Anja Aerts: Senior Expeditor
The 48-year-old Anja works as a Senior Expeditor at Actemium, where she is responsible for placing orders with various suppliers. In addition, she also coordinates logistics processes in close cooperation with various engineers, requests quotations and negotiates with subcontractors.
“Ladies, do not hesitate to take the leap
towards the tech world and be the change
you want to see in the world!“
- Name: Anja Aerts
- Age: 48
- Studies: Hotel Management (Erasmushogeschool Brussels, Campus COOVI)
- Function: Senior Expeditor
- Hobbies: Pickleball and chores
How can our society boost gender diversity?
Anja: The groundwork should already be laid in primary and secondary education. A great initiative would be to organise company visits. In this manner, schools introduce pupils to the technical sector from an early age, where they can witness that both men and women thrive there. Personal freedom of choice is paramount for me: people should be able to pursue their passion and not be pushed in a certain direction. While there are positive developments, such as VINCI Energies’ efforts to purchase specific workwear for women, there is still a lot of work ahead in this sector in general. Take for example the Dutch language. Professions such as welder or electrician still do not have a female designation, although sometimes m/f/x is now specified, illustrating that the sector is still presented as too masculine.
What is the biggest compliment you have received from a colleague so far?
Anja: A colleague regularly calls me ‘the notorious Anja’, which refers to the high standards I set for the quality of my work. That nickname is indicative of the respect for my strict but fair approach. I am very organisation-focused and therefore always expect to have the right information in time to be able to carry out my work efficiently, which improves work speed. That is why I am sometimes the notorious Anja, and I certainly take that as a compliment. My colleagues also know that I possess the right technical knowledge, which allows me to actually understand all the information properly.
With your knowledge today, what would you do differently if you were 30 years younger?
Anja: I would take a more technical and hands-on direction in order to move up within the industry. At the time, I did not take that step out of fear of not fitting in within that predominantly male-dominated world. So my advice to women in doubt is: do not hesitate, show the world what you can do. I would give the same advice to my younger self. Do what you feel like doing, because with the right mindset you will settle in nicely in the job market. Be the change you want to see in the world.
