When Diana Sanchez left Mexico to study engineering management at Cranfield University on a Women in STEM scholarship, she was one of just five Latin American women to receive a bursary. Today, after working across the oil and gas, pharmaceutical and battery sectors, the Alexander Battery Technologies (ABT) project manager believes engineering is still too often viewed as a purely technical profession. Speaking to BESTmag on International Women in Engineering Day, she explains why creativity, communication and adaptability are increasingly vital skills and why greater visibility for female engineers could help change perceptions of the profession.
Did you study engineering or another STEM subject at university?
Yes. I studied industrial engineering in Mexico City and then did a master’s degree in engineering and manufacturing management at Cranfield University.
How many women were on those courses?
There weren’t many, maybe a couple. We were a very small group of women compared with men. That was the first thing I noticed. But over time, you learn to focus on the work, which is what really matters, instead of the numbers in the class.
What stayed with me the most was how important the community becomes when you find other women who are interested in the same things and are on the same path.
Did you find any hostility or different treatment from men on the course? Was there sexism within education?
There is definitely a sense that you’re in the minority. You become very self-conscious about the knowledge you have compared with men, because there is sometimes a perception that they might have stronger technical skills.
But I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of a community of engineers where we’re all seen as equals. I haven’t experienced problems among my peers, but I did have an example of a professor who seemed to have more of a preference for men than women.
That was eye-opening. I’d heard that these things happened, but they had never happened to me before. When you’re a student you’re very young and quite naïve, so it comes as a surprise. It made me more aware and made me feel that I needed to put more effort into tasks than other people did. It makes you very self-conscious about what you bring to the table.
Do you feel that women are under-represented in the battery industry, and how do you think things can change?
It’s a very obvious thing that you notice early on. I think it’s a matter of perspective. Engineering is still seen as a very technical niche and a rather old-school industry.
Making visible what you actually do in engineering would help. Engineering is very creative. You solve problems and think about how to approach them. You’re not just sitting all day doing calculations or working in isolation. It involves a lot of people.
Making people aware of what being an engineer actually involves, and what you do in battery manufacturing, would help. It’s much more interesting than people think. That would definitely help bring more women into the industry.
Do you think it’s a structural problem? Does it start in childhood, with young women and girls not being encouraged down a STEM path and with ideas that some jobs are for boys and others for girls?
Yes, I think it does have something to do with that. When you’re young, you become interested in careers that are visible to you and that you have access to. You see people with similar interests entering those careers.
It really starts when you’re a child. If you notice that a child is curious, likes solving problems and asks lots of questions, that should be encouraged.
That’s one of the reasons I chose engineering. I’ve always been very curious about how things work. As a child, that’s what drove me, and it’s how I know the things I know now: by asking questions.
My parents always encouraged me to ask questions. They never shut me down or told me I was being annoying. They encouraged me to pursue engineering even though it was going to be challenging.
So yes, I think it starts from a very young age.
Your parents weren’t engineers, so you weren’t following their path?
No. My dad’s a lawyer. He’s from a baby boomer generation and comes from a very traditional family. Growing up in Mexico in the 1970s and 1980s, families tended to be very traditional.
For a woman to study engineering seemed odd. When my father’s brothers asked what I was studying, they questioned why I was choosing engineering and suggested I should be doing something else. They even doubted whether I had the right skills.
My dad said, “Forget about the noise. Just keep going. If that’s what you want to do, do it.”
That helped make me resilient. I learned to ignore the criticism and keep asking questions. It also helped knowing that someone believed in me before I believed in myself.
And from studying industrial engineering, what led you into batteries?
Before batteries, I worked in oil and gas. I wanted something that was more engineering-focused and where I could be more hands-on.
Battery manufacturing is always changing and evolving. I’m always learning. I’ve been with the company for about two years and every day is different, which I really like.
I’m a project manager, and one advantage of that role is that you can work in any industry because the skills are transferable. Most of the skills I use are communication skills. You need to align teams because that’s key to delivering what the customer wants and delivering a safe, reliable product that complies with regulations.
You also need to be adaptable. With new technologies emerging every day, AI, sustainability and all these trends, you have to keep learning and stay open-minded. That’s how I ended up in battery manufacturing.
How are you finding your first few years in the battery industry?
I love it. It’s a very fast-paced environment. There are days when I’m incredibly busy, but one thing that stays constant is that I’m always learning.
I’m meeting people from all over the world, talking to suppliers from different sectors and hearing different perspectives. That’s how we solve problems.
When you’re studying engineering, you have all this theory in your head about how things should work. Then you go out into the real world and realise things are completely different. What works on paper doesn’t always work in practice.
It’s definitely made me more agile, and I’m really enjoying it.
What would your advice be to young women at school who are considering a career in engineering?
I would say don’t overthink whether you belong there. Engineers don’t know everything. Nobody knows everything. You learn by doing and by wanting to learn.
Once you’re in engineering, you realise it’s less about fitting into a certain mould and more about developing your own way of thinking.
I would encourage young women to grow into it and give themselves the opportunity.
Photo: Diana Sanchez talking with a colleague on the production floor at Alexander Battery Technologies
Credit: Alexander Battery Technologies
