“The tech world is more than a series of 0s and 1s”

Gerardina Bello’s path to a technical career was hardly preordained: while studying social sciences at the University of Bern, she was looking for a job and took on a part-time position in the IT department of Swiss Post. After starting out as a clerk, she gradually took on more and more tech-nical tasks—for instance in data preparation. She enjoyed the fast-paced IT environment so much that, after completing her studies, she followed up her years of experience at Swiss Post with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Information Technology.

From then on, Gerardina Bello knew that she wanted to work in tech, but she also wanted to work with people. And that is a goal she has since realised: in mid-2017, she was appointed head of the SAP Support Team at Swiss Post. Her 15-member team operates and maintains the SAP software systems used in, for instance, Human Resources. “When I started working at Swiss Post, being a woman in the IT team was an exception,” says Gerardina Bello, looking back. And not a great deal has changed since, at least on a national scale: the percentage of women employed in IT in Switzerland is currently around 15 percent. The fact that it is some 33 percent in the SAP Support Team led by Bello is not because she, as the boss, only employs women: “I was able to take on the team with a high percentage of women,” she tells with a smile, only to recount soberly that, “for the two positions that have been advertised under my leadership, not one single woman applied”.

As a mentor for Swiss TecLadies, Gerardina Bello wants to help increase the number of women working in technical professions. “We should stop thinking in terms of ‘men’ and ‘women’,” says Bello. “What really counts is a person’s competencies and skill, and that they take pride and pleasure in their work.” She is convinced that if there were no predefined male or female professions, more young people would choose a career path that is currently considered the domain of the other sex. Gerardina Bello never had the feeling that she was disadvantaged as a woman, but she can well imagine that young women—and men—are reluctant to choose certain careers if they continually have to justify their choices.

The fact that Gerardina Bello was unfazed by gender stereotypes when she chose her profession is partly thanks to her background: her parents immigrated to Switzerland from Italy. “As the daughter of immigrants, I was already different at school because I had one foot in each culture and language.” But she saw this as an opportunity, not a disadvantage: “My parents always made me feel that being different is an asset. That’s why I had no qualms about taking on a career in a male-dominated industry.” The satisfaction and pleasure she gains from her profession are something that Gerardina Bello wants to share as a mentor. “We can spark the interest of young women for technical professions if we share our passion and enthusiasm,” she says. And she wants to show her protégées that technical careers, too, are highly versatile: “I work in tech, but that doesn’t mean I only work with figures and algorithms. My world is more than a series of 0s and 1s.”

Text: Adrian Ritter
Photos: Felix Wey