International Women's Day | Susanne Horn, Infineon

As part of International Women's Day, we wanted to speak to inspiring Women from the technology industries we service and find out what drives them, their background, and what International Women's Day means to them.

First up we have Susanne Horn, VP of Distribution at Infineon. After starting her career at Sei Jermyn in 1992 and working her way to Regional Sales Manager, Susanne moved on to Infineon, based in Munich in 1999 and has continued her career there ever since.

We spoke to Susanne about her career and what driver her. Read her story below...

Starting from the beginning - What made you get into Tech?

"I was eager to earn money and to become independent. Looking at all options I decided to study informatics and after some years in business I decided to further develop and looked for the next challenge and started in the semiconductor industry".

Who has inspired you within your career?

"My mother, as she was too dependent from her husband and not free to decide about her life".

What’s the one thing you love about your job?

"Diversity".

This year's hashtag for International Women’s Day is #BalanceforBetter. What does this mean to you?

"I focused almost 100% of my time to become better and thought I have to demonstrate my commitment every day. I was successful and promoted but I could not really enjoy life. For some years, I invested more time to keep and build relationships and focus on my own satisfaction. The feedback from my boss, peers and family is very positive …. And working with/for me is much more fun ;o)  ".

Why do you think there is a lack of Women in the industry?

"We cannot ignore that the Women are getting the baby and many male leaders believe that Woman are not able to manage both successfully. On the other hand, there is still not enough willingness to make it easier for them and to offer more flexibility. And …unfortunately, there are still less Woman than Man on the market to hire".

What one thing could the industry do to champion Women?

"They need a clear gender strategy as Infineon does to encourage Woman to apply for such jobs and give them the same chance as Men!"

What barriers have you had to overcome from being a Women in the industry?

"Get the necessary support: I had to solve some major challenges from my boss to get his respect to support my development and promotions. It's also about self-confidence: I learnt from my male colleagues that you have to first trust in yourself before you can expect trust from others. Get the trust and support from your family to follow that path. In general, it was very important for my success to have a strong network within the company and outside in the industry".

How can businesses become more ‘diverse and more balanced’?

"We need to see diversity as beneficial in all aspects".

Your job at Infineon sounds very varied, what are the main perks working there?

"It’s a great company with a clear “gender” strategy and the vision to make our world greener and life better. Infineon offers me the opportunity to contribute and further develop".

And finally, what advice would you give to any female starting in this field?

1. Be as self-confident as your male colleagues are

2. Look at female communities and focus on networking

3. Never give up!

If you are interested to hear from the other four inspiring Women we spoke to, click on the photos below...