International Women’s Day – Caroline Veys

“It is not always a disadvantage to be a woman in a men’s world, we can have different valuable views and perspectives, beside the technical skills.”

Caroline Veys

What did you want to be when you were younger?  

When I was younger, I wanted to become an astronaut, because I wanted to make sure that little green men really lived on mars. I did not trust people and I wanted to see myself if they really exist or not…

What was your first job?

Mechanical Engineer in an aerospace company, even though my passion was to work in the automotive industry.

Have you always wanted to work for an engineering company? Why?

Yes, I always wanted to work in the automotive industry. My thesis was about injection system in Diesel car engine.

What attracted you to Siemens?

To work for a famous international company.

How has the role of women in engineering changed over the past 5 years? Have you seen things change in gender equality? Diversity? 

Yes and no. The number of women in engineering increased over the years, but still slowly. I think that engineering will always be considered as a man activity. But it is not always a disadvantage to be a woman in a men’s world. We can have different valuable views and perspectives, beside the technical skills.

What is the favorite part of your job? 

Connecting and engaging with customers: selling, negotiating, solving their problem and bringing cutting edge technology to their application.

My golden rule: don’t take renewal sales for granted. For each renewal cycle, I have to ensure I am delivering value and providing an exceptional experience to the customers.

This has been quite a year. What is the toughest part of working from home? Do you think working at home has been the same for both men and women?  

Working from home has changed a few things. Personally, it reinforced the intimacy with some customers (seeing them sitting in their living room with kids playing around…). I could also discuss with them the challenges that they faced working from home. Working from home could be the same for women and men, it depends on their role/implication inside their family.

Has the pandemic created other challenges for you personally?   

Yes, indeed. The challenge to organize my journey, and to fix mandatory timeslots for hobbies. My laptop is too much present… I feel always at home… and always at work…

We will never work in the same way again. What “positives” will you take with you when the pandemic is behind us?    

I have reduced the time spent in my car as I am not going in to the office.

I have deeper discussions (sense of empathy) with my colleagues to understand how they feel at home.

I have quickly adopted the new tools to work remotely.

What advice do you have for young women considering engineering or a technical career?    

Go for it! With plenty of energy and positive attitude! Be confident of your ability. Engineering is a profession where you can enjoy the satisfaction of learning and growing in proportion to the effort you put in.

Be prepared to meet some obstacles. But believe in yourself and forget about any stereotypes.

And, in honor of International Women’s Day, is there a woman you particularly admire or look up to? Could you explain why?

Lady Di, because she was much more than a style icon.

She used her celebrity to help children, to defend various human causes and to inspire others to give to charitable causes.

She put her own safety at risk during the worldwide landmine charity campaign.

Celebrate International Women’s Day by finding out more about our female Simcenter heroes here.