Claire Johnson's Path to Engineering Leadership at Thales

Created by VERCIDA for Thales

 

Claire Johnson, Engineering Director at Thales, talks about her experiences as a woman in engineering and making a difference so everyone is uplifted.

 

 

After studying maths and physics at school, I pursued Mechanical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde in my hometown of Glasgow. As a child, I loved to find out how things worked, breaking things and making things. From a young age I had a passion for cars – we had spare parts in the toy box! But I didn’t know what I loved had a name, so engineering wasn’t something I ever considered. Applying for the course was a last-minute decision, but I’m glad I did it because I’ve loved being an engineer.

My first job was on a graduate programme at a defence company, where I gained fantastic experience in project and systems engineering. I really enjoyed solving problems on the up-front analysis side, as well as proving those solutions through hands-on integration and testing. I was very fortunate to go on to spend the next 10 years of my career continuing this passion, working on multiple systems and products, before moving into engineering management.

As an engineer, I’ve had some amazing travel experiences, working with teams and customers across Europe, India and the US. Building new relationships and learning how engineers work in different cultures is fascinating. Spending most of my career working across borders really has shown me the power of diverse teams.

My experiences as a woman in engineering have been interesting. When I was at university, I rarely noticed any differences in the way I was treated based on my gender. But as I went into the world of work and my career progressed, I encountered instances of gender bias and discrimination – usually from peers rather than managers – especially when I was seeking to advance my career. Some incidents were minor, so I brushed them off and felt I couldn’t make an impact if I raised them as an issue, although I wish I had the confidence to do something at the time. Other issues were more serious and I did ask for help.

Women are in a minority in engineering, but I have been very lucky to have supportive managers. This has helped enormously with my progression to managerial roles. In particular, I had a manager who is now in his 70s – he was an amazing ally for women – and he celebrated the differences in people. He only ever wanted to teach people what he knew, and see how they used that knowledge to solve problems in different ways, which is what our industry needs.

 

 

Now I’m in a senior role, I want to ensure that anyone of any age has the confidence to call out instances of bias. I want to continue to be a strong advocate for the women who want to progress their career in engineering, no matter the direction they want to take.

I’ve only been at Thales for a year, but as a woman in engineering, it is a great place to work. There are so many initiatives to support women in STEM, such as community groups and programmes for career changers and career returners.

Flexibility is important, and if a woman wants to take time out to start a family, that shouldn’t mean her career goes backwards. If anything, she will be able to add more value to the company as she will have new life experiences and bring a different perspective to teams and their solutions.

We never hear about men’s careers suffering when they become fathers, and it should be the same for women when they return to work. Thales has good maternity leave policies, which is so important.

I have been able to take advantage of the flexibility that Thales provides. My 89-year-old mother-in-law lives with us, and not having a strict nine-to-five regime means that I can take her to medical appointments without feeling guilty.

Thales is making good strides in attracting and retaining female talent. I’m a big fan of disruptive methods of targeting engineering talent. After a successful first cohort, we’re about to embark on our second cohort of the Code First Girls programme, which provides women the opportunity to gain coding skills and move into a career in tech.

While the industry as a whole needs to make big steps forward to increase and retain diverse talent in engineering teams, I’m proud to work for a company that is working to create a supportive environment where everyone, regardless of gender, can thrive and advance in their careers.

 

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