Women in Tech: Phyu

Meet Phyu. Phyu is a senior mobile engineer in the Rakuten Web Search Team, where she works on maintaining and developing new features of Rakuten web search mobile applications in both Android and iOS. This includes improving features to enhance user experience and bug fixes to support the product development.

Phyu started her study in the IT sector in 2011 at Republic Polytechnic and graduated in 2014, beginning her journey in the IT industry as a programmer. She worked on various platforms and technologies such as web applications, mobile applications, machine learning and backend APIs. Phyu then went on to further her studies at Nanyang Technological University as a part time student in Computer science in 2015 and obtained her bachelor’s in 2019, joining Rakuten in December of 2019.?

Q: Are there any key defining moments or challenges you’ve faced as a woman working in tech??

As a woman, I had to prove myself by learning or working harder than my peers to get the trust of them in male dominated industry. Once the trust is established, it becomes easier to build relationships and work together as a team.?

It wasn’t an easy journey to study part time and work full time at the same time however, I got to experience both working and studying at the same time and it helped me to get ahead compared to my peers in this career and IT industry. I have always been passionate about tech since young and this was my calling to study and work in the technology sector.

Q: Do you think that it is important for more women to be represented in the tech industry??

I believe both women and men should get equal chances to be employed in the tech industry. It’s not about fulfilling quota, but they should be employed on merits-based professionally. And of course, that means, we women must work and perform as well as men in this industry which can be challenging sometimes with family responsibilities etc. However, I believe that women can do well in the tech industry, and I have seen many very brilliant women in this sector who demonstrate outstanding leadership skills.?

Q: Looking back, is there anything you would change about your journey in tech??

I was given an opportunity to continue my study full time with work and study loans from my internship company in 2014. I may have completed my bachelor’s degree earlier if I did so, however, I wouldn’t have had the chance to work at different companies (such as MNC and start-up companies for over 5 years). I had the chance to amass working experience in different IT sectors and that was a very interesting journey of learning and self-improvement. I am glad about every step I took in this journey, and I don’t feel the need to change anything differently. The only regret I have is I should have bought bitcoin in early 2014 when I had the chance!! But jokes aside, I am proud of being a woman in tech.?

Everyone’s journey is different. Follow your heart and do what makes you feel happy and accomplished. Believe in yourself and build up your self-confidence. We women can excel well in this tech career. I have seen many women achieve great things in both their careers and personal lives, doing what they enjoy in the tech industry.??