Women in HVACR
THE REALITIES OF A CAREER IN ENGINEERING
By Neziwe Moleejane
Young engineers , having access to any mentorship , leadership or support will enable their careers to progress so much faster , and keep them motivated to succeed – especially for women .
In sharing my story , it is my hope that some of my own challenges can show young engineers that persistence pays off . I started my career by graduating with a B-Tech degree in mechanical engineering from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology . I immediately joined a building services consulting company specialising in HVAC , wet services , fire protection , and energy management .
Five years into my career , I studied further to obtain a post graduate diploma in project management from the University of Stellenbosch . I then had an opportunity to take a ‘ career break ’, and spent 18 months travelling in Europe . Upon my return I joined another building services consulting firm specialising in basically the same fields as my prior employer .
Over my career to-date , I have gained 10 years of consulting engineering experience in the property and building industries , with further exposure in design of wet services and fire protection . My expertise is primarily in the design and management of HVAC systems in commercial , education , residential , airports , switching stations and retail projects , so I have been able to bank quite a couple of lessons so far .
When I decided to follow a path in engineering , the thought of inequality never even crossed my mind . I always understood that I just need to be sharp , be good at Maths and Science , pay good attention to detail , and have problem-solving skills . I ticked all the boxes and I was ready to be an engineer !
In my first-year classes at university , the ratio of male to female students was actually insignificant . I did not see much diversity between female and male students – it was purely a group of young people like myself who were sharp , good at Maths and Science and had problem-solving skills . Something , even back then , stood out though – male students had strong personalities , were more vocal and were quick to raise their hands to ask or answer questions . This was not the case for the women students , who mostly had meek and timid personalities .
The different personalities stood out in lab work and projects too . Carrying out any tasks or roles were then gendered – males would be selected as the group leaders and be more involved in technical aspects of the tasks . Females would be organisers and do more of administrative tasks like typing and compiling reports . Then I did not see lecturers being bothered by the dynamics , or advocating for project teams to be balanced in sharing the roles and tasks .
During my final year , the ratio of males to female changed drastically . There were suddenly many more males than female students . Most female students had either dropped out , some changed their careers and others started families .
At that stage , I also served as a president of Women in Mechanical Engineering where my objective was to encourage and tell young girls that they can choose any career they want . We invited females in engineering from the Industry to advise , share their experiences and network with female students . We visited high schools with the aim to challenge and prove the stereotypes wrong . We also wanted teachers to see females studying engineering , and female learners to see other females in engineering .
“ In every kind of work you enter , you need to prove yourself for people to respect and notice you .”
My final year project consisted of four members in the team – all whom were female . We wanted to show others that as females , we can manufacture a product , write a report about it and present that finished product . We achieved excellent marks and were ready for the working world , well , so we thought .
Joining the work force brought in some immediate challenges . Although at university I had learned to be confident and unashamed , making myself heard to many people and working with various people , I was obviously lacking experience . Some people would be openly demeaning and they would ignore me . This was really to do with my knowledge or inexperience and led to my first
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