Interview with Yan Ruina (13/02/2012)

 
1st PART: Woman’s history comprehension/understanding

•     Can you present yourself in a few words and explain us what is your job/responsibilities?

My name is Yan Ruina, you can call me Ruina. In the plant, I’m responsible for the maker line process. I joint Saint Gobain in 2008 when this plant opened, it’s already 4 years for me. The plant has just been constructed. It was my third job. My work responsibility includes new products tries, support the production team to run the line and make good quality product, promote the production efficiency, improve our process parameters. So my job is about new products and mass production process. I’m the whole day in the line, my office is in the plant, not here in the office ! 

•     How did you came to engineering and sciences?

For me, after graduated from university, I choose engineering, but I didn’t really know what it was ! And now, I’m really happy with my job. It’s really interesting. Here you never know what will happen tomorrow ! You have to keep thinking all the time ! My father was engineer, but it’s not because of this that I became one too. You know, I really don’t like paper work, I prefer active work. When I was a child, I was really really shy, I was speaking really little and stayed quite. At that time I didn’t think I would become an engineer. But you know, a person changes all the times depending on surroundings. So, now, I speak a lot, but 5 years ago I was not like this ! Work for sure helped me, but more generally it’s because I grew up...

•     Did you have to face any difficulty as a woman in your studies/in your job? Or do you think being  a women facilitated it?

In my school, I was in mechanical department, we were only 6 girls among more than 30 boys. But it was not more difficult because of this. When I looked for a job, this was difficult. You know in China some companies prefer men to do some technical job. I graduated in 2004 july and I begun my first job in july, but it’s because I was not regarding too much do I like this job offer or not. And I changed my job because people told me it’s good if you change job quite often when you started to work, you get higher salary.

•     How do you conciliate professional and personal life?

It’s not too much difficult for me because I have a husband but not a child yet. My husband is sales engineer. But maybe after 2 or 3 years it will become a problem. But I’m not sure it will ! Actually I don’t know. You know in China you have 4 months holidays, and traditionally the mother of the woman and the man help a lot when the woman has a baby.

•     Could you tell us professional realizations you are proud of?

When a new product is accepted by the marketing team and the customer likes it and the sales are good, I’m proud. And it’s good for us because the company earns more money thanks to our works, and our salaries increase ! A.21.5 product is our first product, at that time it was really difficult for us, we had no experience to do it. It was not a technical product, but as it was the first one...we spent a lot of time and efforts on it !

•     Is there something special you like in this company ?

Suzhou team is a young team, with a lot of energy. I like this !




2nd PART:  General debate on woman engineer: differences and new things a woman can bring in a male team

•     Do you think men and women work differently? Could you give us concrete examples (personal works, project works)?

I don’t think there are many differences between men and women. The difference is between persons, not gender, especially in professional projects. Different person may have different angles to dill with but it’s not only because they are men and women.

I think that women work more in details, compare to most of men. But some men have the same thinking as women. That’s why I don’t think that it’s linked to the gender. At school, girls study more than boys, boys work faster than girls and with the same level of details.

An other difference is that women don’t have the same time to spend at work.

In communication, I think that us, women, when we ask for something to a worker we say “I need this because then we will be able to do this" but a boy would say “do this" and would maybe not give any reason.

I can do at least 2 or 3 things at the same time, the boys need to do things one by one.

Sometimes women are sensitive to something but men are not. You need to try no to think about your problems in life, not to focus on them to feel comfortable. Sometimes women are thinking about one thing all the time and it makes them sad. We have to learn how to deal with stress, which is easier for the men.

Girls are more able to say to some worker that he’s not doing a good job. Girls will say it in a soft way and try to imagine how the worker can improve himself, I think it works better.  But sometimes we have to be rude to the workers. The first time I explain something, if the worker is not doing it the right way, then I will give him a chance and explain again but if he’s still not doing it the right way and I have to explain it a 3rd time then I will be rude. 

In the plant, we have 80 boys, and including me we are 4 girls. But there are much more girls working in the office, there, there is the same number of girls and boys. The managers are only boys apart from the financial manager.

•     Do you think that a mixed team is helpful for working atmosphere and/or is linked to team performance?

Boys and girls together work better than only boys or only girls. I like when there is more boys and less girls. Boys and girls have different attitudes and different angles about the things. In a team that has women, communication will be better, boys are rough between them. I think more boys and less girls is the best.

  




3rd PART:  Vidéo

• Short representation

Hello everyone, my name is Yan Ruina, I’m working in saint Gobain Abrasives Suzhou company. I’m an engineer. Suzhou plant has 3 lines. I work on maker line. Our line has 20 workers and 3 process technicians. They are all boys except me! My work responsibility includes new products trial, support production team to make good quality product, line purpose, promote the production efficiency, and so on.

•     Which advice would you give to any young women who hesitate to start engineering studies?

As a woman, I want to say: you can do what you want to do and what you like and trust yourself. You can do better than boys!

•     What has been your biggest difficulty as a women engineer?

I remember at the beginning of the make line there was only one process engineer, me. And at that time I was not experienced about the machine and the produce. And our first product A215 was really difficult for us at that time. The speed was really high and too much scrap. It was a disaster! But after, with the team efforts, we succeed. And now I think there is nothing difficult!

•     What has been your best satisfaction as a women engineer?

Every time when a new product goes from launch stage to mass production stage and is accepted in marketing or produced and the customer like it, I feel a very big satisfaction!

•     What is your next challenge?

This year, our plant will have a new line called multi functions line. I’m the responsible for this project within the process Department.

And this project is really important for our plant. So this is my next challenge!