EMBRACING & RISING ABOVE GENDER STEREOTYPES 

Growing up in a family of engineers, Chean Fei knew from an early age that she wanted to pursue engineering when she saw how interesting it was for her sisters who pursued engineering in school. Finding science and math to be dynamic and fun, she eventually specialized in Electrical Engineering, joining her father and two sisters to become an engineer.  

She joined ABB as Technical Service Specialist right out of school in 2014 and has since progressed to be a team leader of eight people at present. In her 9 years at ABB where she worked closely with mostly male managers and teammates, she saw how male colleagues at the workplace can be great alliances in advocating gender equality.  

Her team witnessed her rising through the ranks and has been nothing but supportive, rooting for her success always. She recalled the time her manager nudged her to transition into her current role as she was navigating a new chapter in life - assuming familial and parenting duties.  

That change was extremely important to Chean Fei as it allowed her to step up professionally and have further flexibility in her day-to-day schedule. This transition, which was well supported by her manager and team, positioned her to better succeed on both professional and personal fronts, without compromising priorities of either.  

To be in a role and an organisation where one can holistically grow while being among colleagues who are invested in your success is a dream for most people.  

The wholesome support she received in ABB also laid the groundwork for her to show up with confidence and courage in times when she encountered gender stereotyping from customers. Chean Fei was unfazed by insinuations made regarding her ability to deliver quality outcomes due to her gender.  

Instead, she took it upon herself to rewrite how a typical stereotyping scenario could turn out by embracing these situations with a positive mindset. She would choose to focus on delivering high quality work which will eventually speak for itself.  

With that kind of positive attitude, she won customers’ trust and approval repeatedly, proving their stereotyping to be untrue while fulfilling her responsibilities towards them.  

Through Chean Fei’s experience, it is evident that looking at gender stereotyping with a lens of positivity is often helpful. She shared candidly on her observation of being tasked with deliverables that often requires female-associated traits. In those situations, she too chooses to embrace and contribute with her strengths and saw the good in what may seem to have come from a place of stereotyping.  

“There are inherent differences in terms of abilities between genders and at times tasks are simply assigned based on individual’s abilities, which coincides with gender generalization,” Chean Fei explained on how she takes stereotyping with a pinch of salt and would stay focused on driving good outcomes.  

When asked for her advice towards young aspiring engineers, she said, “be curious, keep an open mind, try everything but stay focused.”  

Indeed, only by keeping an open mind, she was able to embrace and rise above gender stereotyping, delivering quality work together with her ever-supportive team in ABB.  

Explaining her motto of “try everything,” Chean Fei referenced the strong-willed and ever optimistic bunny character, Judy Hopps from Disney’s animation film “Zootopia.” Judy Hopps became the first bunny in her city to join the police force and succeeded in her role despite the prejudice and stereotyping faced.  

She encouraged all, “like the bunny, we should not be intimidated by the environment or people we work with but stay focused on our dreams and goals.”