VDI-WoMentorING: Empowering women in the tech industry
Maria Büttner is a Team Manager at TECOSIM in Stuttgart, Germany, and has tasked herself with empowering women in the tech industry and helping them achieve their professional goals. In her everyday job, she works on structural analysis, dynamics and multi-body simulation and heads a team of 15 employees. She is also a mentor in the VDI-WoMentorING programme.
Maria, what motivates you to get involved as a mentor in the VDI-WoMentorING programme?
I benefited from programmes like this myself while studying for my degree in shipbuilding and maritime engineering. Back then, my mentor was a female managing director of a shipyard in the port city of Kiel. What she taught me was this: Make the most of your education – there are no limits. This mentoring made a lasting impression on me. Therefore, last autumn I applied as soon as I read a post about the VDI initiative on LinkedIn.
Precisely who is this VDI programme aimed at?
It’s aimed both at female engineers just starting their careers and young professionals in their first six years of work. The project team at VDI puts suitable tandem partners together. This year, there are 51 pairs. If they can’t find you a suitable partner, you can register for the following year.
In detail, what are the goals of this initiative?
The initiative aims to support female engineers at the start of their career. It’s about sharing experience, giving encouragement, making the most of opportunities and following your own path. The programme enables both young, upcoming talent and the mentors themselves to establish a viable network. We meet up regularly, take part in workshops, so that we can get to know each other better and share our experiences.
Is it more about subject-specific mentoring or professional everyday experience?
The programme doesn’t focus so much on technical subjects. My mentee and I meet online every week for a year and talk about challenges in our everyday professional lives. She has also set herself concrete targets for the year, and we talk about how they can be achieved.
Beyond this, what actually happens in the programme?
The workshops organised by the VDI are very helpful for both mentees and mentors. They offer us the opportunity for further personal development – in giving and receiving feedback, for example. That’s an important skill. Based on my experience, I would say that many women first have to learn to ask for feedback. They also have a tendency to want to be perfect. Here, I recommend that they go a bit easier on themselves.
Are you also learning something in the programme, and if so, what?
It confirms to me that I’m right on track in my role as Team Manager at TECOSIM. What’s more, after many years in management, it changes my perspective and lets me see the world through the eyes of someone just starting their career. I learn a great deal from my mentee, such as how to communicate better and more clearly, and I can also improve my management style.
Do we need more support for career starters in general, or do women need particular encouragement?
Generally, it always makes sense to offer support to career starters. There are various offers at TECOSIM as part of the onboarding process and during your first years in the job, with both personal mentoring and professional development to help you up the career ladder. My colleagues are always telling me how much they appreciate this. Whether women need special encouragement – that depends on what industry you’re talking about.
What tips would you give female career starters to take away with them?
Talk to colleagues and ask lots of questions. You can do this, especially when you’ve just started your job. Actively ask for feedback – it can teach you a great deal. And dare to try things out and learn from your mistakes. Perfectionism is a major obstacle.
Many thanks for talking to us, Maria.
Find out more about the VDI-WoMentorING programme: https://www.vdi.de/netzwerke-aktivitaeten/vdi-womentoring
