Maheen Hamid is a recognized entrepreneur in our community and co-founder along with her husband Adnan of Breker Verification Systems, a chip design verification company. Maheen’s role at Breker is COO and CFO. She is also a mother of two, a 16-year-old daughter and a son who is eight. Despite what must be a heavy workload and juggling act, she is an active member and a welcome voice on the ESD Alliance’s Governing Council.
In addition, Maheen was recently named one of Silicon Valley’s 100 most influential women by Silicon Valley Business Journal, selected for her financial experience in deal structuring and operations management for small- to medium-sized businesses. Her strong commitment to entrepreneurship as the way to bring broader change is a valuable trait and a topic we discussed during a recent conversation.
Maheen and the other recipients of the Silicon Valley’s 100 most influential women will be honored at an awards ceremony Thursday, June 14, at Signia by Hilton in downtown San Jose, Calif.
Smith: Does the semiconductor industry offer a good career path for women?
Hamid: Over the years, it is becoming increasingly evident that the semiconductor industry provides the foundational fuel for the technological revolution of modern times. It is an exciting space rooted in fundamental science that enables innovation to propel humankind forward. In addition to the technical challenges to be solved by some of the best and brightest engineers, scientists and technologists, competitive pressures and market dynamics also create interesting career paths in the business and management tracks.
Per a 2020 study by GSA and Accenture, gender diversity in the industry remains low, with women comprising about 25% of the entire workforce and less than 10% as roles progress towards management and board level roles. Larger companies have been performing better in recruiting and retaining women.
However, studies can only show trends but they do not define the breadth of opportunities available. As companies weather economic ups and downs, focus shifts toward retaining the sharpest problem-solving skills, regardless of the gender behind it or the field of application. Women are naturally tenacious and creative about holistic problem solving. Combine that with the growing confidence that we are capable of achieving extraordinary heights, there is much to be gained by pursuing a career in the semiconductor industry.
A small sidebar and a fun fact: Breker Verification Systems is the company I co-founded with Adnan, who has an extraordinary engineering mind in the field of verification. We brought to market leading-edge technologies that push the boundaries of verification methodologies and achievable coverage. I find it incredible that it is computer language pioneer Dr. Grace Hopper who coined the terms “bug” and “debugging” when she had to remove moths from an early computer her team was working on!
Fun Fact: Breker boasts an engineering workforce that is greater than 50% women!!
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