Written by Sherry Lin | Corporate Vice President and Chief of Human Resource Officer, MediaTek


A holistic worldview with diversity in mind

Since high school, I immersed myself into a wide variety of studies, including science and engineering, and eventually received a Master’s Degree in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management from Rutgers University. After graduation, I started my career in Human Resources within the financial industry in New York.

Along the way, these experiences have shaped my worldview with diversity and comprehensiveness. Even though my principle career is focused on people, my transition from financial to semiconductor industry was driven by the fact I continue to enjoy science and engineering, while working in a place full of innovation, challenges and growth. In this industry of cutting-edge developments, I feel I can better demonstrate my strengths, understand multiple professions, continue to learn, and furthermore, seek complementarities from others. This also explains why MediaTek’s company philosophy is to “enhance and enrich everyone’s life” with technology.

Embracing the semiconductor industry

I like to work with talented people, while making positive changes through real-world innovations. What drives me is to find the right person for each position and keep an eye out for new talent in the semiconductor industry. Human Resources is about developing people, organization, and fostering culture, and I feel a strong sense of accomplishment when we find the best fit for our organization. We grow our talent, help them reach their full potential, which ultimately grows our company as well.

Compared with my previous experiences in the financial industry, the semiconductor industry is more straight forward and fact oriented. It requires tremendous teamwork to complete a single project, achieving project milestones and innovation successes together, rather than on their own. Similarly, the fruits of new technology innovations are not exclusive to one person or a certain group, but should benefit everyone around the world.

I would encourage more young women to join our semiconductor family, bringing different perspectives to this male-dominated industry. But regardless of the industry, I advise young female graduates to “be yourself”. Don’t try to behave like your male counterparts, or anyone else, in an attempt to fit in. Don’t be shy in expressing yourself. It is very important to know your own strengths, show confidence with your expertise and explore areas you are less familiar with, especially in the beginning stage of your career.

Turning a challenge into an opportunity

I think of “Women in Technology” not as a challenge, but rather as an opportunity. It allows male peers to listen, understand and respect women in the work environment. At MediaTek, we have this initiative called “Women in Tek” in different regions. Through regular events worldwide, we invite our female engineers to share how they balance the demands of their career and family, which is a common pressure in Asian culture. We also invite some female role models in our industry to share their experiences and ideas, like the balance between technology and creativity. We welcome our male colleagues to join our “Women in Tek” activities which offer more opportunities for them to understand the dynamic of working together.

Seeing challenges as opportunities has always been my motto, both in life and work. I firmly believe that “Women in Technology” is advantageous with a supportive environment. In fact, like many female colleagues in the technology industry, I believe it’s crucial to pursue a “Treat Fairly” not “Treat Differently” approach.

Being Proactive

At MediaTek, we treat male and female employees equally in all aspects. We employ many outstanding women with technical backgrounds in different functions, such as Research & Development, Product Management, and many other areas company-wide. I lead the Human Resources team in a proactive effort to recruit more women, while also creating and maintaining a female-friendly working environment that encourages active engagement in everyday activities.

MediaTek will continue its “Women in Tek” campaign throughout our regional offices including Taiwan, China, India, and the United States. Looking forward to 2021, my team and I will continue to roll out a series of regional activities featuring prominent female role models in to talks for MediaTek employees. Using my influence as a female in the management team, I will relentlessly advocate for more females being considered for senior roles. When women are confident and well rounded, the sky is the limit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SHERRY LIN

Sherry Lin is Corporate Vice President and Chief of Human Resource Officer at MediaTek. Before joining MediaTek, Sherry served as Human Resource Director at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

Sherry holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from National Taiwan University.