NEUS FORNS

INTRODUCTION OF THE QUESTIONS
Good morning, we are some girls from Wisibilízalas, it’s a Pompeu Fabra contest, and now we will interview Neus Forns. Well, we were wondering, first, what is your job right now?
I’m in an informatic consultancy, which is a big company, the Indra company. At this moment I am responsible for a part of a project that is made of a specific client.

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PRIMARIAN STUDIES
When you were little, what studies did you do in primary and secondary? Where did you study, what were your favourite subjects ...
I studied primary and basic general education, which was the EGB, at the nuns in my neighbourhood, at the José Tous school, and I did there until what was 8th, which would currently be second in ESO. Next, what would be high school and current high school, which at that time was BUP and COU, I did in a public institute. It was the institute that the school directed us directly and it’s called Joan Bosca Institute.

What were your favourite subjects?
I've always liked math. I also liked some others, except drawing that was not my forte, such as literature, grammar ... But basically, science things.

Do teachers treat girls differently than boys?
I don't know this because I did a schooling all about girls. First the nuns all were girls, although then they changed it, and in high school I was also as girls, although later when I did the third BUP it became mixed, but in my class, there were only two boys. And in the last year there was only one reason why they relocated to other classrooms. So, I've actually done practically, until I went into college, an all-girls education.

 

START IN THIS AREA
Since you were little, did you know you wanted to work on what you're doing now?
Not at all. I wanted to be a math teacher, and I had it very clear. I wouldn't have thought of the computer world.

Did you choose freely because you liked it or to make more money, for fame ...?
No, because I liked it. I liked it because I wanted to teach math classes because it was a subject that I knew I didn't like and since I really liked them, I wanted to teach so that the boys learn more comfortably, more at ease ... The thing is, then the professional paths went to another avenue. In fact, I've already said I didn't want to do this.

 

HIGHER EDUCATION
And what do you do now, from when you like it or how you found out?
Well, it was a casual thing, because I got a call while I was making the end-of-career trip. I got a call from a company by chance of life, and I went to the interview. In fact, I didn't even want to go because, I insist, it wasn't a subject That Interested me. But at home They told me to go outside, I did the interview and I thought.Total will be a one-year contract, if in a year's time I see that I'm not interested I'm still in time to re-engage. Now that you've explained everything to us a little bit about when you were little, we want to ask you exactly what you studied for career. I studied exact sciences, maths. Now it would be the degree of mathematics that at the time was the exact science degree.

What college did you go to and why are you going to pick her?
I went to the Autonomous University, but I didn't choose it. At that time schools and institutes had university outings. If your career was there you went there because you weren't making big changes either, like people selecting more. They did math there, and that's where I went.

Did you have a hard time getting this race out of you?
A little, yes. It wasn't easy.

Do you think it would be easier for a man to take this race off?
This doesn't have anything to do with sex. It has to do with the time you spend. Apart from studying I did more things, and in a career like this it's hard.

When you chose this race, someone in your environment tried to get you to change your mind?
No, everyone had so clear from a young age that I wanted to do that that, on the other hand, people encouraged me to do it. At one point I had a lapse and I hesitated to do it, I didn't know if I wanted to do cheap or something else. It lasted very little, two months, because everyone was saying to me. But if you've always wanted to do this. So, it was the other way around, the family encouraged me to do it.

Within your college classes, how many hours were there?
If I remember correctly, the first course was done in the afternoon and we had three subjects a year, and then from the second it was done in the morning and I think there were about four subjects every day so about four hours. Most of them had the theoretical part and the practical part, and they examine you separately.

 

EQUALITY
How many men and how many women were there more or less?
I couldn't say exactly, but I remember there were more boys than girls. I found this more at work because of that. And a lot of people who left for a career, most of them were women who were going to do other kinds of careers because of family problems. It was easier for a girl to leave him because of family problems than a boy.

Did teachers treat you differently to college for being a girl?
 It was the same. Well, I don't remember any kind of sex discrimination, in fact, there were, though not many, teachers.

Was there more men who took out their careers than women?
I'd say there were more kids, yes. Currently safe.

 

JOBS
Well, when you got your career, I guess you didn't go straight into where you are now. But what did you do?
I was in another company. When I was called, which is what I was telling at the beginning, I was making the end-of-career trip, and I was another consultant, who in that omento was much smaller than they are now. They made me a one-year contract and it was after a year and a half that I entered the one I am now.

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Was it the same job you're doing now, or have you changed?
Well, it's like a progression you're making. Usually people who are engaged in this it sector have a similar progression. You start by programming, usually when you're young, in one language or another because we're talking about a few years ago, then I evolved into a programmer analyst, then a functional analyst and then already responsible for little things even bigger things.

 

WORK PROBLEMS
Did you have a hard time getting where you are now?
I think the first few years were more difficult than after, because I think that later gradually the situation has been even. But it's true that the first few years some comment when you get paid and other kids don't, some other comment you felt, and you knew they were telling you. I think fortunately today, this doesn't happen, but back then something had happened.

Do you think you had a worse salary than a man at the time?
No, I did not have a worse salary, but when it was increased because my managers believed that I deserved it, a comment from a colleague (only some because it was not generalized) felt and was very out of place. Basically, because I was a girl and he didn't think I deserved it. However, it was something that I have not found again and no one else has told me. Currently, at least to the company that we are, this does not happen. It is true that the fact of being a woman and wanting to have children is a handicap that a man today does not have. I think that today, fortunately, more and more household tasks are being equalized and women should not always be the ones who must take care of their children. So that if it is true, in my case and that of my son, I tried not to breastfeed, I also tried not to reduce the working hours; that is to say, I myself put a series of measures to avoid that it was not noticed that it had something outside. That it was not noticed in any way, neither by schedule, nor by performance, etc.

Have you had any anecdote or experience with your work?
What kind of anecdote?
Regarding what you said before some comments made by colleagues.
No, it was basically that. It is the thing I remember most negatively. And in fact, it was a partner with whom I got along pretty well. But hey, I guess it was a bit of envy and ended up leading to the gender part.

What recommendations do you have for future STEM girls?
That, if they want, that they put on and that everything is possible. I insist, I think that today the difference is not so substantial. For example, nowadays, as girls who are mothers, they can ask for their reduction in working hours, they can ask for their breastfeeding time ... It is not frowned upon as before and nobody questions women doing this. I insist that this that I know happens to my company, but I do not know of other cases. I know that not all companies are like this, nor are all sectors like this.

Do you think men have it easier?
I think the family theme is a part that pulls the woman a lot, although there are already couples that the boy claims his part as a father. I personally had no problem, I worked until the last day, until the last second for nine months and ... then you have all the maternal leave, if you want to do a lactation, or if you want to dedicate a few months to the creature. Of course, men do not have this part of breastfeeding, so this is already a facility that I have women when we want to have a child. Then when your children grow up it depends on how you organize with your partner.

Have you ever been restricted at work?
I had some time when someone in charge restricted me because I didn't want him to leave at a certain time. I was doing my hours and I guess he wanted me to stay for overtime. I thought, what do you want, schedules, watches, or do you really want the result? I think it ended up as nonsense in the end, but this time affected me a lot.

After all these years of work would you change jobs or continue the same?
I've had my doubts. At one point, a few years ago I tried to change and wanted to hit the education sector, which is not my best personal moment and I decided that perhaps it was not the best time to change. And in the end, I continued in this sector.

 

PERSONAL OPINION
After everything you have told us about your journey and work, did we want to ask your opinion about everything that is happening in this society and about feminism?
I support everything, absolutely everything. I already say, we are privileged within the society we are in, because everything that is happening is blatant. Even people, we no longer speak of lower social layers, if not higher social layers; depending on the partner you have, you despise and you are unable to react to this and you put yourself in a dynamic that you do not know how to get out. Everything that can be done in this regard and to achieve equality I completely agree. I know that this should not exist, there is no sense that there are differences due to be a man or a woman.

As you said before that there were fewer women in your career than in your work, do you think it is because throughout your life you have been related to men or for another reason?
The truth is that I don't know how to tell you, but it is true that in more technical races there are few girls, I don't know why. It is also true that things are changing so that young people have a different mindset. I think it is an inheritance that we have from our parents, grandparents ... Because women did not work before and were dedicated to the house and all this has made society tend to be very macho, especially with technical careers, science, mathematics ... But everything is changing, everything is changing according to how society also changes. This will cost because we can see that we are going very slowly, but at least we are making progress.

Do you think that contrary to these works there are jobs with few men?
If, for example, teachers. There are few primary teachers I mean and children even less. Nursing, although already beginning to have boys is very much sought for women. And all this is changing, but it is very difficult for stereotypes to put them very much.

 

FINAL
Thank you so much for letting us do this interview and coming here with us.
Thank you.