The first time I was subjected to a sexist remark in class was the day I started my computer science professional diploma program, a year and a half ago. I was 23, and after deciding to pursue a different career, I found myself the only girl in a class of 25 boys aged 18 or 19.

Some of them called me "the whore," just like that, for no reason. It was a kind of affectionate nickname, just for fun. I don't think it was meant to hurt me, it was because I was the only woman and they didn't know how to handle it.

I put a stop to it right from the start, making them understand that I wouldn't put up with it, that I didn't function like them, and that it was affecting me emotionally. I sometimes cried at the end of class because of it. They've stopped since then, although they need a few reminders from time to time. But when I was 18, I don't know if I would have had the maturity to "enter the fray" like I did at 23.

Back then, I wouldn't even have gone into IT! Because it's a man's world, you have to be brave to take the plunge. After my high school diploma, the idea had occurred to me, but I'd put up barriers. I said to myself, "IT... not an option," it was unattainable. So I did a bachelor's degree at a private hospitality school to become a manager. It didn't suit me, so I went to work in administration while I figured out what I wanted to do.

One day I went to the school's open day, and the "computer services" for organizations professional diploma appealed to me. I like doing something that most people don't understand, and I also like the "manual" aspect of IT. It's not woodwork, that's for sure, but you can build code the way you like and adjust it. Plus, I'll be able to work on my own later on!

Before I changed studies, I knew there probably wouldn't be many women. It's not that I didn't feel like I belonged, it's more that I felt less capable than the boys. Before I started, I said to myself, "They're going to be better than me, they'll have logic that I don't have," because they're much more used to being on computers from a very early age.

Also, there's no female representation in this field. I'm doing a work-study program at a company, and even there I'm the only woman on a team of men who are in their fifties on average. But now I feel pretty good about it. And yet I've got a lot to deal with: When I arrived, as well as being a woman, I was a beginner! I felt like I really had to push myself and I would have liked to know what it would have been like if I'd been a man.

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