“Women cannot limit ourselves”
Camila, was interviewed within the framework of a STEAM Girls interview cycle, with prominent people in the different fields of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics for its acronym in English). The aim was encouraging girls and young people in careers in these areas of study.
Camila Tapia, is a Commercial Engineer with Distinction from the University of Valparaíso, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a Diploma in Management Control from the Catholic University of Chile.
Currently, she works as a regional director for the National Service for Women and Gender Equity (SERNAMEG), in Atacama. She was also the national director of the Dream Builder Chile Program, and for more than 4 years she participated in the Alumni International Visitor Leadership Program - Woman and Entrepreneurship 2017.
Commercial Engineering hand in hand with social work.
Camila tells that when she was in school, she was very good in the area of mathematics, chemistry and physics. “When I took the PSU (Chilean version of SAT), I got a very good score and I always knew that this was an area that would allow me to develop, as it was easy and natural for me to study and implement everything related to numbers. At the time, I thought about different engineering areas, but when I looked up the Commercial Engineering curriculum, I found out that it was a very broad field that would allow me to do the social work that I often sought, and that I am currently carrying out.”
Engineering is not limiting for women
“I was fortunate because when I entered the university, the school of Commercial Engineering had already been implemented for many years and it was much more transversal then. So, it was not such an inconvenience, but unfortunately, there was still the misconception that women are not good at mathematics, that we would better pursue social areas. That has been a problem while we are at the University because we must constantly struggle to demonstrate that we have the same capabilities as male colleagues and that we can perform as well”, explained the regional director.
Camila Tapia points out “But if finishing university is not an easy period, then there is a lot of pressure to find a suitable job. “I spent a year looking for a position different areas; at the same time I took some short-term jobs, until in 2010 I found my first permanent job, which was in the National Women's Service, where I was able to put into practice three aspects that I developed in the University, namely, to work in the field of entrepreneurship connected to the social field; also the issue of feminism and how women's rights have made a lot of sense to me ”.
Dream Builder Chile Program
The engineer says that when she joined the National Women's Service in 2010, she developed an important public-private intersectoral job, thus learning about the Dream Builder program.
“From the service I worked with them for a year and a half in the implementation of the pilot program with very good results. At one point, the person who was in charge of the program returned to the United States and the position became vacant, so I took the chance and applied for the position of National Director. For me it was a tremendous experience. I had the opportunity to meet female entrepreneurs from all over the country in different areas and to see how - through an online platform- we can teach them how to create a business and help them clarify their ideas.”
Camila expresses that this initiative was an advance when seeing in perspective what is happening today with the pandemic. "We have been working on this online program since 2003, and widespread since 2005, and this year we have promoted the use of online training from all institutions."
"For me, being part of the program meant a tremendous learning, meeting entrepreneurs and their different fields, working with public and private sectors nationwide, and it also allowed me to generate networks that enhance the work of so many women from all over the country", she says.
First Regional Director of SERNAMEG in Atacama
The outstanding engineer commented that having previously worked in the entrepreneurship area of SERNAM and the management of the Dream Builder Program, forged her way to be able to apply for the first application process that was held in the Atacama region for Senior Public Management and later, to be appointed as the first director of Senior Public Management in the region.
“It is a very nice job that fills your soul, but it is also a very hard one, we work on different topics, but the area that rewards the most, has to do with entrepreneurship and strengthening the economic autonomy of women. But we also work on other topics such as violence against women which is an area that invites us to be vigilant day by day and to provide the support that women require and therefore, we need to be prepared in compliance with the circumstances.”
ILVP's impact on her career
For Camila everything is a constant learning process, therefore, these are her comments on her experience at ILVP: “I would like to divide it into two areas: firstly, with the learning obtained during the Program, which allowed me to implement it in my previous work and in the current one. Also, all the knowledge that I acquired on issues of female entrepreneurship and empowerment in the United States, and from a personal level, I highlight the contacts and networks that I managed to generate with the women who participated from other countries and the network with the United States Embassy that has allowed me to get to know other national ILVP and the work they do.”
Alumni Community
Regarding the Alumni Association, Camila details that she would like to share her experience of what she has learned with the community, especially with future generations.
"I would love to be able to do talks where I can share the experience that I developed and how to apply it day by day, as a kind of “mentoring", especially to young women who are just starting in the world of entrepreneurship and leadership, in order to support and guide them from my own experience.”
Las mujeres no nos podemos poner limitantes
Finally, Camila's call towards women and girls is for empowerment, expressing that, “Women have to believe the story and we must understand that we have the same capacities, both men and women. Women cannot limit ourselves, if we want to generate changes in a masculinized area, we have to be the ones who generate the change, it is us and, especially the new generations, who must work on the necessary cultural changes so that in Chile we get to live in a society free from bias, gaps and violence, where culturally women dedicate themselves to whatever they want ”.
