Aisha Bajwa

I'm a very self-motivated person, so I would say the career advice I received came from people who helped me along in my career in this technical space. I had a lot of people, including colleagues and friends, who helped me understand difficult ideas and difficult concepts. Many people wanted me to dive more deeper into the management side, but what really mattered was that they helped me keep motivated when it was difficult. That support from my colleagues and friends through the challenging times has been invaluable to my journey.

I would say definitely 1000% go into my field. It's difficult, it's challenging, and sometimes you would see you're the only woman in the room. Many times, there are very few women in the electrical industry. But this is a great industry. My advice is just keep going step by step. Don't be afraid of putting yourself in a box of where you think it's more appropriate for women. Everything is open for everybody. So explore the engineering side of the professional world. It's fun, and it can be rewarding. If anybody wants to do any engineering, whether electrical, mechanical, or plumbing, these are all great areas because everything is coming from electricity. Think of it as a backbone of the system, so the future is great for this industry. They should consider putting in the hard work, the mornings and nights studying engineering, and then the future would be awesome for them.

The biggest challenges are finding good people in the industry, for sure, and finding very well technically educated people. There are very few women in the industry, and that's the challenging part because women bring different perspectives to the table. As for opportunities, I would say if anybody wants to do any engineering, whether electrical engineering, electrical, mechanical, or plumbing, all are great areas because everything is coming from electricity. Think of it as a backbone of the system, so the future is great for this industry. They should consider putting in the effort because the opportunities ahead are tremendous.

For me, truth, integrity, and standing up for what's right are my strongest values. Leading without fear is important for women in their space. It's crucial to not let fear hold you back, whether it's fear of what other people say or other different kinds of fears. These values guide both my professional work and my personal commitment to bringing peace and harmony to communities.