Technology is no longer a male-dominated domain

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Technology is no longer a male-dominated domain

Determined to dismiss gender stereotypes, many young women have asserted themselves in the field of technology and found initial success while inspiring others to venture into this traditionally male-dominated industry.

Journey to a program manager at Apple

RMIT Bachelor of Information Technology (IT) 2016 alumnus Nguyen Thi Bao Chau first joined Intel Products Vietnam as an IT intern, and within three years was appointed as New Product Integration Program Manager, directly engaging in the operations of high-tech product manufacturing.

After almost six years with Intel, Chau has recently assumed the role of Operations Program Manager at fellow tech giant Apple, where she oversees the manufacturing of smartphone and tablet camera components for the company’s global supply chain.

Although her background is in software programming, Chau recalled making use of every opportunity to learn and develop further in the operational management side of high-tech manufacturing. The young professional said the practical knowledge and skills she gained along the way were instrumental in helping her progress through eight rounds of interviews before landing her current job.

“My educational background in IT at RMIT gave me the necessary logical thinking that is critical to succeeding in my current role. Technical foundations are always a big advantage no matter what industry you choose to work in,” Chau said.

Many people tend to think of engineering and technology as heavily technical fields, but Chau believes that career opportunities are quite diverse "if you know how to play to your strengths".

“I find that women in this industry have an edge over men in communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills. These are skills that I started sharpening at university through academic courses as well as extra-curricular activities.”

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[Châu to provide a higher-resolution version or another photo] Within six years, Nguyen Thi Bao Chau’s career took a journey from an IT intern at Intel Products Vietnam to Operations Program Manager at Apple.

From a literature major to an IT enthusiast

Also an RMIT Bachelor of IT student but six years junior to Nguyen Thi Bao Chau, Tran Dang Bao Nhi picked her field of study with the encouragement of her family although she did not have solid background in natural sciences.

A former literature major at the VNU-HCM High School for the Gifted, Nhi struggled at first to discover the wonder of programming languages such as Python and C++.

But then her persistent efforts and never-back-down attitude paid off: Nhi is one of the few students to receive the RMIT Scholarships for Current Students – not once but twice – for her outstanding academic results. Her most recent scholarship worth 50% of tuition fees was largely thanks to her impressive GPA of 3.86/4.00.

“I still remember the overwhelming joy when I first got 95/100 for a coding assignment during the first semester. That initial push gave me more confidence in my abilities, as well as the motivation to continue honing my knowledge and crafting my own ways of studying well. I have also been eagerly learning more by taking part in school projects with my classmates and lecturers,” Nhi said.

When not attending classes, Nhi is a core member of the RMIT Neo Culture Tech Club. She started working part-time for a company specialising in workforce management software in her third year of university. And though not yet graduated, Nhi has been recruited as a full-time IT consultant by a global IT company.

She said: “I used to find coding daunting and have low self-esteem. But with a lot of effort and encouragement, I have grown to really love IT now. I hope that everyone who is considering studying IT – especially young women – will be confident in their abilities and never stop learning. You can succeed even without innate talent. Just always be brave and strive for your dreams!"

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With a GPA of 3.86/4.00, Tran Dang Bao Nhi received the RMIT Scholarship for Current Students twice for her outstanding academic results.

Opportunities abound for female STEM enthusiasts

According to a United Nations report from 2021, women now account for 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of graduates in computer science and informatics. In Vietnam, TopDev's report shows that only 7.85% of the technology workforce are women.

Demand for highly skilled talent in the fields of science and technology continue to increase, leaving huge room for improving gender equality and attracting more women to study and work in these industries.

In an effort to help bridge this current gap, RMIT University is offering the Women in STEM Scholarship to encourage young women to enrol in the bachelor's programs within its School of Science, Engineering & Technology, as well as other opportunities such as the Technology Scholarship and the Professor Nguyen Van Dao Scholarship. In 2021, the school also launched a research and teaching pre-doctoral fellowship for women in STEM.

Learn more about STEM-related scholarships and other opportunities here.

Story: Ngoc Hoang

Science and technology

01 March 2022

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