Empowering women in STEMM: Sarah Sutherland's career journey

Tell us a bit about your career background.

I was born in Perth, Australia, and lived here until the age of 10 when my family moved to the UK. In London, I studied Human Biology and Biomedical Science at King’s College. I started my career working as a consultant technical writer, writing copy for major pharmaceutical companies – leaflets, brochures, slide presentations and journal articles.

At the age of 22 I decided to move back home to Perth and  started working as a Medical Scientist at a pathology laboratory, then noticed that in Western Australia the mining industry was booming – that was where I needed to be. I took a chance and got a job as a DIDO Pilot Plant Lab Analyst on a 12-hour roster. This is where it all began: metallurgical lab skills, analytical lab skills, plant and process knowledge, even the basics like how to use a radio, which plant issues were worth reporting and which ones you can fix yourself, team work and mate-ship.

What type of challenges have you faced on your career and how did you overcome them?

Initially I returned to what I knew and started working at a mining lab and was soon drafted over into a refinery lab on a 12-hour roster, working out on the plant collecting samples, reporting issues, learning the process. A job came up while I was there for a Process Controller, a job that I thought sounded brilliant. A fellow lab analyst laughed at me for even considering if – as if a woman with no engineering qualifications could ever do such a thing!

I was fuming, mostly because he had a point about the qualifications, but also because he underestimated my abilities to perform the role as a woman. Spurred on by this, the very next week I signed up with Western Australian School of Mines to study for a postgraduate course in Metallurgy and Metallurgical Engineering.

My next career step was to move to work in Canning Vale as Lab Supervisor for a pilot plant; this time it was for copper recovery. It was brilliant, the process was all new to me and it was fascinating to see the hydrometallurgy processes that I was learning about in my studies happening in front of my very eyes. When I fell pregnant with my daughter in 2011, I had to exit the pilot plant environment and moved into a QHSE role, and I stayed there until I had my son in 2013. 

How has your Metso journey been so far?

I applied for the role of Testwork Engineer at Metso at the end of 2022. To be honest I wasn’t sure if I even stood a chance as although I had lots of site and lab experience, I didn’t have a ‘typical’ engineering degree. I was excited to get the job and started at Metso in January 2023.

Before too long, I was part of the team, learning as much as I could from other staff who had so much experience and knowledge to share. I started working on other sites, meeting more clients, undertaking more challenging testwork, gaining knowledge and confidence – and I still am. The beauty of this role is the variety of work, it isn’t ‘just’ iron ore, or copper, or alumina – it’s all of those and more. I enjoy how you can never become complacent or assume that a material will behave the way you think it will – I have learned to expect the unexpected!

I interact with Product Managers, TSS, Process Engineers, Services teams, our many customers, and of course the brilliant testwork team here on site daily. Late last year we moved to the new Perth Technology Centre in Bayswater, and I am truly proud to invite customers to come out here and see the site, people, and processes that we employ to generate our top-class results and recommendations.

Our value of ‘Getting it done together’ really resonates with me as I work with a brilliant team of engineers here, and we are part of a broader team of experts. Each one of us is a link in the chain that nurtures the first inkling of a customer’s idea, to producing the data they need to realise it, and every step of the process right through to delivery and commissioning of our equipment in full scale plants. To get the best outcome for the client we need to communicate, collaborate, and get it done together, simple.

I feel very privileged to work for a company where I feel safe to be myself – I feel safe to ask silly questions, to speak out my ‘what-ifs’, to vent my frustrations, to celebrate my successes, to ask ‘but why?’. In return, I love celebrating the successes of my colleagues, and to see the team growing and thriving, always supported by a strong leadership team.

Earlier this year I applied for and won a scholarship position at the Women Leaders Institute’s two-day Women in STEMM Leadership Summit in Melbourne, with the theme being ‘Empowering Change to Break the Bias”. I was thrilled that Metso actively supported my attendance. There were so many excellent keynote speakers and fascinating discussion panels presenting data and opinions I had never even considered. I took part in interactive sessions, group and individual coaching, and I was fortunate enough to meet incredible women from all walks of STEMM life. It was an eye-opening, inspiring experience and I left feeling truly empowered to not only advocate strongly for myself to succeed in my own career, but to defy the existing stereotypes, to champion change where I can, and to build a legacy for future generations.

What do you think are some of the challenges for women trying to enter your field?

The summit really opened my eyes up to the challenges of attracting and retaining women in the STEMM professions, and I was surprised to learn how unconscious bias affects children at such a young age. Research has shown that most 6-year-olds already believe that STEMM careers are for boys, and the more caring-type careers like nursing and teaching are for girls. As a result, girls are significantly less likely to choose STEMM subjects in high school or university, leading to less STEMM graduates, and less women in STEMM careers.

Research has proven beyond a doubt that diverse workforces achieve greater business success, and to truly achieve this, companies must accelerate the change by undertaking actionable strategies to attract and retain employees from all underrepresented and culturally diverse groups. There is no such thing as ‘man jobs’ and ‘woman jobs’ anymore. Women are just as capable of being leaders and having successful careers as men.

Women tend to be more modest and less confident than men when it comes to their professional abilities and talents. I would encourage any woman reading this to advocate for herself, to find a mentor or sponsor and to build up a network to support her professional development, to believe that she is capable of a successful career and that she deserves it. Take a risk – apply for a role that appeals to you even if you don’t meet all of the prerequisites, even if it means pivoting in a whole new direction. In my personal experience, once you are performing well in a role, your co-workers will respect you for that, regardless of your background. You have skills, you have talent – believe in yourself, promote yourself, celebrate your achievements and broadcast your abilities. You have worked hard for this!

Recently, I was honored to be invited to join the Metso Women’s Leadership Forum. I am currently not a manager or part of a leadership team; however I strive to lead by example every day, and I believe that anyone is capable of being a leader in that way. Between testwork projects, I have been actively promoting Metso with the HR team by attending graduate expos and events. I am hoping to arrange some events with high schools and unis to re-write the narrative. I want to let others like me see the role and industry that I work in, and to plant the seed that they could consider it as a possibility for themselves. Every child should know that they can pursue a career in STEMM if that’s what they are interested in, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, cultural background, religion, beliefs, or disability. My wish is that your daughters and your daughters’ daughters have the freedom and courage to pursue whatever they are drawn to or passionate about, uninhibited by the stale, outdated prejudices and opinions of the past.