When at IT conferences, Senior System Engineer at Henkel Kenya Betty Njagi still sees women outnumbered by men: However, Betty believes that skills and hard work are what count in her career, rather than gender. She encourages young women to not be afraid to take opportunities and to continuously develop themselves. An interview about hard work, determination, and success in a fast-changing but traditionally male-dominated field.
38.7 percent of managers at Henkel are women.
Betty, you've been working in IT for 15 years – were computers a calling or a coincidence for you?
Growing up, I had little contact with computers and IT was honestly not my first career choice. However, after discussions with my father who could see the impact IT could have in the world, I, too, saw the potential and felt inclined to pursue a career in that field. After school, I was able to secure a place at KCA University in Nairobi to study Management of Information Systems which was a great opportunity. The IT sector was still quite young in Kenya back then and studying it was quite interesting despite the challenges. After my higher diploma in Management of Information Systems, I went on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology majoring in Distributed Systems.
When you started your career at Henkel, it had nothing to do with IT. Today, you are a Senior System Engineer responsible for Kenya. How did that come about?
Upon completion of my studies, I investigated possible career prospects and was excited to land an internship at Henkel in Sales & Marketing in the Consumer Brands business unit. Initially, this had little to do with my studies, but in the course of that year, colleagues kept requesting for IT support which I happily provided. This caught the attention of one of the managers. At the end of the Sales & Marketing internship, I got the opportunity to join Henkel as an IT trainee and started my career there.