DEFENCE
Serco women making a difference in STEM Women around the country are making enormous achievements in STEM every day. Serco is proud of the many exceptional women across our business who are making an important difference in this space, helping to improve outcomes for our customers, and ultimately the communities they serve. Serco employs around 537 veterans and 185 reservists across New Zealand and Australia, and we value the unique skills and experiences they bring to our organisation. As a trusted provider of critical support services for Defence organisations around the world, we pride ourselves on building highly qualified, specialist teams who understand the unique and varied demands of the organisations they serve, so that they are able to work hand-in-hand with service personnel wherever they are needed. Amanda Farrell, Capability Owner – Asset Management, Navy Veteran
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Amanda Farrell comes from a trades background, providing her the skillset to seamlessly integrate the operational with the customer side in her role as Capability Owner – Asset Management at Serco. “After 20 years working within the STEM industry, I like to pass on my experience to help guide others on their journey. I am passionate about reaching out to the younger workforce to educate about STEM roles and the many pathways available to them – not just through university,” Amanda said. “My pathway into STEM started when I left school at 16 and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I was initially directed to a typing course, but there was no way I was agreeing to that! The next option was to join the Navy as a mechanic and get my trade qualifications. I spent the next 10 years on submarines as a Marine Technician Electrical and had an absolute ball.” Now Amanda’s work is in the engineering and maintenance space – a male-centric workforce. In response, Amanda is focusing on promoting the use of inclusive language. “As a woman in a leadership role, I have a responsibility to drive change not just for the people in my care but by establishing a fair and equitable foundation for the next generation coming through.”
Amanda believes that some women have a quieter approach when it comes to their occupation but said women’s assertiveness in the workplace is certainly improving. “As women, we tend to do good work quietly and be less vocal when it comes to our accomplishments, and therefore don’t tend to selfpromote: we don’t jump in and go, ‘I can do that’, and therefore the perception is that women are less likely to be seen as interested in promotion. I think that women are becoming more assertive by having the opportunity to observe and work with other senior women within our business as mentors. I do feel incredibly privileged to be a part of a company that has such strong women representation on our Executive Leadership Team,” Amanda said. As a mentor to other women, Amanda said what has worked for her has been preparation, consistency and resiliency to succeed regardless of the environment. “We have to allow ourselves to just give it a go. We have to change our inner dialogue and see there is no such thing as failure, we just move and grow in the choices we make. We were all given this amazing ability at birth called the ability to learn, and it never stops giving. So be curious, say ‘I’ll give it a go’ and see where it takes you.” Line of Defence
