International Women’s Day interview

This year, for the International Women’s Day, Technology and Strategy has decided to interview one of its women employee on the subject of the women’s place in a company in 2022.

Isabelle Goncalves, HR Teal Leader at ENGLAB and T&S responded positively to our solicitation.

What is your role as HR Team Leader?

To best meet the needs of our internal electronic and mechanical teams, I have always actively participated in the recruitment of interns for our design offices.

Today, I manage training at the group level, while continuing to provide support to the technical teams for the follow-up of employees’ careers.

This new challenge allows me to continue to evolve in the HR function to remain close to the my co-workers, while having the possibility of continuing to support them both in their professional development and in their personal growth.

As a woman, what are the most important challenges you have overcome to fulfil your role?

It’s a simple fact: the HR function is now predominantly represented by women. Beyond the numbers, this is our reality, our daily life. Inevitably, we are in constantly interacting with a majority of men, whether they are Business managers or engineers. It’s a part of the game and a specificity of the consulting field.

The difficulty is to be able to assert one’s importance by putting one’s energy and skills to good use, may it be for the team of the company.

For several years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of a team of volunteer firemen. I demonstrated more than once that I had own my place both within this team and in this profession. Each intervention has reinforced my vision and my position. Courage and determination are the two values that I do not only carry, but that I’ve always defended reach my goals.

What advice would you give to women who wish to pursue a career in consulting?

If there is one thing I would like to relay, it is above all to believe in yourself and not to give up. Perseverance allows us to overcome difficulties. Especially since these difficulties are often a good opportunity to demonstrate our skills or to discover qualities that we may never have suspected before. The most important thing is not to forget ourselves in our decision making. Making our own choices without succumbing to societal norms and “it would be better to do so rather than…” is perhaps the hardest and at the same time the best thing that can happen to us.

At your level, what actions do you take to work towards more gender equality?

During the recruitment process, I always undertake to see at least one woman in an interview, whatever the position sought and even if the shortage of technical profiles, overall, does not make the task easier.

And at the group level, are other initiatives also being carried out?

Among our CSR projects, the issue of gender diversity is of prime importance. Our partnership with the association “Elles bougent” aims to encourage young girls of all ages – from middle school and high school to university – to take up engineering and scientific careers more generally. Our engineers, as “godmothers”, can act directly by trying at their level, to promote their career path. More recently, we have also invited a group of students to offer them a personalized guided tour of ENGLAB to introduce them some of our projects. All we want now is to be able to offer this opportunity to other school in the future!

Nothing is impossible, you just have to believe!

Isabelle Goncalves HR Team Leader ENGLAB & T&S