Interview with Siti Margiastuti

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 Siti Margiastuti, I'm a technician of laboratory, I'm responsible for the checking of the quality of the asphalt recieved for our customer in the incoming cargos.

Before ABS, I worked with an other company. When my project finished, I joined ABS.

• How did you come to engineering and sciences ?

I'm a chemist. I choose that because I like the job in laboratory.

Nobody was engineer in my family. My father was a farmer. My parents live 20 hours from here!

In the high school, I liked chemistry. I was very good at it, that is why then I choose chemistry to continue my studies.

In my project of end of studies, I learnt the basis of Asphalt analysis. That is why then I choose ABS.

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

We were fifty percent of girls. But after the studies it was difficult to get a job. Because employers think there is too much pressure, and the technical field is more for men. However, we don't have a physical job as a chemist.  Most of my friends work now in the labs of manufactories.

• What are the special qualifications you need to have for your job ?

You need to have good concentration, to be precise and to be a hard worker. When the cargos arrive, you have to carry samples from the ship, and

the ship moves, you mustn't be scared!

• Do you have to move abroad for your job?

No. From now I stay here.

• How do you conciliate professional and personal life?

I'm 24, I don't have children.

I work from 8 to 16h, and I need 1 hour to go to work. But when I'll have children, for sure I'll continue my work because I love it! The babysitter would take care of the baby!

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

In ABS, they did a little challenge to encourage people to throw paper in a bin and not somewhere else! It's about ecology!

• What do you like in this company?

I like that the job is really challenging. I like that it is not only a work for men. Women can do it too!

• What is your next challenge ?

I want to continue to studying to get a bachelor degree, I want to choose chemistry engineering, I'll do it this year. I need 2 or 3 years to finish it. I'll work in the day and study in the night.

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 can't really say, because in our laboratory, everyone has to do each week a schedule, for example for me it is a schedule for the sample of the storage. But the other employees, men and women, have to do schedule too.

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

I prefer to work with a mixte team, with more boys and less girls, because girls gossip a lot! For example in my last company we were too many girls, and there was too much competition. But I don't want to be alone either! And the productivity is better in the mixte team. A team with 70 percents of boys and 30 percents of girl is good for me. But a team with only boys is not good either, because sometimes men are not so well organized. Girls know better how to follow a process.

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• Can you present yourself in a few words ?

My name is Siti Margiastuti, I'm a technician of laboratory, I'm responsible for the maintenance quality of the storage, outgoing from the depot for the customer, and aftersales.

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

Don't give up, keep the spirit, and go go go!

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

It is difficult to carry the samples or move the equipment from one place to another

• What has been your biggest satisfaction as a woman engineer ?

Mu job in general! I like it!

• What is your next challenge ?

I want to continue my studies, I'll do chemical engineering.