Sharika Thayaparan

Hi, I am Sharika Thayaparan, I am a 1st year Biomedical Engineering Student and I am applying for the position of Vice president of WSET. it would be an honour to be a part of a committee that empowers women and contribute to it to the best of my abilities. When I said that wanted to study engineering, I faced a lot of discouragement like "it is not a field for women" from my family and mentors and mostly from the people who were supposed to encourage me to follow my dreams. I witnessed the same happen to my sister and many other women I know and most time they are unable to find the support to follow their dreams. Women are given one chance at something and they root for them to fail and if she does, it is deemed that women aren’t good at it, but if a man does the same thing and fails, it is just one person who made a mistake. Women are constantly being discouraged and disrespected even in 2024 and often looked over for career opportunities that they deserve and this is the reason why the percentage of women that make us the workforce in STEM related fields is 26% and the percentage of women in engineering is 16.5% in the UK. WSET assists women to achieve their goals and provides the platform they need to achieve their dreams and I would love to be a part of it. Thank you