Interview with Khayakazi Dioka, the CIGRE Women in Energy international chair from 2018-2022 and join CIGRE to help continue growth to a diverse future.
INT
Welcome! You are the chair of Cigarette woman in Energy International. First of all, could you tell us a little about your history with Cigarette? Why did you join Cigarette in the first place?
Khayakazi Dioka
I was introduced to Cigarette as a young engineer because the company We Are awake in South Africa, has been a collective member for many decades. And so I got to know about Cigre, the technical knowledge, everything that you can get from Cigre, I could get that. So that was the first introduction to Cigre. Then I came to Paris in 2016 because I was invited to be a guest speaker. That was the beginning of my journey with Cigre because I think Paris is where Cigre begins. I came as a guest speaker, and from that, I basically accelerated. I think my career accelerated within Cigre. So in 2018, I came back to be a moderator of the Women in Engineering session and I also assisted in putting that program together. From there, I was then nominated to be the chair, the International Chair for Women in Engineering. And this nomination was supported by the Steering Committee and Administrative Council. I started my duties immediately after that. But at the same time, my career was also growing. I became a Strategic Advisory Group member and the convener of the Advisory Group on transformer Technology.
So both my technical and segregated Woman in Energy careers is just picked up within Cigre. So that’s really my journey within Cigre.
“Having women in technical discussions is an element of diversity, bringing different thinking. We need more women to be role models for young engineers. Let’s be involved, get as much information as we can and work together to come up with solutions.” – Khayakazi Dioka, Chair of Cigre Women International in Energy International.
INT
So we see how joining Cigre for women can be exciting and an accelerator to the career of a woman. But tell us now, as the chair of Cigre Women International in Energy International, tell us why we need more women into Cigre.
Khayakazi Dioka
Cigre is big on diversity. Even when we work on our technical politics, we’re looking for diversity from different countries. And so having women in that technical discussion is also an element of diversity, different thinking. And we need more women. We also need more women to be role models for young engineers. Most women are leaving the engineering space. And so we need more women that are going to stand out, women that every other young girl is going to look up to and associate engineering with women.
INT
What are your expectations for women in Energy during this Paris session this year?
Khayakazi Dioka
This Paris session is actually on something that we also initiated as the Woman in Energy, which is Net Zero initiative. So it talks more about decarbonisation. I think for us, this is something that we need to be actively involved in. There is a lot that we can extract, but also the view from women, the impact that this energy transition has on women and society. And that element needs to come out, so I’m expecting more of it and also more involvement from the women engineers side. So I hope to see more speakers from women engineers. I always encourage women engineers to write papers, so it’s actually very good when you see contributions coming from women engineers, because, remember, we are trying to be role model for all the young women engineers within our technical space.
INT
Eventually. Do you have, like, a message you want to address to women that are among visitors today and during the week.
Khayakazi Dioka
Please get involved. Talk to somebody, and get as much information as you can within your technical space and also the challenges that you’re experiencing as a woman engineer. You will be surprised how many of us experience exactly the same challenges. And every challenge has a solution. I believe that if we work together, we will come up with solutions. So be involved, get involved, and who knows? We could be the next international chair. I like that.
INT
Thank you, Khayakazi!
Khayakazi Dioka
Thank you very much for having me.
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Source: Cigre