In our R&D department, in technical sales or marketing - where would LASER COMPONENTS be without female physicists and engineers?
When we are looking for new employees, the only thing that counts for us is professional qualifications. A spontaneous survey of our female colleagues shows there has been a lot of progress in terms of equal opportunities in recent decades. Experienced women report that they often had to struggle long and hard to achieve acceptance in a "male domain". In contrast, most young female scientists feel that they were accepted as equals straight away. Some also emphasize that women and men often have different approaches to solving problems and therefore complement each other well.
However, there are still many unresolved issues - especially at the beginning of a career: Officially, questions about family planning and pregnancy are not allowed in job interviews. Nevertheless, young female scientists report that this topic always plays an unspoken role in many companies. Of course, this is not only true in the technical environment, but in a field that is traditionally dominated by men, the barrier to entry is even higher.
There is still a lot to do. Official initiatives such as today's "International Day of Women and Girls in Science" are important so that what we are already practicing at LASER COMPONENTS becomes a reality in all sectors of society. Our women physicists and engineers would love to see every child realize that it makes no difference whether it is a boy or a girl who chooses a scientific education.
