--- title: Women in STEM - Sarah Pope | 5B --- ![220224_5B_ANGNES_KING50638 IWDPage](https://5b.co/hubfs/220224_5B_ANGNES_KING50638%20IWDPage.jpg) ## Celebrating women in STEM "You can't be what you can't see" ## Women at 5B - Sarah Pope 5B Head of Project Delivery, Sarah Pope, says the variety of roles that women now occupy in the renewable energy sector, compared to a decade ago when she was the only woman in a team of 30 on site, is both mind-blowing and encouraging. In this Q&A she talks about her journey from a receptionist 16 years ago to her role at 5B overseeing project delivery for half a dozen solar farms. ### How did you get into the renewable energy sector? I grew up in country South Australia, near Clare, and did a business administration traineeship straight out of high school - I was young, still only 17 when I graduated and had no idea what I wanted for a career. I moved to Adelaide a couple of years later and worked for a firm that was acquired by engineering company SMEC. I started in reception but quickly moved up to project support roles. A lot of wind farms were popping up around the region where I grew up at the time. I took a site admin role for Vestas for the Waterloo Wind Farm construction. It was a 12-month contract that turned into 3+ years working in New Zealand, as well as the AGL Macarthur Wind Farm which was the biggest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere at the time. > "I wanted to work for a company that put a woman in charge of its biggest, most exciting project" **Sarah Pope** Senior Manager Solution Delivery, 5B   I took a 6-year break from renewables which included working in land development in Melbourne but always intended to return to the sector. I really missed the vibe and atmosphere, the people working in renewables are so passionate and excited about what they’re delivering and the movement they are a part of. I was later approached to work with Enerven on SA Water’s Zero Cost Energy Future program. It was too good an opportunity to say no. It was a landmark program - no one else had done what they were doing at that scale. I first encountered 5B on this program. They were the solar technology supplier for the Happy Valley project and had a female project manager. It was one of my favourite projects because the 5B Maverick technology was different. But I remember saying to a friend ‘I want to work for a company like that some day that puts a female project manager in charge of their biggest project’. ### You say you often feel like a fraud because you’re not an engineer. How much does having a STEM degree matter if you want to participate in cutting edge renewables projects and technology innovation? Yeah, it’s a funny thing, I often feel like a fraud working alongside all these brilliant degree-qualified engineers and subject matter experts. It depends what you want to do, there are obviously roles that are highly technical and require subject matter expertise, but as a project manager you interface with multiple disciplines and you can’t be an expert in everything. I’ve come across a lot of people who have ended up working in a different area than their degree because that’s where their interest lies. Over time, I’ve come to accept that I’ve got over a decade’s worth of practical experience, working alongside some very senior people, and that everyone has their own journey to get to where they are. ### At the age of 22, you were the only woman on site out of a team of 30-odd. How did it feel? When you’re in it you don’t notice it, although I felt it more acutely on projects away from home. I remember being so excited to have so many women on site for the Macarthur Wind Farm project - there were maybe 10 out of a workforce of over 200. ### What’s the biggest mistake women make in their career? We don’t apply for the roles because we don’t think we’ll get them. Sometimes that’s a misconception. Other times, history has taught them that’s the case. Everyone’s seen someone get a role based more on who they know than on merit. When you see that, and also don’t see anyone like you in that role, it can be discouraging and a real deterrent. It’s hard to be what you can’t see. It’s one of the things I love about 5B, there’s more variety in the types of roles that women hold. ### Who were the ‘boosters’ in your career? My site manager at Vestas - he insisted that I should stick with his project team and roll over from project to project. At the time, I didn't really appreciate how that set me up for future roles. My manager at Enerven - for about a year he would ask me ‘What do you really want to be doing?’. I wouldn’t give a clear answer. I’d pretend I didn't hear it because I didn't believe I could manage my own project although I had already done most of the parts separately - he pushed me to admit what I wanted and to go after it. The 5B project manager on the Happy Valley solar farm project - she is an incredible role model for women in renewable energy. Working in a male dominated environment, some women can become too tough to over compensate. She wasn’t like this, she had her own approach and was well-respected. My first manager at 5B - he challenged and empowered me, building my confidence in what I could achieve. I grew professionally more in 9 months than in any 2-year period prior. ### What to do now? - If you’d like to work with other passionate experts on our team, or learn more about our purpose and values, visit our [Careers page](https://5b.co/company/careers?hsLang=en). - If you know someone who’d enjoy Sarah's story, share it with them via [email](mailto:?subject=Celebrating%20women%20in%20STEM%20-%20You%20can%27t%20be%20what%20you%20can%27t%20see&body=Check%20this%20out.%20Celebrating%20women%20in%20STEM%20-%20You%20can%27t%20be%20what%20you%20can%27t%20see:%20%5Bhttps://5b.co/iwd-sarah-pope%5D), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/5baus/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/5B_Tech). ![AdobeStock_220696177](https://5b.co/hubfs/AdobeStock_220696177.jpeg) ## Join our team We're looking for the best and brightest. [Apply now](https://5b.co/contact/career-application?hsLang=en) **