Girlstart’s Women in STEM weekly series highlights various women who are making a difference in STEM. Be inspired as these incredible women describe how they became interested in their field, provide insight into a day in the life, and share learnings from their experiences.
Shefali Pearson
Game Product Manager @ Electronic Arts
Shefali is passionate about seeing women/girls in STEM succeed, and got involved with Girlstart to make that happen. Today she is talking about her career in technology, specifically in video games!
Can you explain a little bit about what you do?
I work in Technology and it’s the most exciting space. Technology is so vast and my current industry is video games. Building games for people to enjoy and play is a fulfilling job. As a Product Manager; I need to know my product, guide my stakeholders, make data-based decisions and keep my users at the forefront of design. My favorite things about my career are seeing my users happy with my product and being at the helm of innovation and creativity!
Working with video games sounds so cool! Was there a specific person/program that got you interested in this particular STEM field?
I loved playing games on my PC since I was 12, I knew since then I wanted to be in the Technology space and at some point, in the game space.
Do you have any words of encouragement that you would like to share with girls who may be interested in doing what you do?
Who runs the world? Girls! STEM needs more women like you! Believe in yourself and your abilities. Work hard and hone skills that will help you get where you are going with your goals. Ask for help when you need it and have laser sharp focus. Most importantly, dream big and don’t look back. You never know what skills you pick up from sports, hobbies or anything that could help you along in your career/education.
Why do you think confidence in STEM is important for girls?
Being focused on your goals, having confidence and believing you can achieve as much, and more than, your peers is the key to driving forward.
