At the beginning, I thought that I was alone in my struggles. I did not realize that my female co-workers were facing the same doubts and difficulties. However, after talking to them and seeing that we were in the same position, I knew that I had to find a solution. I am naturally a very nurturing person, I place strong emphasis on the well-being of those around me, so it helped to know that I would be helping them, as well as myself.  I started by doing some research and then put in place an action plan.              

Firstly, it is important to identify the source of the problem. Until I understood what was making me doubt my decision to work there, I would not be able to take any steps forward. Accordingly, it is very important that women understand that the workplace environment plays a major role in how they assimilate, and it is not just dependent on their professional ability, as was my mindset at first. Of course, we must consider the impact we have on the existing staff as well. There was an influx of Qatari women entering the engineering workforce after my batch had graduated that may have caused a cultural shock to the existing staff as well.             

Secondly, it is useful to find a supportive coworker who might share the same experiences or be sympathetic towards it. I was fortunate to have been assigned a very wise and supportive mentor who not only listened to my worries but provided me with useful advice as well. One of his most memorable insights is to find people who are willing to help improve you as a professional and to approach them with any queries. Unfortunately, I realized a minor setback with relevance to this in energy sector. Our male coworkers had access to a plethora of role models and senior staff members whom they could approach and even meet and converse with after-hours. In contrast, up to this day, our organization had never had a female technical engineer in senior management. This does not mean that we should limit ourselves to female role models, but it is a factor that will certainly aid our predicament. I am hoping to see more female senior petroleum engineers, reservoir engineers, and petro-physicists in the future InshaAllah.            

 Finally, in the spirit of finding a group that I could face these challenges with, I joined the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) as an extracurricular activity. This helped me with two things: first, the SPE kept me updated with everything that was happening in the oil and gas industry, and second, it was a platform through which I could network with and meet people from other companies – a benefit that I generally lacked as a woman. In fact, the SPE introduced me to many of the most influential women in the oil and gas industry who subsequently became my role models. I moved from attending events, to organizing them as a member, and eventually I was invited to speak at one of the panels: ‘A Night with the Ladies in the Oil and Gas Industry’, organized by Qatar Professional Women Network (QPWN). Not only had I succeeded at finding inspirational female role models to keep me going, but I had managed to distinguish myself as one as well. The panel aimed to give students an insight into the working environment in the oil and gas industry; we spoke about many of the issues that we faced and how we had overcome them. What I found most striking was the eager interaction of the audience members; many of the issues that we had faced in our industry were mirrored in other industries as well. I am now the chair of Women in Energy at SPE, and we are involved in many initiatives aimed at facilitating women’s assimilation to the workplace.