Don't Be Intimidated by the

"DON'T BE INTIMIDATED BY THE INDUSTRY"

Zenab Abbas, the Marketing Manager at Vertiv speaks about her journey into the tech industry as a career choice.

So what is it that you do at Vertiv?

Well, I guess, the typical thing about my day at Vertiv is that it's not typical. While, my official title is Marketing Manager for the Middle East and Africa region, which is a very broad title, I guess everything related to this region that falls under marketing, whether it's telemarketing, events, PR, channel campaigns and so on, fall under my responsibility.

Of course, it's not me alone - I'm supported by a wonderful team of colleagues and a corporate marketing team as well. So I would actually have to say that my responsibility is to assist others to be successful.

Did you always know that you would you wanted to work in the technology industry? How did you decide on doing that?

Definitely not! If you had told the, I guess, the 15 year old self that you know one day you're going to be driving growth in critical infrastructure solutions in the Middle East and Africa market, she probably would have given you a sarcastic nod and continued munching on her burger!

So, I was given the opportunity to join the Emerson Network Power as a PA to the MD at the time. So, I actually wasn't too interested in the technology I wasn't too sure of, when someone said data centers to me. I kind of thought "Oh, okay!". But, when I met Pierre, and saw his passion for this industry was infectious. He's a great salesperson and I have to say and he got me into saying yes, to which you know I'm thankful every day for.

I think that things like AI, AR, and so on, are definitely interesting because it's a different world. However, the interest in the industry - I probably developed that when I actually started in the industry. By joining the IT industry and then stepping into the marketing shoes, was a massive learning curve and the more I learned about data centers, UPS, Server Management, and so on, it became a very interesting topic. This is because, if you think about the growth in data and cloud, you know that the cloud is somewhere. However, there actually is a backbone to that. So learning about critical infrastructure really opened my eyes to this whole new world of technology in this industry.

Do you believe our world would be different if more women were working in the STEM industry?

I guess we'll find out soon! I don't know about it yet, but I think actually when you asked me this question I kind of did a bit of research. I looked at this report and it is quite interesting to know that there is a ratio of more men to women in the industry.

However, I don't think it's about the industry itself and I don't think it's about the companies as well. Companies like Vertiv are very inclusive of women. They promote gender diversity and just recently in February 2021, we had two of our leading women in tech in our company, being part of a panelist for this women in tech industry event.

I think it's more about the kind of the way that the females are brought up. The influences of a young child's life also matters and through all those influences like family, friends and schools, there's sort of this lack of, I would say, equal influences, so women grow up thinking that the STEM industry is not a very female friendly industry and it's very male dominated one.

And it is because of those kinds of influences, women grow up not having the confidence to go into this sort of industry. But then, we've seen a lot of progress recently - there has been and increase in women representation in research and development, for instance.

So what sort of challenges do you face in your day-to-day work life?

It's difficult, because I cannot claim to speak on behalf of all women in tech you know. For me, there are no obstacles - it's just challenges. And every new adventure that you face as an individual, comes with its set of challenges which as you and an individual needs to decide how you're going to overcome these.

I think that it starts with a mentality that there are no obstacles and it's just a challenge. And I have to navigate and come around these. For me, in this industry, I think the biggest challenge was the learning curve, to start understanding the basics of the technology.

I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by very supportive colleagues, inspirational mentors and a company that fosters an improvement in your skill sets. So, I really didn't face any obstacles and I don't feel like I face obstacles. Today, being a woman, I think that the training programs like the Vertiv academy offers - such as basic programs on explaining the technology to people. So, there were plenty of sources for me to dive into and get that knowledge that I needed to be where I am today.

What sort of advice do you have for women who are looking to break into the technology industry as a career choice?

Definitely don't be intimidated by the industry. Judging from my own personal experience in this company, I'm surrounded by people who assist others to be successful. I see it everyday that everybody is very supportive of others.

I guess, I probably would have told my early self that don't be intimidated by this industry. I don't come from an engineering background and I didn't find that as an obstacle. It's just that it depends on how much you want to learn as an individual and how much you want to absorb that knowledge.

That will then determine how far you go and that's kind of advice I would give to women looking to get into the IT industry as a career choice.