Patricia Pantoja

What brought you to a career in technology at the United Nations?

To work at the United Nations was a dream for several years. I was blessed to be granted the opportunity by the Field Personnel Division as a Human Resources specialist where I assisted with recruitment and administration of field staff, including IT professionals. I joined the HR Unit of the Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) over 10 years ago. I am currently overseeing OICT recruitment and staff administration, serve as one of the OICT Gender focal points and other IT staff development initiatives.

What has been your favorite technology project or initiative at the United Nations and why? What was your contribution?

As a Human Resources specialist, I really appreciate the UN MANAGEMENT DASHBORADS. It has enabled me and OICT management to easily access and analyze key managerial data use for reporting, monitoring progress and informed decision making. Data visualization has been a great contribution when presenting information.

What advice would you give women interested in pursuing a field in technology?

There is a competitive advantage and great opportunity for women in the IT field now. The long time male dominated industry is seeking to bring gender balance to a still undersupplied market of female IT professionals. Take advantage of this opportunity! And in general, my advice is not to give up on your dreams, even if they take a long time. Dreams do become true!