Meet our strong, compassionate, unique ladies and listen to their stories of fierceness and diligence to get to know them a bit better. Each one of our beautiful halves represents a distinctive color, like a flower that paints our world and inspires us every day. They might have different backgrounds and career journeys, but have come together to play irreplaceable parts in the technology industry.
Quynh Anh: The computer has been like a friend to me since I was little. I played games and kinds of stuff, with the curious mind of always wanting to explore “the magical world” inside a computer and how it works. Throughout that whole discovery process, I found my passion for pursuing this path in technology. I had a chance to have an internship at Katalon before graduation, and after that, I decided to continue my journey with Katalon. It has been 4 years now.
Q. What do you think is the best part/most challenging part of being a girl in the tech industry?
Quynh Anh: I cannot really point out what the differences are regarding gender in this industry. If there must be one thing, it is only that men always outnumber women, so during my school years and even up until my working experience, senior mentors always cared for us a “little” bit more, being “gentle' to our mistakes compared to our male colleagues haha. Except for that, there are no particular differences.
Q. Something you are most proud of yourself?
Xuan: I always choose to “be myself”, and dare to do what I love to do. I had wanted to dye my hair pink for so long but only made that “bold move” when I joined Katalon. The environment here, I would say encouraged me to be my authentic self. With that being said, how I transformed my career path is also kind of a similarity to my pink hair story.
I have rotated to be the Associate Product Manager (APM) of Katalon Studio Gen4 for more than a month. Before that, I was also a member of the team as a Technical Writer. Katalon is the first-ever technology company that I have worked at so it took me quite a while to get acquainted with all the “complicated” technical aspects. Although I have one and a half years of experience working with Katalon Studio, I would say that being an APM requires more technical knowledge compared to my previous role.
During the journey, I dare to minimize the gap between the solid technical background required for a niche field like automation testing and my background in business. I take pride in daring to portray myself on a different path, where I have the courage to pursue success and overcome challenges.
Q. The challenges you have taken to become who you are today?
Xuan: The more you work hard, the less time you have for yourself. Because of the recent changes in my job, I realized that I have gradually forgotten to spend time on my hobbies (I used to do blogging, but not so much anymore).
The most challenging thing is to find a balance between your professional work and personal life. Accept changes, but embrace your values so that at the end of the day, you evolve but still be who you are, in a better version of yourself. Now, when everything is more put into place, I feel like I am myself again, a “pink" girl who loves books and blogging.
Angeline: I have been in the professional world for more than 14 years now. As much as I like to plan, I never set out a deliberate path for the first years of my career. Getting to where I am was a journey of experimenting, grabbing the right opportunities, and taking risks. But it did start with understanding myself - what I love to do, what I am good at or not good at. Once I understood this, I got more intentional with what I wanted to do with my career. I do believe that my successes are brought by all of those varieties of experiences. If you are open to opportunities and challenges, you will find your desired path.
It’s very tough for women in leadership roles to handle two “full-time jobs”, the other being a mother at home. So, understanding the culture of the company I join is very important to me. I always make sure that the company’s values align with my personal values. This gives me the confidence to be very vocal and honest about my needs as a woman and a mother and be able to normalize what a typical parent has to do (like needing to leave the office early sometimes to pick up my son). Finding the right environment that allows you to flourish both in your professional and personal life is crucial to finding that balance and I have been very lucky to receive great support from Katalon.
Q. A most valuable piece of advice you can pass on to anyone, especially women trying to establish their careers or anyone striving for gender equality?
Angeline: There is more pressure on us women to balance work and personal/family life because our traditional roles dictate that we should be homemakers. We feel that we have so much to prove compared to our peers of the opposite gender. My advice is to be true to yourself and never sacrifice your beliefs. Your true self will get you to where you need to be. Always ensure that whatever you put out or do aligns with your personal values. We are lucky to live in a world where women leaders are more prevalent and gender equality is valued, so take advantage of the opportunities that you have.