Kapal stamps her mark in world full of men

Weekender

By NICHOLAS SIREO
WOMEN in this country have faced big barriers as they seek opportunities that put them on equal footing with men in a male-dominated society.
However, those barriers have not stopped the change as more and more women take up jobs that once were deemed the domain of men, not particularly because women want to show that they can take over jobs from men, but moreso because the world has changed and women are in the same universities and colleges as men, getting the same or better grades than men, and chasing the same jobs as men.
One such woman is Molina Kapal, a young Jiwaka woman who is the the principal project engineer at the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (Nicta).
It isn’t surprising that Kapal went where not too many Papua New Guinean women have gone, because her training started early when she was a child in Banz, when her days were often filled with activities that went against the cultural norm: she climbed trees, dug drains and chopped wood.
Said she: “When it came to games that mostly involved boys, I would hear my mum’s voice calling out, ‘Yu man ah?’ To be honest, I was pretty good with my hands and I was a very technical and curious child.”
In the early stages of her education, she was exceptionally bright and performed very well during her primary school years.
She then went to the all-girls’ high school at Notre Dame, Western Highlands, to complete high school. She continued to do very well.
“By the time I reached my final year in high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life. I shifted from wanting to be a highway truck driver to being a pilot and then to be a religious nun.
“The truck driver idea came from watching all those truckies while travelling up and down the Highlands Highway to visit my dad in Madang during the school holidays.
“I thought they were pretty cool driving those big trucks so I thought it would be fun.”
Filling out the high-school-leavers’ form is a dilemma for many students. It was no different for Kapal because she, too, wasn’t too sure about what she wanted to do after leaving school.
“I still remember the part where it asked what I wanted to do or become in the future. I wrote I wanted to be an engineer but didn’t know which particular field in engineering and didn’t think much of it,” she said.
After completing her high school studies, she was offered a scholarship to complete her secondary education in Australia and again she was required to fill another form at the end of it to indicate what she wanted to become in life.
“My guardian mother in Australia said it would be interesting to be an electronic engineer so that was what I wrote down without thinking twice about it.”
While in Australia she continued to do well, particularly in science and maths, and therefore applied to study electrical engineering at the University of Technology in Lae the following year.
Kapal was accepted and became one of four females among the 62 males who did their foundation year in electrical engineering.
“I was a product of an all-girls’ high school and the realisation that there would be so many males in my class made me have second thoughts about my course choice,” she said.
“However, my dad had to reiterate to me that it was a choice I had made despite the number of boys taking this course so I should be comfortable with my decision.
“I was privileged to graduate as one of the only two females among 12 males. I made friends with my male course-mates and we were able to study together.
“I am grateful that my parents gave me an opportunity to complete my education and they supported me all the way and allowed me to be whoever I wanted to be.”
Kapal eventually joined the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (Nicta) as a graduate engineer.
It “was the best thing that happened to me after I graduated. During my first day at work I was told that I was the first female to be recruited by the organisation, so I was nervous”.
She adds: “Even though I was excited I had a bit of fear to work in a male-dominated organisation but I told myself that if I could make it through university then it is no different here.”
The organisational culture was welcoming and she was engaged and motivated by her male co-workers to carry out her tasks as a colleague rather than as a female.
“I also didn’t see them as males but rather as professionals just as myself working towards common mission and goals of the organisation.” The authority has since recruited five more women.
“Nicta is a great organisation to work with as I was privileged to attend trainings and workshops locally and internationally. Nicta supports and empowers women in achieving gender balance in the ICT arena.”
The authority’s female staff members visit secondary schools to promote careers in the field of information and communications technologies and  that is helping to boost the participation of women in ICT courses offered by tertiary institutions around the country
Kapal completed her masters degree in Seoul, South Korea, last year through a South Korean government scholarship.
And she says: “Who says females can’t do it?  I was on the international front and able to come out on top.  Working with NICTA has helped me in advancing my career from a graduate engineer to a principal engineer.”