Humans of IEEE WIE highlights a dedicated WIE volunteer who is well known for his/her notable contribution to IEEE WIE.

 

IEEE WIE: Please give us a brief introduction about yourself and your family.

I was born in northern rural Sweden on a small farm, we had 5 cows, hens, and a horse in the 1960s. My great-grandfather and grandmother have owned the farm since 1904, and my mother was the third generation of female owners. I have a younger brother and a sister.
I have “green fingers” and love gardening and growing food. I have an interest in Viking history from around 1000 AD and participate in Viking reenactment, as well as being the skipper of Viking Plym, a replica of a Viking ship found in Norway.
I am a Senior member of IEEE and I was the first female Director of IEEE in R8, Europe, Africa and the Middle East 2017-2018.
I am an M.Sc. and the founder of a consultancy firm Irbis Konsult AB in 1989, working with information and cyber security for public and private associations. I am a certified Data Protection Officer.
I was a member of the WIE committee 2003-2005 and the newsletter editor. I dreamt of creating a magazine for international women in engineering with interesting topics. I am so happy that we have such a magazine 20 years later. I was also a driving force to make sure WIE was represented in the Region 8 board, and Clementina Saduwa was the first female in that position. She was sadly killed in a robbery, and after that Region 8 created the Clementina Saduwa awards to commemorate her pioneering work.

IEEE WIE: What is your specific area of STEM?

My STEM career started in Mechanical engineering and Energy technology, and I finished my studies in Power engineering at The Royal Institute of Technology 1988 in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 2004 I am working with information and cyber security and since 2018 protecting personal data according to the General Data Protection Regulation, aka GDPR.

IEEE WIE: Please tell us something interesting about your life that may be why you chose the STEM field.

My role models were my father, a skilled mechanic and my uncle who worked as test engineer with Ericsson. I always liked mathematics and natural sciences in school. On a farm there are always practical and often technical problems to solve, and I observed my father and grandfather working with wood and metal.
My mother and grandmother were inspired to gardening, sewing my own clothes and knitting and crocheting. My creativity was boosted all the time, and I felt proud of the things I created.

IEEE WIE: As an empowered woman, please share how you plan to empower other women. How do you encourage them to take leadership positions?

I always encourage youngsters to figure out how a gadget works, disassemble it and then try to repair it. For example, take care of your bike or vehicle, be curious about how it works is a great start.
I also encourage young people to take leadership positions by inviting them to be part of a group or association, and then involve them in a small project of their interest. Soon they get hooked, become members and later leaders!
Young women often come up to and tell me how I have inspired them by being a successful female engineer and leader.

IEEE WIE: How do you think diversity and inclusion help in boosting creativity and better problem-solving strategies?

The power of diversity is 100 percent true, the more diversity of minds, the better. To include individuals with different views in problem solving is essential to reach an optimal solution. Have you noticed how your creativity grows when you work with other smart people, and how we boost our ability to be creative in a diverse and including environment?

IEEE WIE: In your opinion, how can everyone ensure that technological advancements are used for the betterment of humanity?
Most technological advancements can be used for good and bad purposes at the same time. It is up to engineers, researchers and politicians to govern this duality towards good purposes. The risk for abuse is always present, as we see in the use of internet for scams and cybercrime. On the good side, these risks drive development of better and more secure solutions.

IEEE WIE: What is one piece of advice you can give to young professionals who are IEEE WIE members?
Be curious about the world and how things are used and their function. Your interest is the strongest driving force to gain new knowledge.
Do not listen to people saying “girls cannot do xxx” – they know nothing about you! On the contrary, say as Pippi Longstocking “How can I know, when I have not tried it?”

IEEE WIE: How do you challenge the status quo or how do you identify problems in your field and propose solutions to bring positive changes?

As an engineer I collect and present facts about the situation, including comments from people about their experience and feelings, as well as what they would like to have instead. Then I create a proposal for change with a tentative time plan and budget and re-present it to the people who experience the problem, adjust the proposal if needed and present it to leadership/management for decisions.

IEEE WIE:  An empathetic leader helps promote a better work environment. Would you agree?

I agree that empathy is needed in a good leader. Empathy must also be paired with positive drive and ability to make decisions.