‘We are looking for a male for this candidate’. How Paola Saenz, facing gender discrimination, created world-leading carbon capture technology

Paola Saenz is a PhD student at Imperial College London within the Surfaces and Particle Engineering Laboratory, and has recently became an ambassador for Mexico within the Global Engineers Network. Paola’s work has won international competitions led by Global Engineering Futures as part of the UNESCO World Engineering Day where engineers were invited to submit proposals and present their ideas that address the UN Sustainable Development Goals. More than 400 engineers from more than 70 countries participated in a global competition led by Global Engineering Futures with support from Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) UK, Imperial College London, Nankai University, Tianjin, and the WFEO Young Engineers/Future Leaders Committee. The next Global Engineering Futures competition is currently open for applications. Global Engineering Futures sat down with Paola to discuss her journey as a young female engineer coming from a developing country to the UK.

Paola Saenz is an award winning carbon capture and storage researcher.

Paola graduated as a Chemical Engineer from one of the top universities in Mexico after which she worked in industry for a year. During her time in industry, Paola was a victim of discrimination when she was denied a position based on her gender. The email stated that 'they were looking for a male candidate; therefore, she was not suitable'. Although there is now undoubtedly less gender discrimination, there is still a long way to go to achieve equality for women in engineering.

Interestingly, Paola disagrees with quota policies that ask for a 50-50 balance in gender within engineering roles. Sometimes they allow women to access positions that were previously unattainable to them, especially in industry, where men are a majority in higher-ranking positions. She says:

"One shouldn't get a job based on gender but rather on aptitude. "

However, Paola argues that there are better ways to incentivise women into engineering that goes beyond this. She gives us the example of when she was a part of a women in engineering start-up based in Africa during her Masters. The start-up worked in collaboration with Unilever to give workshops on leadership to women in engineering and aspiring young engineers. To Paola, educating all, and inspiring the next generation is the way forward to improve the gender gap in engineering.  

"You have to start changing the minds of the younger generation to tackle ingrained cultural and generational thought. You have to show them it is okay to be a woman and to be an engineer."

Paola is aware that this is not an issue that will be solved today. However, if future generations are taught to be ambitious and take action, change is inevitable.

For over a year, Paola worked for a tobacco company where she learnt people, and business skills. However, alongside those positive experiences, she didn't like the industry she was working in. She knew her goal in life was to do something for the environment, not to participate in destroying the society built upon it. 

Why a PhD?

Paola states that research always sparked her interest, making her pursue post-graduate education. She was awarded a joint scholarship from the Mexican Ministry of Energy to do a Masters degree at Imperial College London, where she was subsequently offered a PhD position.

As a PhD student, Paola is researching Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) as potential solutions to climate change. She advocates that carbon capture is a crucial component in a portfolio of technologies required to reduce greenhouse gases, alongside clean energy sources. However, due to a variety of technical, economic and commercial challenges, CCS has not been deployed to the required scale. According to the Global CCS Institute, there are 51 large-scale CCS facilities around the world. Of these, only 19 are fully operating, and an estimated 2,000 more are needed to achieve global climate targets.

Paola's research aims to accelerate the commercial viability of carbon capture technologies by characterising novel materials under relevant industrial conditions. This project involves the development of new adsorbent materials with innovative structures for environmental remediation solutions such as water treatment, removal of organics from waste gas, adsorption of gaseous radionuclides from nuclear power plants, and carbon capture. The new materials have the potential to reduce emissions from industry sectors such as cement, chemicals, iron and steel, treat drinking water, groundwater and wastewater and reduce air pollution by capturing volatile organic compounds.

Paolo Saenz in the Surfaces and Particle Engineering Laboratory at Imperial College London.

Paola's desire to work in environmental policy and make a change was a crucial reason for her to undertake a PhD. Being sponsored by the Mexican government is what allows and motivates her to learn. She hopes to take her expertise back to help Mexico develop. For Paola, it is crucial to return back to Mexico. She argues that most people who are awarded international scholarships become world-class experts, but rarely make it back home. 

"One of my main objectives is to apply my knowledge and invest in the well-being of Mexico."  

What Paola finds most enjoyable in her PhD so far is the ability to deep dive into a subject and learn almost everything there is to know about it. She goes on to discuss how her PhD allows for a great work-life balance.

“In my spare time, I am a figure ice skater and have competed nationally and internationally!”

Let's talk about Sustainability...

When asked about sustainability and sustainability issues in Mexico within an engineering context, Paola affirmed that more work is needed. Her perspective is that in Mexico, working within sustainability has been overshadowed by a notion of resistance to change. Therefore, even if sustainable engineering solutions are innovative and arguably better than current technology, it will be met with scepticism. According to Paola, both government and universities promote a change in sustainability. However, projects are rarely revised or followed up, meaning sustainable goals are not regularly met.

A career in sustainability excites Paola. Her current research in carbon capture is directly addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 13, Climate Action. "If you produce carbon dioxide, capture it, and then use it to do something else, and so on, you could ultimately provide an opportunity to reach net-zero emissions."  

Her predictions on sustainability currently focus on awareness. She states that we're in a booming industry, as people are more aware of the damage being done to the environment. However, we need to push that awareness forward and take an active interest in sustainability while making change and investing in sustainable solutions. From awareness to interest, to change. Overall, Paola is excited to see how change develops and hopes to be a part of this change towards a sustainable future.  

What the future holds and some career advice...

When asked about her future and the goals she hopes to achieve, Paola's goal is to work in environmental policy or more generally within sustainability. Recently, Paola successfully gained a place in the Global Engineering Network and will be an ambassador for Mexico. In general, Paola's advice to early-career engineers would be 'don't give up'. Dealing first-hand with the gender gap, discrimination and rejection drove her to strive for the career she is now working towards. While this might seem burdensome at times, she believes that if there's something you really want to do you just need to work hard to ensure you achieve it. Her advice stands as:

"Once you know what you want to do and what your values are, don't settle for anything that you're not fully satisfied with."