DESIGN
I see plenty of women leaders already pressing up in this industry – because with more representation comes even more representation, and I think eventually people will have more to emulate in terms of seeing how their career path can go, in spite of their [personal] circumstances. They’ll be able to understand all their possibilities through different representations of themselves out there.” Shi considers herself fortunate not to have encountered any form of overt discrimination. “I guess I was a bit lucky when I entered the industry because I did not encounter any style of discrimination, in terms of my work or in terms of being a woman. I think science and engineering, in my honest opinion, is genderless.” Trust in yourself Shi encourages anyone considering entering the world of engineering to just do it. Trust in yourself and know that there is a lot of help, support, and encouragement along the way. “I took the leap, so my advice is to just take the leap because the semiconductor companies that we have right now have very well-established support and training structures. I know fresh from college you might doubt yourself that you might not have enough skills to go on, but that's not necessarily true. Because once you get into the semiconductor companies, they have this support and training structure for you. So, you can use it for your career growth. “This industry, engineering, science, all of it. It is vast. You will never get bored of it. The learning continues. It will never stop. You will make new discoveries, and new products are always coming out. And, I think, with more interest and support coming from the government this industry will grow, and in being a part of that, it will be quite an experience for anyone joining the industry.”
date within the semiconductor industry, Shi believes that it is simply being a woman in a typically male-orientated environment, and that just by being present in a career that she loves, she is helping to tip the scales of inequality. “My greatest achievement in my career is penetrating this barrier. Because I know in engineering women are a marginal group … it is already an achievement for me to be recognised by my peers as an equal and to be asked my opinion, especially as a woman and an immigrant in the main onsemi site in the US, I think that’s quite a significant part of my life.” Shi believes that having representation, rather than role models, of all people within the engineering industry is something that is important. “I think role model is an outdated term for me. I think it should be representation. When we view the word role model, we think of a perfect person, but in this day and age that’s not a good thing. But it is important to recognise people that are a representation of yourself. “My mentor in academia is a woman. I think that shaped me … she was my advisor, and mentor, and I know how strong she is … I recognise how she deals with double standards. And so, I carried that with me when I entered the industry. I think she is a good representation of women in science and engineering.
“Coming into the semiconductor industry,
10 ELECTRONICSPECIFIER.COM
Powered by FlippingBook