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Eylem Boyraz
I am Eylem, 33 years old and originally from Turkey. I was born and raised in Germany and now I live in Viernheim, a medium-sized industrial city in the west of Germany. As a child I wanted to be to be an artist, as a teenager I wanted to be an architect, and finally I studied industrial engineering. Today, I work as a SAP consultant and I am doing my MBA in „Digital Transformation” on the side.
My way into IT
It may sound contradictory to you at first, but for me it’s coherent: I have a good visual memory and like to be creative. Likewise, as the daughter of a master electrician, I can get excited about crafts and technology. I really enjoy using tools and trying out different things, such as building a lamp out of steel. Therefore, the balancing act between business and technology was no big deal for me. While I was still studying, I decided to get a SAP S/4HANA consultant certification because it was a strategic product for me in controlling, as I originally wanted to work in this area. After graduating, I started working as a controller because I found it exciting to analyze reports. I quickly realized though that despite good approaches, I was not able to reach my full potential and decided to leave. I met my current colleagues at 29FORWARD at a job fair in the spring of 2020. I was at this fair looking for a job in SAP Finance. The booth of 29FORWARD caught my eye as I did not know the company until then. In conversation with the employees, I mentioned that I was doing a consultant certification and wanted to work in the finance area, which also aroused interest among my future colleagues. Two job interviews later I was hired and thus ventured into IT, specifically Business Intelligence, as a SAP consultant. During the training for my SAP certification, it quickly became clear to me that the digital core affects all business processes beyond controlling. Companies often work with tools that are too complex or outdated, which makes work much more difficult in times of digitalization. Today, we advise our customers to digitize with the appropriate SAP module, depending on the project or need. It is an ongoing and varied challenge for me but thanks to my colleagues it was not difficult for me to enter the IT sector, and I am glad I took this step.
Against all stereotypes
Would you believe that as a student, I couldn’t imagine working in the IT industry? Programming or computer science were never among my favorite subjects. I had assumed that only nerds worked in the IT industry – but I was wrong. Contrary to the stereotypes, there are so many ways to work in the IT industry, such as software consulting, project management, product ownership or digital marketing, and much more.
At the beginning of my studies, in 2008, the industrial engineering program had a female quota of 19%; in 2020, it was around 24% (German Federal Statistical Office, 2022)1. In comparison, about 15% of all women worked in IT in 2008, and about 18% in 2020 (Eurostat, 2022)2. The trend is increasing because the shortage of skilled workers is so great that companies are promoting and hiring more, especially women.
To this day, children are usually raised in a gender-role-typical way. Most girls play with dolls and are usually interested in make-up, while most boys are fascinated by cars and develop an early understanding of technology through computer games. Research has shown that young women are also interested in STEM subjects, but over time they come to believe they are less suited to a career in IT. I was fortunate enough that my parents always reinforced to my sisters and me that we could be and do anything we wanted. Despite all difficulties, prejudices, and criticism, they have always believed in us. We got our first computer in 1993 and my siblings and I were able to experiment with it early on. My twin sister is now working as a center manager after travelling alone through South America for 10 months. My little sister, on the other hand, is starting her PhD in digital communication in France this summer.
Maybe it’s because of my upbringing that I didn’t realize until late that I belonged to the so-called „quota women.” I was often accused of getting a job or a position only because of this quota system. To this day, I fight against these prejudices. This year, the motto of International Women’s Day is „Break the Bias,” which means to break down stereotypes and prejudices against women. I recognize myself in this as I landed in the IT industry myself by chance– against the stereotype. Today I can only encourage everyone, especially women, not to be afraid of technology and IT and to take the necessary steps to break the bias!
My final thoughts
Although it is not always easy to be one of the few women in a male-dominated field, I can proudly say that I made the right decision. My academic background as an engineer taught me early on that the world of tech is still a man’s world – but that’s slowly changing and should continue to do so, as IT is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. A diverse team does not only produce better innovations but can also encourage other women to pursue their interests and careers in tech. Gender diversity needs to become a priority in all areas of business, and I am pleased to see 29FORWARD taking steps in the right direction as a leading example.
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