{"id":4452,"date":"2018-03-08T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.plm.automation.siemens.com\/t5\/Simcenter-Blog\/International-Women-s-Day-Mieke-Robijns\/ba-p\/473474"},"modified":"2026-03-26T05:50:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:50:39","slug":"international-womens-day-mieke-robijns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/international-womens-day-mieke-robijns\/","title":{"rendered":"International Women’s Day – Mieke Robijns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"What<\/span>\u00a0 What drew you to an engineering company?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I\u2019ve always been interested in Engineeri<\/span><\/span>ng.\u00a0 It is in line with my studies<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0 \"What <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>What was your first job?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I started at Siemens PLM Software as\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Product Development Engineer.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Were<\/span>\u00a0 Were you the only woman on the team? What was that like?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No, there was one other.\u00a0 The<\/span><\/span>re weren\u2019t many women that studied<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>ngineering, so I was used to it.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"How<\/span> \u00a0How has your career evolved over the years?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

I had several functions in the\u00a0<\/span>mean time<\/span>\u00a0and grew a lot<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"Do<\/span>\u00a0 Do you think being a woman helped or hurt your career?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

No, I feel it is really irrelevant.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"What<\/span>\u00a0 What type of advice would you give young women looking to enter engineering?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

It doesn\u2019t make a difference if you\u2019re a man or a woman to be a good engineer.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"Would<\/span>\u00a0 Would you advise your daughter to follow in your footsteps? Why or why not?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yes, certainly, if e<\/span><\/span>ngineering is what interests her.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"What<\/span> \u00a0What still should be done to make the world of engineering more gender equal?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Globally<\/span><\/span>, not just for engineering, I think men should also get\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>full paternity leave of 15 weeks, the same as women.\u00a0 This will be beneficial for the mother, child and family and will take away the resistance that employers might feel when hiring a woman.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"Have<\/span>\u00a0 Have we achieved gender equality? If so, why?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Except for some improper jokes from my male colleagues, I have never felt discriminated or treated differently than anybody else.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"Do<\/span> \u00a0Do you honestly think gender equality is possible?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No, men and women are not the same, just as two different persons are not the same.\u00a0 But both genders have qualities and strengths that are<\/span><\/span>\u00a0useful in e<\/span><\/span>ngineering companies.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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