Women in defence

Armed with a master’s degree in security studies, I seized the opportunity to get a foot in the door of the defence and security industry. I was in between jobs and working as a hostess at the annual Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition, which this year is running from September 14-17 in London.  

I became the assistant to the defence and political advisers’ team at MBDA, a major European missile manufacturer. The headquarters were only for senior executives and, except for one formidable woman with a military background and the HR team, I was the only female in the office. It was challenging being a recruit in a male-dominated office, but I was learning a vast amount about the business and my manager was conscious of my career development.