Not gender, ability is the deciding factor for success!

These are the shares from Dr. Nguyen Huu Long and Hua Nguyen Hoai Thuong - female ship engine engineers in the Podcast "Journey to create the future" - Issue 4: Changing mindset in choosing a career from the story of a female engineer, produced by Tien Phong Newspaper and Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport (UTH).

Overview of podcast "Journey to create the future" number 4

The biggest barrier is not the curriculum but the outlook.

Can you imagine a girl choosing to pursue engineering, working day in and day out among oil, machinery and long voyages on ships? It sounds “against the current” but that is the path that engineer Hua Nguyen Hoai Thuong has steadfastly pursued and become the first woman in Vietnam to graduate from Marine Engineering, working directly on Ocean-going ships.

Hoai Thuong's journey is the focus of the latest episode of the podcast "Journey to Create the Future", a collaboration between Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport and Tien Phong newspaper, aiming to inspire young people and change gender-based stereotypes about careers.

With the theme: “Gender bias in career choice. How to overcome it to live up to your dreams?”, the story not only attracted the attention of students, but also made many parents and educators reconsider their thinking about career orientation for their children.

Sharing with the program, engineer Hoai Thuong recalled: “When I decided to register for the Marine Engineering major, many people were surprised. Some friends laughed and said I was ‘taking a risk’, many teachers were also surprised. But I like engineering, like understanding how engines work and want to work practically in challenging places.”

From the first day she entered the university, Hoai Thuong was the only female student in her class. There were no female dormitories for this major, not many documents or female role models to learn from... but the young girl did not back down.

Even after graduating, Hoai Thuong applied for a practical job on a ship – an environment considered “for men only”. From sleeping in a narrow cabin, enduring rough waves, working 12-14 hours a day under the hot engine room… she overcame it all with courage, passion and determination.

Hoai Thuong checks the equipment on the ship.

Now, looking back, Hoai Thuong affirms: “I have never felt weaker than my male colleagues. What makes me different is that I believe in my choices and do not let prejudice defeat me.”

New capacity is the decisive factor for success

Also appearing on the show, Dr. Nguyen Huu Long, a psychologist, expressed concern that many students, especially female students, are still confined to career stereotypes from a very early age.

“Many girls are good at Math and Physics and are passionate about engineering, but they are discouraged: ‘Girls should study education or economics ’. On the contrary, men who want to become nurses or preschool teachers are considered ‘unmanly’. We are unintentionally imposing distorted gender standards on their careers and lives,” Dr. Long acknowledged.

According to Mr. Long, gender does not determine ability and is certainly not a measure for choosing a career. Labeling occupations by gender is a consequence of outdated thinking that is hindering the comprehensive development of modern society.

“In the era of digital transformation and global integration, it is not gender but ability that is the deciding factor. Female engineers, female programmers, female scientists ... are increasingly numerous and successful because they are empowered and trusted,” Mr. Long affirmed.

Psychologist Nguyen Huu Long shared in the podcast "Journey to create the future" No. 4 produced by Tien Phong Newspaper in collaboration with the University of Transport (UTH).

In Vietnam, although the gender equality movement has made many strides, gender-based career prejudices still smolder, especially in rural areas or in the minds of many parents.

Therefore, Dr. Nguyen Huu Long believes that career guidance for students cannot be separated from gender awareness education. Schools need to create a fair career orientation environment. The media needs to spread the image of women doing engineering and men doing education in a normal way.

Regarding parents, Mr. Long advised: “As parents, the important thing is not to orient your children to study a career to ‘settle down’, but to listen to what they like and what career is suitable for them. Let them live with their own abilities and dreams.”

Engineer Hoai Thuong’s story is not just a case of “overcoming prejudices” for individuals. It is a reminder to the younger generation: There is no profession reserved for boys or girls. Each person only lives once, do not live according to other people’s expectations. Your dream is unique, protect and pursue it to the end.

“If I had chosen another career because I was afraid of being judged, I would probably be sitting at a desk right now, doing a job I don’t like. Being a ship engineer is something I am proud of and I hope more girls will dare to choose what they really want.”
Hua Nguyen Hoai Thuong, ship engineer