What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

To take opportunities when they’re given. For me, that was the option to go to Australia. I could have written a whole list of reasons why I shouldn’t move to the other side of the world on my own, but it’s probably the best thing I’ve done. Opportunities can be scary, and there can be risks, but you have to go for it.

What tips would you give to any woman hoping to climb the career ladder?

Don’t feel judged by anybody for what you want to do. Yes, there are some people who believe that there are careers for men and careers for women. But, if you’re passionate about a science subject – whatever that may be – then just go for it. Don’t worry about being the only woman in the room. I’m lucky that somewhere like Mars is very career neutral; there’s no judgement. I’ve worked with the operations team, a more male-dominated area, but I’m always looked at as an equal.

How can we better support women in the workplace?

I’m really lucky at Mars. When I look around the business, I see women at all different levels, on all different career paths. There’s a high-percentage of women within the leadership team who have families and high-powered jobs. And there’s a lot of women we are able to have as role models and mentors.

I think that’s a great place to start. If you have women in a position where they’re able to inspire and lift up others, it inspires them. It makes them believe, yes, this is what I can be doing. And that’s so important.

You can find out more about the Mars Research & Development Leadership Experience here.

Image: Mars/Unsplash

Dream job alert: a chocolate scientist reveals how she got her job designing chocolate bars