Sophie Weisse: Expert interview

Femmes du Numérique: As a woman who has succeeded in the digital sector, can you tell us about your career path and the job you do? How did this vocation come about? Did you encounter any difficulties in your orientation or, on the contrary, were you supported? Later on, did you encounter any gender-related difficulties in your professional development? What’s your next step?

Sophie Weisse :Originally from Strasbourg, I graduated from CentraleNantes in2012. In my final year of studies, I chose to specialize in industrial engineering with an eco-design option, with a view to working in the environment. Indeed, I wanted to work in a company that made sense. So I did my internship with an environmental consulting firm in Quebec. This experience gave me a taste for IT. On my return, I applied to a number of different companies, one of which, Viveris, caught my eye because it recruited non-computer scientists and offered them initial training once they were hired. I joinedViverisinMay 2013. I was appointed project manager in 2016 and now manage a number of customers in various sectors: social protection, banking, healthcare, etc.

I’ve always had an aptitude for mathematics, and one of my high school teachers encouraged me to take a preparatory class. I’ve also always liked computers: for me, there’s nothing more logical. A program does exactly what it’s told to do, which opens up an incredible range of possibilities! I was supported by my teachers, but above all by my family, in whom I always felt encouraged, even if nobody ever pushed me to do anything.

I had a dream in high school: to work in cryptography. However, I found myself confronted with clichés: too technical, too masculine, too isolated. So I stepped aside and took a generalist path, while retaining my passions: computing and mathematics. Next step: bigger projects, more business and more responsibility.

FDN: In your opinion, what are the qualities needed to work – not to say shine – in this field, and more specifically in your profession?

SW :Coupled with analytical skills, rigor and a lot of logic, I’d say that motivation is the key to success. There’s also an important element of communication. The computer scientist is not isolated behind his desk. They need to be able to exchange ideas.

FDN: What role models and success stories have inspired you along the way?

SW:My father! When I was young, I worked for a month in his company.
He had studied computer science, and programmed macros in Excel and Word to optimize my work: clicking on a giraffe or an elephant allowed me to print and/or send a file. Since then, computing has retained its magic for me, opening up a whole new world of possibilities.

FDN: Today, women account for 28% of the workforce in digital companies in France. What do you think accounts for this figure? How can we increase it?

SW :Stereotypes and preconceived ideas. Before talking about the workforce in digital companies, I think it’s important to talk about the workforce in technical schools, of which computer science is one. The percentage of women is much lower than 28%. It all starts well before high school, with education in particular.

One study particularly struck me. Schoolchildren were given the same reproduction test with two different titles for complex shapes. When it came to a so-called “geometry” test, boys were more successful, while when it came to a “drawing” test, it was the girls. We could increase this percentage by breaking down clichés.

FDN: What advice can you offer to encourage women of generations Z and K to go digital?

SW :Women are neither better nor worse than men. We simply have the same opportunities. You have to convince yourself of that, and then you have to go for it!

FDN: To conclude: when you spontaneously hear the word digital, what comes to mind?

SW :For me, digital represents the jobs of the future.