Read about Gunay Menekse

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

They say love knows no borders, and neither does my passion for technology and global peace. That's precisely why I found my way to the UN. Plus, I've always dreamt of meeting someone from every corner of the world, and the UN, with its commitment to diversity and a shared purpose, seemed like the perfect place to make that dream come true.

What has been your favorite IT project at the United Nations and what was your technical contribution?

Among my notable assignments, the audit of ICT business continuity and disaster recovery within the UN Secretariat was my favorite. During this project, I collaborated with various offices, departments, and missions within the UN to assess the effectiveness of their business continuity planning, ICT resilience, and increased awareness about ICT risks on continuity of their business.

Given that the UN's mandates, objectives, and business processes heavily rely on a range of ICT applications, infrastructure, and services, the significance of this work, in terms of both resilience and awareness, became apparent. It was fulfilling to identify areas for improvement and contribute to enhancing their resilience, incident handling capabilities, and recovery procedures while simultaneously raising awareness about IT risks, including cybersecurity and third-party risks.

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

Embrace technology with confidence and curiosity. It's a tool waiting to empower you, and you've got what it takes to conquer it! For example, an IT auditor's role is like that of a doctor. Imagine technology as a patient. It can suffer from bugs and glitches, or its environment may pose risks to its health. Our job is to nurse it back to health, diagnose issues (like medical conditions), and prescribe the right "medication" in the form of recommendations. Similarly, software development is much like sewing, coding is about stitching together pieces. Your program is the final garment – Of course you need to design your masterpiece first.