In this latest series of articles, we are publishing interviews of women who are working as a professional or a student in the technology sector. The objective is to highlight their work and contribution to the industry as well as to the community.
In these interviews, you will find women working in technology to solve real-world problems, to break stereotypes and to create the next big impact on the tech industry. This series of interviews shows that even with the lowest rate of women participation in the labor market in Pakistan, there are still lots of smart women who are creating and using technology to work wonders.
Today, we are featuring Aine Fatima. Read on to know more about her work and get inspired.
Tell us a little about yourself, your background, your education, and your work.
I am a Performance Marketing Manager with a passion for Digital Marketing, Online Branding, and Digital Analytics. After working in corporate roles for about 5+ years, I decided to make a transition from an office job to work at home because I wanted to give more time to my daughter. I currently work full time as an Account Director for the UK based creative agency Brand786 where I manage end-to-end digital marketing for Ibraheem Toy House and various other global brands.
On top of a full-time job, I am also a professional Digital Marketing Trainer. I am a Digital Marketing Consultant at DEMO & Head of Training at SkillsFirst. I am also a registered trainer at the Pakistan Institute of Digital Skills & have conducted various workshops in National Incubation Centre Islamabad to help the startups boost their digital marketing. There are times when it gets very tough being a female entrepreneur, a full-time mom, a committed professional, and a trainer altogether – but when you love what you do and you have a super amazing support system you can conquer any obstacle!
What are your future plans/aspirations? What impact it will have on the community/society/your team/your project?
In addition to what I am currently doing, I want to build a community of empowered women who are fully able but can’t go back to work because of family or other personal reasons. I will empower them by teaching them all the essential digital skills they need so that they can either start or promote their own business or work as a freelancer.
Please brag about your career accomplishments, what are the things you are really proud of?
I still remember attending a workshop with my managerial team at Metro Shoes back in 2016, and I was the only “female” among my 50+ colleagues. A lot of my peers couldn’t take 26 years old myself in a managerial role but I always let my work (and not my age) speak for myself.
Another accomplishment that I’d love to brag about is related to one of my marketing campaigns at Ibraheem Toy House; where I promoted an e-commerce product and someone from the buyer’s family got so inspired and persuaded with product that she started learning about Islam and eventually converted as a Muslimah by learning various Islamic/Quran verses from the product that we sell. I do believe this accomplishment is more than any material bonus I have ever got.
What has been your best education/career decision and why?
Education-wise, I did my bachelors in Electronics and Telecommunication Management, which means that alongside engineering I also studied business subjects and when I graduated, I knew I’d like to pursue my career in management and not engineering and so I landed my first job with an Internet Marketing Agency as a Social Media Analyst. There is no going back since then. I firmly believe you always excel at something you’re good at, so rather than fitting in a job/role you don’t enjoy.
What’re the best lessons you’ve learned?
- Failures are inevitable, but the good things about failures are that you only get up stronger.
- Never hesitate to ask for help, if you don’t know anything or you are unsure about a certain sort of work, ask around.
- In order to stay focused and motivated, try to initiate new projects or introduce something exciting for you so that you can keep going.
- You always excel at the things you are good at, so focus on your strengths and keep polishing your skills rather than struggling to work on your weak areas.
Which woman inspires you and why?
Sadaf Zarrar from Siddysays inspires me a lot. I say so because the way she juggles b/w her hardcore corporate role at Coca-cola and household is amazing. I kinda connect with her since both of us have two beautiful daughters (about the same age), same work-life balance challenges and perhaps the same way we both put our strong foot forward to the world no matter how hard it is.
Do you think Pakistan has changed as a society, in terms of accepting career-oriented women? What needs to change to help more women come forward?
Honestly speaking, NO! We are getting there but still a long way to go. There’s a small group of society who accepts career-oriented women, otherwise, I still see a lot of women struggling especially after they get married or have children because there isn’t enough support provided by families. We need to be more empathetic, more forward-looking, and less judgmental when it comes to working women. It’s her choice if she wants to be a working mom, housewife or work at home mom – if we can do one thing about it, we should accept her decision and support her in any way we can.
What will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women behind you?
Lack of support, lack of awareness, and lack of opportunities are the biggest challenges for the generation of women behind us!
If you could change one thing about the tech industry/business, what would it be?
Needs to be more inclusive and supportive of each other.
How can WomenInTechPK help you and other women?
WomenInTechPK can help connect with organizations or individuals to collaborate for more opportunities. A stronger community needs to be built not only online but offline as well. This can be done by bringing together all the amazing trendsetters from the tech industry together. The idea for WomenInTechPK is to become a powerhouse for other women of Pakistan who look can look up to them for all sorts of career advice in tech, digital, freelancing, online business and more.
You can follow Aine Fatima using her profiles below, and please do not hesitate in hiring her for your next project.
Email: ainefatima90@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ainefatima/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ainefatima
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AineFatima
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ainefatima/
ProWomen Profile: https://www.prowomen.pk/aine-fatima
