SPICT analyst breaks through the gender barrier
“Challenging but not scary” – these were the words Tanya Sevua used to describe her experience working as a Senior Information Technology Analyst at South Pacific International Container Terminal (SPICT) in Lae, Papua New Guinea.
The port and shipping industry remains a traditionally male-dominated industry. Over the course of recent years, women have been making great strides breaking through the industry’s stereotypes.
As the lone female member in a team of eight, Tanya says, “Working with males will challenge how you think and will actually in a way motivate you to do better.” The 26-year-old, who used to work as an assistant fitter machinist at Consort Express Lines, has been working with mostly men throughout her career and believes most women these days are comfortable doing male-only jobs.
Tanya has been with SPICT for more than two years and was an IT support officer before becoming a system analyst–a transition she described as one of the biggest challenges in her career.
“It was a complete switch of roles and it was difficult at first to adjust. After a year, I can gladly say it was a roller coaster ride. Scary but exciting,” says Tanya. She thanks Bright Rayan, IT Department Head, Leo Sariwa, IT Department Manager, and Chris Afue, Terminal Operating System Manager for mentoring her.
Tanya was also part of the team that developed SPICT’s website, which was her first major project. She recounts the experience as challenging and nerve-racking due to the high level of expectations. After the successful launch of the website in 2019, Tanya recalled the two important lessons she learned from the project: first, heights are not that scary but safety always comes first; and second, don’t be too comfortable with what you know–try to learn new things every day.
She also attributes her success to her parents, who taught her about working hard, stability, and accepting responsibility, as well as her co-workers for being there for her.
Believing that hard work and commitment pay off, Tanya dreams to experience working in another ICTSI terminal in another part of the world.
