university mentoring. I volunteered as a mentor of university students with advanced cyber analytics project. While exploring communities, I found the Cyberdays4girls program and wanted to contribute in all ways possible to ensure girls are encouraged and motivated to join cybersecurity. Unfortunately, the program was only for the North America region at that time. But, I didn't want to let that discourage me from making an impact.
Last year, I was selected as a Korea women council member and designed “Women in Tech” pillar. My core objective was to make women more interconnected and grow especially in technical area. So I recruited mentees and connected them to their mentors. These mentors help them be more confident, motivated and provide guidance to succeed together.
And I launched STEM4Girls program in Korea. As a focal for STEM4Girls program, I recruited ambassadors who teach, provide guidance and share their stories on the camp which will also include technical lectures like cybersecurity, quantum and AI with girls who can get aspiration on STEM area. Today, I’m working to develop and host a STEM camp later this year with women council members.
Women can shine in technical areas too. I will continue my efforts to encourage girls to choose a technical career like cybersecurity.
Girls, trust yourself, and take actions. Let’s walk roads ahead together.
