It’s time to inspire inclusion! That’s the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, an annual event that has been celebrated across the globe since the early 1900s. According to the event website, “Women, especially those belonging to underrepresented groups, continue to face barriers when seeking leadership roles. By championing inclusion, organizations and communities can harness the full potential of diverse perspectives, leading to better decision-making and innovation.”
At Weebit, we agree!
At the time of the 2022 Semiconductor Gender Parity Study from the Global Semiconductor Association (GSA), women held 16% of board positions and 13% of executive positions at public semiconductor companies. But companies that aren’t focused on increasing the representation of women in their executive teams and workforce in general are missing out on the benefits women provide. According to the report, “Unlocking the Value of Women in Semiconductor,” from Accenture and the GSA, “if companies can attract more women to the industry, they will discover significant benefits, such as:
- Better financial performance
- Higher rates of return on venture capital investment
- More effective teaming and collaboration
- Workforce continuity
The report offers tangible advice for companies looking to become more inclusive – including strategies around recruiting, hiring and retaining talent. It also quotes Jodi Shelton, Founder and CEO of the GSA, as saying, “If we are going to become a trillion-dollar industry, we cannot ignore half the population.”
To celebrate inclusivity, I’d like to introduce you to some of the amazing women of Weebit. I didn’t speak to all the women of Weebit for this article since they represent over a quarter of our employees. Instead, I chose a cross section of our employees, including a student engineer and a couple of our most experienced leaders. I also tried to talk to women representing a cross section of technical areas, including design, manufacturing, materials and test. I asked them how they see the role of women in the workplace.
Being a woman in engineering
Prior to joining Weebit last year, our Director of the IDM and Foundry Business Development, Lilach Zinger, spent 25 years in various roles in the semiconductor industry, including VP of Operations at Tower Semiconductor and COO at PCB Technologies. She rose through the ranks while raising four children.
She explained, “Early on in my career, one of my managers came to my cube and told me that while he thought I was very smart, I would never become a manager at Tower because I didn’t work the extra hours that the men did, all because I would leave at a normal hour to pick up my kids from kindergarten. What he didn’t understand is that working overtime every day isn’t the key to succeeding. While of course we need to work overtime when there is an urgent project, success is based on delivering results.”
Eventually, Lilach found herself not only succeeding in her role, but passing that manager by multiple levels.
Yifat Cohen, a senior process integration expert on Weebit’s process team, says that over her 20+ years in the semiconductor industry, she has seen things change slowly. “For time in a previous role, I was the only female engineer in the company, probably because there just aren’t many women graduating in these fields. Today at Weebit, we have a large team of women, and the situation is much improved!”
Lama Hawwary, a VLSI design engineer at Weebit and a recent university graduate, says that being a woman in an engineering environment can be challenging because the field is very male dominated. “Very few women study engineering. In many of my university lectures, I was the only woman in the room. It can be very intimidating.” However, she says, “There was no real discrimination. People just aren’t used to seeing women in these roles. As women, we need to remind ourselves that we belong here, and that we are going to succeed.”
Hadar Perez, who studies chemical engineering at Ariel University and works on test and characterization at Weebit, says, “While most people in this area are men and it’s OK to recognize that, it’s all about showing good results. If you are smart and you deliver, it really doesn’t matter whether you are a man or a woman.”
Lilach says she focuses on promoting her team members when they perform well. Many of the women on her teams over the years are now global managers or directors. “I was pleased to be in a leadership role because it was only then that I could have a real impact,” she said. Over time, Lilach says she has seen things slowly changing for women in the industry but says, “there is still an issue at high levels.”
The need for women in technical leadership
According to the report ‘GSA: Women in the semiconductor industry 2023,’ Over half of companies surveyed reported fewer than 10% or women in technical director roles, and over half of the companies reported less than 5% in technical VP roles.
“We definitely need more women in leadership roles,” says Hadar. “Women are sensitive to both the big picture and small details. In the lab when we are doing experiments with ReRAM, it’s critical to pay attention to small details to make sure we are thinking about the correct approach.”
Lama agrees. “Women tend to be great communicators, bring a high level of creativity, and also tend to have a good multi-tasking ability. Having a diverse team can provide great benefits to a company.”
“Women managers have different styles than men, and often bring a particularly collaborative approach to a team,” says Lilach. “As a female manager, when one of my team members tells me there is a problem, it automatically becomes my problem too. The approach is that we can fix it together and learn from it. This teamwork focused approach leads to better overall performance and KPIs.”
Of course it’s not just about gender. Yifat points out, “A company benefits from representation across all types of populations – colors, genders, religions, and so on. We all bring unique backgrounds. This is especially valuable as employees move up to leadership roles and their distinct point of view can be brought to bear for real impact.”
Starting early
Encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math is key.
Lama says, “If you have a child who is always taking things apart and putting them back together, it’s likely they will be an engineer! My mom went crazy when I disassembled the car stereo. But she always encouraged my sisters and brother to be whatever we wanted to be.” To young girls considering an engineering career, she says, “If you want to do it, do it. Try not to listen to anyone who says you can’t do it. Mute those voices.”
Yifat says it was important that her mother encouraged her from an early age to help fix things around the house. “If something fell or broke, or a lightbulb needed changing, we girls in the family were encouraged to take care of it.”
The women we spoke with agree that parents should buy toy cars, electronics, or construction games for girls if they want them.
“Not every little girl wants a Barbie or a play kitchen,” says Yifat, who has three daughters of her own. “I tell my daughters that everything a man can do, you can do just as well or better.”
Yifat also acts as a role model for other young women engineers. “They often just need to build more self-confidence that they can do the job well,” she says.
Everyone agrees that it’s not just women who need to mentor other women. Lama and Lilach both point to having had great male mentors, and Yifat points out that her husband is very supportive. “Behind every successful woman is a supportive man,” she says.
Inclusion at Weebit
At Weebit, we have a number of women in engineering and leadership roles – both technical and non-technical. I have been CFO since 2016 and we have a powerful Board member in Naomi Simson.
It’s important to note that being a woman at Weebit doesn’t mean we get special treatment.
“Everyone at Weebit is treated equally and our opinions are treated objectively. The company, from the top down, is highly inclusive without even trying,” says Yifat.
“Even as a student, my opinions are valued,” says Hadar.
Tair Duvdevani, Ph.D., Weebit’s Senior Process Technology Project Manager, agrees. “Everyone is encouraged to own and promote new initiatives, regardless of gender, or any other trait. The culture of Weebit is open and transparent, with an atmosphere that encourages us to collaborate.”
“The great thing about working at Weebit is that everyone works as a team and adds value where they can,” says Lama. “If you have an idea, you are encouraged to pursue it. It’s not about gender or ego or even your job role. It’s about innovating.”
