Celebrating International Women's Day with Jenny Vásquez: An interview on challenges and triumphs
Sobre la experiencia y trayectoria profesional de Jenny
Jenny is a Geological Engineer with a degree from the National University of San Marcos (UNMSM) with a Master’s degree in Disaster Risk Management from the National Engineering University (UNI) and a Master’s Degree in Integral Management of Natural Environment from the International University of Andalusia (UNIA).
He has experience in disaster risk management, in the evaluation of geological hazards and the development of geotechnical investigation campaigns. He has advanced knowledge in the modeling of geoenvironmental information through GIS with experience in the development of susceptibility maps to landslides.
At a professional level, he has worked in private companies nationally and internationally and has developed research projects in Geosciences in entities such as INGEMMET and MINAM. She currently works as the Geoprocesses coordinator at Anddes.
What inspired you to become a geological engineer?
I think that one of the most important things that influenced me to study Geology was that from a very young age I used to travel with my family to different places, it was those experiences that made me curious and interested in learning “how nature worked”, with the passage of time. years it was clear to me that I wanted to investigate and travel and see first hand how Geology can influence people’s lives.
What are the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in a Geology major?
In general, women in this career have faced challenges in terms of gender equality and opportunities.
The career of geological engineering has traditionally been carried out by few women, the engineers who went further had to fight their way to achieve respect. This reality is changing and currently more women choose to study geological engineering. Currently women are present in different areas of Geology, in the private and public sphere, but their participation in managerial positions is still less.
This career is a challenge in several aspects, often reconciling family life and work has not been easy, but with discipline and organization anything is possible.
How have you faced the gender gap in your career?
The gender gap is a complex issue that is still present in our society. Whenever possible, I have been actively involved in projects where everyone’s opinions are heard and equal opportunities are promoted.
However, I am aware that many women face these gaps throughout their professional lives, many must make an extra effort to be heard and taken into account in complex projects or they must dedicate more time to take care of the family.
What advice would you give young women who are interested in pursuing a career in engineering?
There are several things that can be done:
- Seek Mentors and Role Models: Find women in engineering to talk to us about their experiences and challenges.
- Develop leadership and teamwork skills: Leadership and teamwork skills are important to any career in engineering.
- Never Give Up: Engineering can be a challenging field, but don’t get discouraged. With passion and perseverance, we can overcome any challenge and achieve our goals.
How do you think gender diversity can improve the engineering sector?
Gender diversity in the engineering sector can help address the gender gap, increasing the number of leading female engineers in management positions will increase the amount of talent available to solve problems and face challenges in various fields such as mining, where the participation of women does not exceed 10%.
Jenny Vásquez
Geoprocess Coordinator