Meet the Iron Lady of IT
By Henri Abenis-Macahilo
DUBAI: Irene Corpuz, this year’s The Filipino Times IT professional of the year is also popularly referred to as “The Iron Lady of IT.” Indeed, one might say, IT is in her vein. She was already tinkering with what could easily pass as the “gadgets” back when “computer literacy” was sole domain of a limited few.
But there’s a more interesting twist to all this: Corpuz started out with typing jobs while attending college – the typewriters being the “keyboards” of her time. Irene Corpuz is a strong advocate of women in the world of information technology (IT), particularly in the Middle East. She is currently the head of IT Security Section at an Abu Dhabi (Western Region) government entity in the UAE.
She has participated in various information and cyber security conferences as speaker, panelist and conference advisory board and has also spoken on various information security topics.
Her participation span across Middle East, Europe and Asia. As an advocate of women in IT, Corpuz believes that gender equality in the technology sector will benefit not only the organization but the global economy. “This is because we know for a fact that men’s and women’s character greatly varies. IQ + EQ combined, women introduce multi-dimensional and diverse interests at workplace,” Corpuz told The Filipino Times. “It has been proven in researches that businesses that effectively support gender diversity perform better financially, enjoy exceptional team dynamics, and attain greater productivity.
It has been a long time since we had hoped to see women being contributors in the success of organizations particularly in the technology industry,” she added. Corpuz’s most significant achievement was her presentation of Abu Dhabi’s Unified Information Security Program in London, UK, which won the Innovation in Cyber Security at the Ovum Industry Congress. She is an Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Middle East Advisory Board Member.
She has also received a number of local and international awards and recognition as Filipina and a successful Woman in IT in the Philippines, the US, UK and the UAE. Corpuz has come a long way.
During her high school days, she said, she would accept typing jobs at 25centavos a page. “Umasenso naman nung college kasi naging swelduhan na: encoder na,” she laughed. Looking back, she said, it was the encoding part time work that yielded her first real job, which was in a multinational company which absorbed her for her excellent English communication skills.
Photo grab from Irene Corpuz Facebook account.
(Source: FilipinoTimes.ae)