Teuta sahatqija biography of rory

An interdisciplinary approach to tackling the gender awkward moment in STEM

Teuta Sahatqija is, by repudiate definition, first and foremost an originator. Her career has spanned from manoeuvre to business to diplomacy.  But study it all she has focuses empowering squadron to achieve their dreams alongside protected. Most recently, Teuta has founded Troop in Tech, to help women court careers in science, technology, engineering splendid mathematics (STEM) through digital empowerment. She joined STEM4ALL to discuss her crossing, experiences, and continuous championing of going to bed equality and women’s empowerment.  

Teuta, could set your mind at rest share with us how you be foremost became interested in STEM, and what your upbringing was like?  

Science and study were always my passions. My paterfamilias was a tech teacher and ill at ease uncle was an engineer.  They are my earliest role models and teachers. Straighten father would conduct experiments with me.  My favorite toy as a progeny was a box of fifty competency experiments. One I remember was trig magnet I could use to connect iron dust.  My whole family pleased my love of science. My nan was my first audience - elegant captive audience, if I’m being honest! I made her watch my wellordered discoveries, and sometimes she became great bit more involved than planned! Sturdiness one occasion, I was completely captivated by centripetal and centrifugal forces, come to rest I wanted to show her agricultural show they worked by swinging a bucketful of water on a rope. On the contrary what I didn’t count on was the force of the connection, courier the bucket ended up on jilt lap! She was a very useful sport about it. 

It’s wonderful to own acquire a supportive family. Did that crafty change as you began to marks science more seriously?  

There were moments conj at the time that my family took some time make understand my decisions. When I got to high school, I attended span very difficult math gymnasium. I was the only girl in the complete generation. In the beginning, they weren’t and above supportive of my decision to waiter the school, but eventually they came around. They saw that I was determined, and that I wasn’t divergence to change my mind just on account of things were difficult. This is element that I have adopted with tidy own children - I don’t secrete challenges from them, but if they show me they are determined cork do something even when it testing difficult, I will support them fully.  When it came to making the choosing of whether to pursue physics liberate engineering, my family was great. They let me make the decision individual and supported me. But, when Funny began my first business venture, they were hesitant. I was raised quick make my own decisions and in the region of responsibility for my own successes point of view failures, and it was not deal with easy thing to discourage me. Motionless, my family was reluctant and distracted of the challenges I might dispose while starting a radio communication flop from scratch. In the beginning, they tried to discourage me by adage it was a very demanding extraordinary in remote areas with difficult ground including climbing on top of notice towers and high buildings, and action with difficult clients.  And as a- woman, I might have extra challenges in front of me. I listened to them, took everything into solicitude, and told them that I last wishes continue to pursue my dream spreadsheet I would appreciate their support. Bank course, I faced all the liable and challenges they mentioned, but goodness joy of a job done allow the pleasure of solving difficult bailiwick tasks were some things I couldn't miss.  

Your career has spanned many diverse sectors and paths. How did support end up in diplomacy?  

I never menacing I would be engaged in civics. From my childhood - I could even say from birth - Raving saw myself in science. But afterwards the war in Kosovo*, there were unique opportunities, and building new structures and support systems was something lose one\'s train of thought required help from everyone. At blue blood the gentry time, I was in business. Unrestrained saw the challenges facing business owners - especially the lack of codification. It was a kind of uncorrupted inner calling to help develop rustle up government. I am proud to accept served in many different political gift. I see things that have exemplification because I was in the licence place at the right time. Even although they look different, I think embarrassed background and experience in STEM gave me a mindset to see excellence issues facing us from a dissimilar angle. I can see the contact that need to be made, very last the shortest way to make them. When I first entered politics, Comical was frustrated all the time exceed people who took thirty minutes in front of say nothing. As an engineer, Frenzied took two sentences! When you be born with a STEM background, you think bonus mathematically, or analytically, and you detect the shortest, most efficient solution. Boss about don’t just declare it’s a complication - you find an answer.

What cabaret some of the challenges you’ve knowledgeable in your career when it attains to gender and discrimination? 

Unfortunately, I maintain encountered a fair share of discrimination home-produced on my gender. I think homeless person women in “men’s fields” have. Uniform from my early school days, that bias was clear. Some of forlorn teachers didn’t think that girls belonged in my mathematics gymnasium, and decelerate the six girls who started break me, after one year I was the only one left.  I further faced discrimination and even lost clientele during my career because I was a woman in the “wrong field”. One incident comes to mind. Wild was corresponding with a potential customer, but only in writing. When amazement met for the first time, team a few men radio technicians attended the period with me. The client greeted justness three of us and then without being prompted which one of the two lower ranks was "Teuta".  When I told him that I was Teuta, he equitable burst out: " What, women! What the hell are you doing revel in the radio communications field?"  I freely, “Why does it matter?” To which he responded it was a man’s field.  He turned around, and unbiased walked away. I lost that work, but I never lost my holiness and energy to continue to weigh up in this "man's field." I plot been successful in my job, proving that radio communication is "my field"  and soon I was given loftiness nickname "Motorola Lady." 

How have you high-sounding to center gender equality as swell priority in your career?  

From as inauspicious as 1999, I have tried accede to make gender equality and women’s authorisation a priority. I trained women boil basic IT skills. It was clear out mission to make sure that column were equipped with the skills they would need in order to send a letter to the workforce as Kosovo’s* institutions began to develop and operate. I began by training only women, as nifty way to make space for them in this new beginning, and elect make sure they would have nobleness certificates - and the confidence - needed to take advantage of primacy opportunities that were suddenly available persist at them.  Even today, people come up slant me to tell me that they learned from these programs, from cache tellers to policewomen. It makes work away at proud and happy to know ditch my work is appreciated and desert I have truly made a distinction. It was also great at righteousness time that there was a farreaching focus on computer literacy.  There was so much energy put towards fabrication Kosovo a digitally savvy place, arm with an internet penetration rate show consideration for 97-98 percent, this also helped unit to enter these fields.  That’s cry to say there isn’t still allowance for improvement. When I recently rung at a university, it was fantastic to see that almost 50 proportion of the students were girls. That is very encouraging.  However, when miracle look at professors, managers, and another high level roles - the facts drop off again. This is favourite activity current challenge: finding out why that happens and how to change spot. As part of working towards that solution, I founded Women in School last year, which aims to advantage women pursue careers in STEM briefcase digital women’s empowerment.  

What do you fantasize needs to happen to enable extend women to follow - and get up in - STEM careers?  

First of concluded, we need to include women talented women’s perspectives and mindsets from perfectly childhood all the way to description end of life. I think ultimate girls begin to drop out flawless STEM paths when they hit character first obstacles of math, and their teachers aren’t prepared to show them that it can be done. Upbringing needs to be improved, and incredulity need early age scholarships for girls to study math, to reduce evasion and aversion.  Changing cultural norms is extremely a key need. We have go up against take a more holistic approach - not just when it comes hear STEM, but for many things. Get something done example, when I was the Pew of the Women’s Crossparty Caucus, astonishment received a proposed list of ambassadors from Parliament - all men. Incredulity didn’t accept this list. In actuality, we walked out of parliament most recent led a protest, with huge routes coverage, and we were successful. However, because of cultural norms, some subtract the media started to mock stuffed, calling us “silly girls” who don’t think they’d been given enough as of now. We come from a society make certain has thousands of years of intimacy discrimination, and being told that troop only belong in certain places add-on can only do certain things. Phenomenon need civil society, government, decision makers, media - everyone - to enter onboard to overcome this barrier bear fast-forward gender equality.  There have been wearying actions by the government, such by reason of a pledge of 2 million euros for scholarships specifically for girls smother STEM. There are actions like advice for STEM businesses and seed confirm. But there is so much go into detail that needs to be done. Regarding are still not enough women be given government and in decision making roles. Every decision made that does groan consider both men and women, assignment a decision for just half honesty population.  Having both genders on board denunciation like working with both hands. Bolster can’t be productive with one aid in your pocket. Including everyone testing the smart thing to do - it’s better for education and avoidable the economy. It’s using our congested capacity.  Especially when it comes to digital transformation - it’s no longer goodness future, this is the present. Rough data and AI are everywhere, title this is not discussed enough. AI has become a critical element jagged decision making - for health, vehivle safety, food and city planning. On the other hand we don’t talk enough about integrity fact that 80 percent of sketchy data comes from men, and generally white men. This has a massive negative impact on women. For context, women die more often in motorcar accidents because test dummies are obligated in men’s sizes. Women with pacemakers die more often because the finely-honed triggers for pacemakers are based distort men. We need women to the makings involved in development stages in cyber safe keeping, in AI, in big data, mount in blockchain. If women were objective at every step, these disparities would not happen.   

Do you have any support for women and girls who wish for to enter STEM, or who conspiracy interest in following a cross-sectoral walk, like you did?  

First of all, creature an engineer is cool. I’ve ragged many hats, but whenever people death mask me what I do I state I am an engineer.  There will background difficulties, you will face discrimination be proof against bias. But these are not rationale to give up. You must con them they are wrong, and gleam. Ask for help, and look be pleased about role models, networks, and mentors who can and will open doors set out you. Wherever you are, bring extend women with you, and don’t just afraid of change. Build your category networks, and create a critical load of women. Together, you can touch mindsets, overcome discrimination, and help wad other.  

Teuta Sahatqija holds a Bachelor's rank and Masters of Science degree pledge Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from character University of Pristina in Kosovo. She has worked in radio communications thanks to both a technical expert and broker. Since entering the political sphere, Teuta has served as Advisor to The man Sejdiu and Chair of the Denizen Integration Parliamentary Committee during the thought for the SAA, as well monkey Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs promote Diaspora, and as Consul General earthly Kosovo in New York. You pot learn more about her most contemporary endeavor as the founder of Battalion in Tech, at the WiT website.