Professor Susan Adendorff, Director of the Department of Facilities Management, offers her thoughts on the role of women in technological fields in light of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is commemorated on 11 February every year. Gender equality is one of the components of a healthy society, and true development is impossible without it. Sadly, women are not only under-represented but are also under-appreciated in most workplaces, including within scientific fields.

Professor Susan Adendorff, Director of the Department of Facilities Management at the University of Pretoria (UP), chats to Tukkievaria about her rise as a woman in a male-dominated space and the status of women in science.

Tell us about your background.

I was the first female graduate in Industrial Engineering at UP; I received a BEng (Industrial) cum laude. I then obtained an MBA from the Graduate School of Management at UP before obtaining a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University. I was the first woman to obtain a PhD in Industrial Engineering in South Africa.

Why should women be considered in science and technology fields?

Women have a role to play in all spheres of life. Gender does not make a difference to the contributions made. Therefore, being a female in an engineering environment should not be different to being a female in any other environment. It has much more to do with dedication and commitment to excel in your chosen career path.

Why is there a lack of women in tech fields?

Traditionally, young girls are not encouraged to consider science and technology as suitable career paths. I believe this has changed significantly over the past two decades – you see more women studying medicine or engineering, for example. Having female role models in these fields can help young girls to visualise a future in science/technology. Acting as a mentor for young girls interested in studying engineering has been part of my life ever since I graduated in the early 1980s.

What sort of challenges do women face in science and technology?

Personally, I have never experienced any challenges as a woman working in a male-oriented environment. However, I think women have to work harder to prove themselves in these “non-traditional” work environments.

How have women contributed to science?

Women have been contributing to science as far back as Marie Curie becoming the first female to win the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. She won a second Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911 – she is the only woman to have won two Nobel Prizes. Her daughter also won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935. So women have been contributing for a very long time.