Fiona Ciantar has no qualms about having chosen a traditionally male career path and she is glad to say that she never felt discriminated against because of her gender. She tells Stephanie Fsadni her story.

Although giving mimosas on International Women’s Day may be a custom in some countries, it is definitely not a popular practice in our community. So Fiona Ciantar may be considered lucky to have regularly received a bunch of the bright yellow flowers come March 8.

“My husband’s friends from former Yugoslavia really attach importance to this day, and they would pamper me with these beautiful flowers every year,” Fiona says.

The 37-year-old claims she always gained the respect of the men around her, and that is saying something, considering that she has always worked in traditionally male environments.

Fiona wanted to become an architect. At 15, she attended a part-time evening course in technical drawing since the subject was not offered at her school. But after finishing secondary school and earning some money the following summer, she reconsidered her options.

I was 18 and the employees were all men in their 40s to 60s. They were not even used to having students around, let alone a girl

She was discouraged by the long years of study that lay ahead of her and thought of taking a shortcut – by becoming a draughtsman.

However, when she went to apply for the course at Mikelanġ Sapiano Technical Institute, she was told that she was overqualified and should go for some other course which would open up more career opportunities. The guidance people suggested she apply for a Higher Technical Diploma and she took their advice.

On the first day of the course, Fiona found out she was the only female in a class of about 20 boys and one of three girls in the whole school. However, she does not recall ever feeling uncomfortable.

“I never gave it that much thought and I’m glad to say I never had any problems. The teachers respected me a lot and they would urge my mates to respect me too... especially by avoiding rude remarks or swear words!” she says. “All the attention actually made me feel special.”

The four-year course, in which she specialised in electrical engineering, included an apprenticeship scheme, the first experience of which was quite tough.

“I found myself with a contractor installing electric cables. On the first day of the job, he handed me a jigger. I remember I went home crying and I left after two days.”

She then moved on to a company that manufactured fuses but she found the job a tad boring and applied for a placement as an electrician at Farsons, which she got.

“I walked into this enormous, old-school workshop divided into different sections... welding, electricians, etc... I was 18 at the time and the employees were all men in their 40s to 60s. They were not even used to having students around, let alone a girl,” she quips.

This male-dominated environment, however, did not discourage her, especially since there were other schoolmates with her. Once again, she was very well respected by her colleagues, who minded their language and cared for her... maybe a bit too much.

“They would worry when they saw me doing something up on a ladder for example; they probably thought I would get hurt or something. That annoyed me a bit but I know they had good intentions.”

Her colleagues’ concern for her went a little further than that... they made it a point to marry her off to an eligible young bachelor! And that is how she started dating Mark, her future husband, who joined the workshop some time later.

During the last year of apprenticeship, Fiona was moved to the HR department. Her new role wasn’t exactly what she had studied for, so when the course finished, she handed in her resignation.

She subsequently got a job as an R&D technician at Baxter International where she worked on new product development. Here she was no longer the only female around as the healthcare company increasingly employed female engineers.

After seven years, she joined Playmobil Malta, also as an R&D technician. However, she got pregnant with her first child a year later and left.

Now Fiona happily works with her husband who, in the meantime, had set up his own company, MCS Fabrications, that specialises in manufacturing stainless steel products, especially for catering and pharmaceutical companies.

“At first I was very hands-on on the manufacturing side, but now, with two kids to take care of, I mostly take care of paperwork...”

Looking back, Fiona has no qualms about her career choice, but admits that it was not always easy. She believes women are as capable as men intellectually, but admits that physically, it’s a fact that men are stronger. Yet, she insists that everyone should follow the career path they want and not limit themselves because of their gender.

“Choose what you think is best for you and will make you feel fulfilled. It doesn’t matter whether you are a woman or a man...”