Milestones
Experiences of women vary across the industry, and gender discrimination is not universally experienced. “The security industry is certainly still a male-driven domain, but I've never had the feeling that I was disadvantaged because of my gender,” said Heidi Wand, VP of Finance, Security Systems and Products, Siemens Building Technologies.
“Initially, it might appear that a woman needs to accomplish more to be taken seriously in a technologybased industry,” said Jennifer Pittman, Regional Sales Manager, Samsung Techwin America. “However, as she studies, learns and grows, there is no reason she can't excel. It is a level playing field for both sexes.” The best countermove for discrimination is refining one's industry expertise and exhibiting even more confidence.
Tipping Point
“Initially, I encountered challenges from the female nurses as well as the male facility engineers, as they were not confident that I could provide the organization with a secure environment simply because I am a woman,” Pryse recounted. “I discovered that I had to immerse myself into all facets of physical security, fire system operations and hospital and government regulations associated with providing a secure environment. In addition to learning to manage a blend of police and security officers responding to the same types of calls, I had to implement electronic access control, become a locksmith, an emergency manager, a hazardous materials manager and much more.”
“We have a female field application engineer in the company, and she has provided tremendous help to customers,” said Maggie Chao, Assistant VP of Sales and Marketing, EtherWan Systems. “In the beginning, customers might not have expected too much seeing that she is a woman. But once they found out that she is technically knowledgeable, it automatically boosted their satisfaction level. I personally do not feel that gender differences have affected my career, although it seems that the stereotype has always been there.”
Sometimes, men believe that women belong in certain roles, which makes it difficult to advance; many women who have risen in the industry ranks have also adopted the same misperceptions, Hups observed. “One of the founders of an industry women's support organization approached me and asked if I wanted to join the group. Flattered, I said I would look at the membership. Later, I was horrified when I realized that her invitation was only extended because she wanted me to perform administrative work. I don't mean to denigrate administrators; however, it was clear that this woman, in a senior industry position, envisioned other women in the industry as holding predominantly administrative roles. The lack of any cohesive, beneficial program or association for women in the security industry has served to delay the acceptance of women in management positions in this industry.”
The world is definitely transforming from older mentality of “woman belongs in the kitchen” to a genderneutral playing field, Mamuscia said. “There have been plenty of successful women running multibillion-dollar global organizations; however, I am sure they have come across their fair share of biased opinions on where a woman's place should be and had to work harder to prove themselves. I was recently at an event where an elderly gentleman commented that my skills could be put to use babysitting his grandchildren. This clearly demonstrates that some men think women should be barefoot and pregnant, while others continue to promote growth within an organization.”
Cultural and Re gional Barriers
At times, women experience difficulties while conducting business due to local cultural traditions or regional public safety. In conservative societies with well-defined social and gender roles, female foreigners must take creative approaches to conclude business or maintain friendly partnerships.
“I had a unique experience in India, where the project involved giving a presentation to a local temple,” Zhou said. “According to this religious sect, men are disallowed from speaking to any woman. It was impossible for me to support this customer, and in the end a male colleague carried out the presentation instead.”
Gender differentiation is felt more strongly in the Middle East, Lee recalled. “In this region, women typically remain in the domestic sphere. I remember visiting a channel partner there with whom I enjoy good relations, but had to use the men's restroom as it was the only one in the office.”
“Safety is another crucial issue to consider in many cases,” Lee added. “Places with political unrest and social predicaments would have us think twice about sending an unaccompanied female sales representative to conduct normal business with local partners or customers. In this case, when we look for suitable candidates to oversee sales activities in these regions, the consideration we give to the safety issue would have a great effect on the result.”