Yes, I'm a woman, and yes, women can be successful in tech

With her soft-spoken but firm temperament, Sandrine works with her teams on telecom network data. Her work helps to reduce the energy consumption of mobile network antennas, to perform predictive maintenance on networks, and to fight against router hacking.

Sandrine always wanted to work in technical fields. “I wanted to work in IT, and that’s what guided me forward.”

She owes her commitment to gender equality to a particular event. While discussing students' grades,
a teacher said : "That girl doesn’t work, let her go, it doesn’t matter, she’ll find a good husband". And no other teachers reacted. “It occurred to me that the best way to fight against that sort of prejudice was to go into schools and say, “I studied science and yes, I’m a woman and yes, women can be successful.”

Sandrine works with an association called Elles Bougent (Women on the Move), which goes into schools to promote technical careers for women. She also works with a second association called Capital Filles (Girls Capital), which provides career guidance for young women. She mentors two young women every year.

What guides her forward and makes her feel useful is actually quite humble. “I tell myself that if I can help even just one young girl to do exactly what she wants without having the weight of her family’s expectations, her teachers, or her friends (I know that some young girls are under tremendous pressure in that respect), then I'm being helpful.”

The company facilitates this type of commitment: the time she spends going to high schools and universities or meetings with the girls she mentors is done during working hours.

Today, Sandrine regrets the lack of female applicants when she hires employees for her teams.

Sandrine

If I were to give young girls advice, I would say to them:Don't be afraid. Apply even if you don't meet all the criteria!

What drives her forward? Perhaps the model passed down from her mother who showed her what you can accomplish in work as a woman. And probably her own children. “I have daughters and I tell myself that everything I do, I do in part for them too, to pave the way for them for later, so that they can really do what they want.”

Discover the associations that Sandrine works for: