Domino Printing Sciences celebrated International Women in Engineering Day by paying tribute to some of its female employees working in key technical roles.
The coding, marking, and digital printing technologies business said it is committed to helping its staff to progress in their chosen fields. This includes supporting employees studying for additional professional qualifications.
As a business, Domino revealed it welcomes the annual awareness campaign by the Women’s Engineering Society to highlight the range of careers available in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Susan Palmer, head of global pre-sales realised at school that she was interested in a technical career which led her to study for a degree in materials science including three six-month industrial work placements.
She said, “I have held several roles in Domino and having a good technical background has enabled me to use my skills to understand information and explain it in a way that can be understood by people with different backgrounds. Studying STEM subjects gives you great future employability with a choice of diverse roles ranging from hands-on testing, building or designing products to supporting the sales or marketing team to ensure a technical message is communicated clearly.”
Natasha Jeremic, digital printing ink development manager studied for a degree in organic chemical technology and polymer engineering followed by a PhD in chemical engineering. She commented, “In my current role I enjoy watching our inks start their lives as an early-stage concept and then improving, evolving, and progressing until they graduate into the fully commercialised products that serve our customers and solve some practical issues for them. We need to change perception for engineering that it is a man’s world as it would be nothing without women.”
Mariam Khalfey, data product owner, is currently expanding her skillset with a secondment in the advanced services team in product management. She said, “I was interested in science at school and went on to study chemistry and molecular physics at university which set me up perfectly for becoming a chemist at Domino. I love my job because it’s varied and every day is different.
“As a company, I’ve found that Domino is incredibly supportive of career development and progression, always finding exciting opportunities such as collaborations with external bodies, or with other departments within the business.”
Dr Josie Harries, group programme director, studied chemistry and joined Domino after completing her PhD in inorganic chemistry. She has since held a number of roles relating to product development.
She explained, “I am passionate about the introduction of novel technologies, delivery of new products and understanding the fundamental science and processes that sit behind all these activities. An important and enjoyable part of my job is coming up with new concepts and ideas to improve the business’s capabilities.
“I believe that women have an essential role at all levels in STEM and must be supported throughout their careers to achieve their full potential. The STEM environment often goes hand-in-hand with a masculine culture which women can find exclusionary. This reduces diversity of thought and hampers the problem-solving ability required for successful innovation.”
Rachel Hurst, chief operating officer, concluded, “The annual International Women in Engineering Day shines a light on successful female role models at different career stages to inspire more women and girls to believe they can do it too. I trained in manufacturing engineering as I like problem-solving and feel good about making a difference.
“Manufacturing engineers take products from design into manufacture and ensure they meet market needs – it’s a great role to learn about a business and how it runs. Engineering doesn’t have to be male dominated and companies need to do more to be inclusive and inspire women to develop in technical subject areas.”
