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There is no doubt that Beatrice Muthoni is determined
to scale the heights of the engineering profession.
Besides winning the Women in Energy Professional
Award, she is a Mandela Washington fellow, one of the
promising young leaders who were presented with an
opportunity to hone their skills in an initiative run by
president Barrack Obama, to mentor young profession-
als in different fields.
With a rich professional experience of more than five
years, Beatrice is defying odds in the energy sector
which is largely regarded as a man’s world. She cur-
rently works as an electrical consultant at the Kenya
Tea Development Agency.
She says her love for science and mathematics, from a
very young age, set her up for a career in engineering
but she wasn’t very sure where she would fall.
Beatrice recalls that the thought came to her mind
for the first time when she was in Form Four at a
Career Day organised by her school, Moi Girls Eldoret.
Here she got a chance to talk to one of the engineers
present, who informed her about the unique growth
opportunities in engineering, particularly in chemical
engineering. Her interest was however, in electrical
engineering.
Why electrical engin eering? She grew up in the rural
Molo Township of Nakuru County; an area where 15 years
ago power supply interruption was the norm. Doing her
homework at night was a challenge because of irregular
supply of electricity. She wondered then why it was not
possible for everyone to be connected to the grid. This
problem kindled her interest in the energy sector and
prompted her to pursue a course in electrical engineering.
One of the greatest challenges she experienced when she
finally got into the job market as an automation engineer,
was realising that the work environment of her career of
choice was actually custom-made for men. Room had to
be created for her as a woman because her needs were
different from those of her male colleagues. For example,
she noted that safety boots, helmets and overalls were all
oversize and custom-made for men. She also noted that
the needs of women were not understood by employers in
the sector. For instance, some employers have not put into
consideration the needs of women in the child-bearing age.
Muthoni gives an example of a breast feeding mother being
asked to travel far.
Mentorship network
Beatrice currently runs a mentorship program at Moi Girls
Eldoret, as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) ambassador. This is part of a wider career
mentorship network. She plans to mentor more young
girls this year and even form strategic partnerships with the
rest of the awardees of the Women in Energy Professional
Award.
Her dream is to see the cost of energy brought down and
advises small-scale tea farmers to consume efficiently .
She says every time she walks into a boardroom, reality
strikes her that she’s the only woman in the pack. This
motivates her to work hard towards mentoring young
female engineers. Muthoni would like stakeholders to put
their minds and effort into building a better industry with
countless women
Beatrice runs a mentorship
program encouraging
more young girls to take
up STEM subjects
Beatrice receiving the professional award
WATTS UP MAGAZINE APR - MAY 2017
7