A Capital Region semiconductor manufacturer is celebrating the role of women in technology — even while acknowledging there’s a long way to go.
GlobalFoundries, headquartered in Malta, is advancing efforts to bring more women into tech fields. Speaking Monday at a conference in Saratoga Springs, Dr. Isabelle Ferain, the company’s Vice President for engineering, said even though they often find they’re the only woman in engineering rooms, women should stay determined.
“It doesn't mean that you don't belong there. It means that you have to identify male allies, can be your professors can be your peers can be students who are ahead of you. So don't give up because engineering is fun. It's about resolving challenges. It's about being innovative, creating new solutions. So it's a lot of fun, don't give up and you'll find allies. The most important is don't stay on your own. Reach out. Don't be afraid of reaching out,”
Dr. Thomas Caulfield, the current CEO, says GlobalFoundries wants to be a 50-50 workforce — it’s at 25 percent now — and hire a female CEO. The company has nearly 13,000 employees.
Caulfield is a trustee of Union College in Schenectady. He says women are already being held to higher standards than men:
“What I learned in this role- I’m on the admissions committee, if you have children going to college, here’s what you should know, first of all, early decision if you want to get to your school, go early decision, right. And everybody knows that. The second thing is, the criteria to admit males versus females is lower in college, or schools that have 60 percent female only 40%- So many schools, they try to get a balanced population as close they can 50-50, to be able to do that, they actually have to have a lower criteria from it. And it's not just Union College, that's all institutions,” Caulfield said.
According to the Society of Women Engineers, although the percentage of STEM workers who are women has increased with time, the percentage of women in engineering is still low, with women making up 16 percent of those in engineering and architecture-related fields and 26.7 percent of those in computer and mathematical operations.
While the percentage of women in most STEM fields solely increased, according to SWE, the percentage of women in computer and math occupations has fallen from its high of 35 percent in 1990.
As a result, Caulfield says there is no reason for female underrepresentation.
Ferain, who is also global executive sponsor of GlobalFoundries’ employee resource group GlobalWomen, agrees.
“Give everyone a chance. Don’t make the decision on behalf of women or underrepresented minorities, give them a chance to compete. And so don't assume that because men or women have children have parental duties or look after family members, they're not fit for the job. Give them the opportunity, have the discussion. So I think it's important to get rid of that bias, that those who are in charge of family, or looking after a parents are not capable of leading a successful and rewarding career,” Ferain said.
Ferain says gender bias plays a role in long-held beliefs that parents are less capable workers.
GlobalFoundries allows employees to work from home at least three days a week.
The GlobalWomen Conference is held every fall in the Capital Region.
“Next year, I can tell you would want to be even more inclusive from students from nearby schools, and from leaders from other companies so that it's not only limited to GlobalFoundries what do we do here to empower women to grow? We actually want to bring along on this journey, other local leaders and students and female engineers,” Ferain said.
Ferain says internships remain a key stepping stone into the industry.
