Back in the day, when it came to choosing a career, school girls were often steered away from ‘boys’ subjects’ such as math and physics, towards ‘girls’ subjects’ such as nursing and teaching. But what if these girls didn’t naturally follow the norm? What then?
My Page 1 Woman was one of these girls - labelled ‘naughty’ because she refused to stay in the box in which adults tried to place her. She ‘coloured outside the lines rather than within them’. But at school her natural abilities weren’t encouraged and through boredom she became an incorrigible prankster, who was eventually ‘asked to leave’. But this became the making of her because it ushered in a series of events that led to her doing what came instinctively; ‘boys subjects’ and a career in mechanical engineering.
Sophie Breslin
She is Sophie Breslin, a smart, forthright, gutsy, divergent-thinking problem-solver. Having found her niche in a male dominated industry, she made a great success of it, despite the demands of having to constantly prove her capability.
A woman who’s always up for a challenge, she’s been a sky-diver, trained for a marathon in 5 months to fund-raise for charities working in developing countries, and has contributed her time and skills to creating sustainable projects in Africa.
Read on and find out more about Sophie, who colours outside the lines.
What do you do?
Sophie: I'm a mechanical and systems engineer and director of my own company, ‘Athensis – Thinking Systems’. I work in automated environments that involve people, process, computer systems and mechanics working together. I’m usually hired to problem solve why a product isn’t getting through a manufacturing or distribution process. There might be faulty equipment, products, software or design. I help the organisation to find the root cause and solutions, and knit everything together.
As a child, I could naturally do things like sewing and making things without patterns. I loved to understand how things worked and how pieces went together to make a ‘whole’. I also loved anything to do with mechanics, the smell of fuel, oil and hot metal.
When I was 16, aptitude tests showed that my natural abilities were maths- and physics-related. But I wasn’t shown a route forward along this path by the school. I hated 6th form, had no direction and became horribly disruptive, finally being ‘asked to leave’ when I was 17, without A-levels.
I worked for BP Head Office for a while. And after getting the same results in another aptitude test, I went to uni at 21 to do a HiTeCC (A-level equivalent) in physics, maths, engineering and computing.
This led naturally into the Engineering Systems Design degree course, with a year out at BP Research in the Engine and Vehicle Test team; a perfect blend of mechanical and software engineering. In my class of 30 there were four women who started and only two of us completed, both gaining top grades in our year.
I’ve been running my own business for nearly 13 years now, working with organisations that need to develop their supply-chain automation – and preferably who have an interest in sustainability and value.
What essential steps took you to where you are now?
Sophie: Going against the norm and getting myself kicked out of school. I was a ‘challenger’ who never did what was required unless it made sense to me. After being excluded, I got bored and then saw an advert - BP was paying people to learn to type, so I applied for that and got in.
At BP they had one of the earliest mainframe computers. You had to program the dumb terminal with your question and send the request to the mainframe that would reply with the answer.
This consultant came to program my terminal but was getting the ‘wrong’ answer to his query. I realised that he was getting the right answer to the wrong question, and suggested this. He pointed to his Porsche 20 floors down in the car park below and scorned me, asking what would I know being ‘only a secretary’.
And in that moment, I decided that I might not know the syntax now, but I knew what the right question was. If he could do it, I could do it. He thought I was ‘only a secretary’ but I knew I could do his job if I got trained. That exchange is partly what drove me back to Uni to do the HiTeCC.
I regularly see women like me; intelligent, motivated but on the wrong path for them because at ‘A’-level stage, sometimes before, sometimes after, they’ve made a choice based on conformity (often gender or social) and stuck to it.
Getting ‘expelled’ was a curve ball which turned out positively for me. I’m glad I spent no longer than necessary in a stuck state and on a path that was not engaging and didn’t challenge me.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
Sophie: Every day the challenge is the male (and some females) perspective of women in engineering. I was in a male dominated class and achieved a 2:1. I got 100% in many math exams and 99.6% in complex problem solving. Then I’m into the real world and the stereotypes kick in.
I believe the ‘men do engineering’ stereotype is historically because engineering was this big filthy thing that you had to be strong to do. But during both the World Wars, it was predominantly women who built airplanes, for example. When the wars were over, men returned, taking back their jobs. We have automation and technology now – engineering is no longer about strength, it’s about mental agility.
I survived by being thick skinned; by repeatedly delivering excellence, and getting the results that proved I’m more than capable and ignoring the old engineering beliefs of others. I've had to believe that what I do adds value and makes a real difference. I've had to create my business and opportunities in order to do the sort of work I wanted to do.
I experience unconscious sexism pretty much every day. My first week in a site engineering office and it’s ‘There's a bird in our domain, what's she doing here?’ Usually there are testing questions about my capability, and shocking banter. But I'm used to it now. After a while they realize I know what I'm doing and I'm trying to make their life easier. Once I get through it all, they'll do anything for me. I realise that any new male engineer might get a similar reception but I’ve not seen it!
What was your greatest lightbulb moment?
Sophie: My greatest lightbulb moment was, aged three, realising I could do anything I put my mind to. I can remember listening to my mom and thinking ‘you can't keep me in that box’. Investigating the possibilities and ignoring the rules, I was labeled ‘naughty’. I tried to be good but it didn't work. I’ve always thought that society’s constructs of ‘should’ and ‘can’t’ were controls that minimized everybody’s potential.
What resource has been crucial to your success?
Sophie: I’m tenacious. I don’t quit, even after a few knocks. I find a way. I'm simultaneously stubborn, yet flexible. I won’t give up on a goal easily but I might change my path to get to it. Tenacity helps me get through those times when I wonder if I’m getting anywhere. So, it's believing that if I keep going, I will get there. It’s a useful resource for my projects.
What do you understand by leadership?
Sophie: Leadership, for me, is not about being on stage and preaching to thousands. Leadership is about integrity, and knowing and being congruent with your values. People come to me for my views, honest ideas, direction, help, or a kick up the arse. They don't come to me for tomato soup.
At work I'm a leader of innovation, problem solving and improving things. I also like to support young women who are striving to move forward in a male-dominated arena, as I never had that.
What are your three top tips to women who want to lead in their field?
Sophie: Tip one: decide what leadership means to you and the sort of leader you want to be. You’ll get clarity on who you are and where you’re going. If I thought that leadership was motivational speaking like Christopher Howard, I would never consider myself a leader because I don't identify with that. If you’ve a message you want to impart to the world, choose the mechanism that’s right for you to step into the leadership role.
Women are indoctrinated from birth to be quiet, cute, well-behaving. I don't accept that programming. And women leaders shouldn’t copy men. Our brains, information processing, nurturing and measuring success are completely different. In my first 15 years in engineering, I tried to fit in. And in the last 10 years since doing NLP and coaching I’ve learned that’s not necessary. An engine needs oil to enable all the metal parts to work well together. I’ve realised I don’t need to be a metal part. Let the others be the crankshaft, or the piston ring, or whatever they want to be. All the elements still need to harmonise.
Tip two, decide who you want to serve. You’ll target your message better. The Law of Attraction will bring you those people and you’ll connect faster. It's less effort to serve when the audience that you're attracting are those you want to lead.
Tip three, know your values and be congruent with what you do. It enables you to be authentic and comfortable with what you offer. Knowing what's important to you, and recognising that not everyone shares your values, makes it okay to not serve some people. You’ll see people’s ‘no’ as non-consent rather than as negative. And knowing my values means I attract people I can help more easily because I'm saying this is who I am, what I do, and who I help.
To find out more about Sophie Breslin click here.
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