women in the oilfield
his is a great topic to discuss and bring attention to because it seems that with every decade we step into, there is a new factor to throw into the discussion of ‘women in the male-dominated fields’. When people meet me and ask about my background or what I do for a living they always end up giving me that ‘oh wow’ look on their face. It turns out that I am an odd creature that turns up the volume on curiosity because it is so rare to see a woman in engineering, much less oil & gas; and yes, even in this decade.
I have my Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University ’09 in Industrial & Systems Engineering and finished it off with my senior design capstone project sponsored by Halliburton. During my time at A&M, I think that being in the Corps of Cadets made the most lasting difference in the coming challenges required in ‘male dominated fields’; and let’s not forget the good old boy system! It turned out to be my playground on ‘what not to do’ in an environment of mostly men as I was being ‘forged into a leader’. Currently, I am the territory manager for South Texas at GEA Industrial Automation. My job is to provide customized automation solutions for manufacturers in a wide variety of industries; from oil & gas to machine building. Last year I also co-founded Young RED, a non-profit for conservative young professionals in San Antonio. It’s so important to be politically involved because it affects our industry, economy, and businesses.
There are definitely challenges unique to women in my line of work. For example to name a few; prejudice and assumptions that a woman is not as competent in her job because of her gender, interpreting a woman’s nice manners for weakness or flirting, unbelievable accounts of sexual harassment that go undocumented for fear of being labeled a tattle tale, having to over qualify yourself to colleagues. It is also important to take into account that some challenges are unique to certain generations. Generally, my millennial male colleagues are much more oblivious to the challenges women face because to our state of mind it is almost unthinkable to assume such things about women in our day in age. We are seen as equals, for the most part. The older generation however, still reeks of that antiquated injustice towards women.
Life on earth is no utopia. We don’t only have to live with the challenges we face as a gender, but also our personal short comings. It has taken me some time to understand that and not dwell on it, but there is power in embracing who we were created to be as a person and not as a gender. I dress a certain way for my meetings to avoid the near occasion of confusion others might perceive, I prepare well before a meeting to make a smart impression, and I create ways to prove to my customer that I am competent by providing the most profitable solutions for them. I have a certain style that embraces my strengths and I have found that my customers appreciate that
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Paola Rios, Territory Manager for GEA of Texas, Inc.
Industrial Engineer
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