Celebrating International Women’s Day
In honour of International Women’s Day on Monday, March 8th, Babcock Canada is celebrating it by highlighting some of the incredibly talented women working with us.
Let us introduce you to Sarah Grandinetti, Supportability Engineer, who provides a holistic, data driven approach to asset management and end-to-end lifecycle support. She is also recognized by Women in Defence and Security (WiDS) as an emerging leader. This recognition from WiDS spotlights someone – in any stage of their career – that is doing great things; someone who is inspiring change; someone who is blazing a trail and setting an example for other young women to follow in the Defence and Security industry.
We sat down with Sarah, to ask her a bit about her career within the industry and what being a women in a STEM field means to her.
Q: How long have you been with Babcock?
SG: I’ve been employed with Babcock for three years, starting in March 2018.
Q: Can you describe your role within Babcock?
SG: I am a Supportability Engineer, and I work in the field of Integrated Logistics Support. I work with individuals across the enterprise, combining engineering, data analytics and logistics expertise to deliver asset management services designed to monitor equipment performance and provide end-to-end life-cycle support.
Q: Congratulations on being recognized as an emerging leader in the defence and security industry by WiDS! What does an award like this mean to you?
SG: I am honoured to have been recognized as an emerging leader. Affirmation of leadership potential, especially as a woman in a typically male dominated field, is especially meaningful as it reflects the hard work and dedication I’ve shown, while staying true to who I am.
Q: What do you see as some of the challenges facing women in the defence and security sector?
SG: The defence and security industry has long been male centric and there are many subtle barriers to women’s successes that are often labelled as “that’s just the way it’s always been done”. This can make it difficult for women to voice their ideas, especially if the idea involves challenging the status quo. It has been proven that solving problems with a more diverse team has led to faster, more effective and creative solutions. Women need more than just a seat at the table, they need their contributions to be sought after and valued.
Q: How do you think our industry can better encourage and support women?
SG: One of the biggest things we can do is collectively learn how to better empower women to be successful. This means giving them opportunities to speak uninterrupted, to test their leadership skills, and to take ownership of their own work. Empowerment of women allows them to be successful on their own terms.
Q: What is one piece of advice you would give to young women just starting out in their careers in Canada’s defence industry?
SG: Remember your worth. If you feel you’re being assigned less challenging tasks compared to your male counterparts, speak up, you’re just as capable of tackling complex problems. Find your allies, confidently seek career development and new opportunities. The defence industry has so many facets to explore and there is a place here for you.
