Mounia and Sandy arrived in 2018 and 2019, and are today the only women in the Stormshield support team (usually referred to internally as the TAC). We jointly interview these two technology lovers from very different backgrounds.

 

What does your job at Stormshield involve?

Mounia: We work in technical support for the Stormshield Network Security product (our product for protecting computer networks). Practically speaking, we receive calls or tickets from customers who have a problem with their firewall, and do our best to solve their problems.

 

Why did you choose the IT sector?

Sandy: I’ve always been a bit of a geek. I have friends who work in this area, and they have their own computer store. I used to go there regularly to tinker with my PC and learn from them. In the beginning, I was self taught. Then, later on, because I wanted to learn in much more depth, I decided to take a short network training course.

Mounia: My story is that I’ve always been interested in computers. From when I got my first computer, I was always trying to figure out how it all worked. After that, I took a degree in Maths and Physics, part of which involved classes in computing and algorithms. I started doing some development work, and I enjoyed it. After that, I took a Masters in networking, because I also wanted to understand how people communicate.

 

You’re the only women out of around thirty people in Stormshield’s TAC team. Why do you think women are in such a minority here?

Sandy: I think it’s mainly down to the prejudices that exist in this sector, which don’t encourage women to get involved. Particularly the cliché about geeks working in their own little corner, which can make it hard for some. And a numerical reality: because there aren’t many women in this field, the ones who do venture into it will probably be on their own, surrounded by lots of men. I also think that computer science in college and high school didn’t exactly encourage people. Training courses focused mainly on office apps; that’s really much too narrow. It seems to me that now, people are learning about computing earlier, and through a variety of domains (development, robotics, networks, etc.), and that’s a very good thing.

Mounia: I come from Morocco, where there’s no real discrepancy: the sector there has an equal balance of women and men! But when I came to France, I was the only girl in my class…

 

What could be done to make more women want to join digital professions?

Sandy: We need to “break” the clichéd image that only geeks work in IT, and do more to promote the strengths of this sector. We also need to do a better job of introducing the sector at school level… show the full range of options available, because there are many of them, and all are interesting.

Mounia: I’m not sure whether introducing the IT sector will increase the number of women in the industry. It’s up to them to acquire an interest, just as men are naturally interested in it. On the other hand, I do believe that we need to make IT a truly everyday thing. And talk more about it with our female friends, to make it a genuine option for them. That’s what I’m trying to do with my little sister.

 

What were your experiences integrating with the (exclusively male) team?

Mounia: It went incredibly well! They really helped me to develop my skills. To tell the truth, I enjoy working with men; they’re calm and collected during the odd stressful moments we can experience in support. We work in a good atmosphere, which is important to me.

Sandy: Mounia’s right; it’s a great team. I’m learning so much, and there’s a strong element of mutual support. The good atmosphere and support from your colleagues are two things that I really like here, and I think they’re essential. Especially in support.

 

Would you say that, all in all, the IT sector meets your expectations?

Mounia: I didn’t really have a clear idea about the sector in the beginning. But the more I discover, the more I like it.

Sandy: To be fair, I didn’t start out with a plan to work in technical support; it wasn’t my vocation at all. But there’s a difference between traditional technical support, where the tasks are often simple and repetitive, and technical support at Stormshield. Here, the job description clearly says “network expert”. The interview at Stormshield was really stimulating for me and made me want to get the job, despite my initial reservations. I don’t regret my choice because there’s plenty of complexity, and I’m learning a lot.

 

Have you ever had moments of doubt?

Mounia: Only about my own skills, and not about the sector. But I think it’s pretty standard to question yourself in that way, regardless of the sector you work in. Especially because I still think of myself as a beginner today!

Sandy: I think that doubt is something everyone goes through at the TAC. There’s always something new to learn, and I still doubt myself from time to time. But that’s the same whether you’re a man or a woman; we all have to deal with that in our own way!