Women in Renewables: Maria Cahir

Tell us a bit about yourself personally and professionally?

Growing up in rural Ireland and educated by nuns in an all-girls school, there weren’t many career options or role models for a young woman who loved maths and science. Fortunately, I was encouraged by my father to study Engineering at University as he believed “there are not many women Engineers and you will always have a job”.

在都柏林大学学院机械工程学位之后，我的早期职业生涯是多元化的，从开发更有效的机制，从而在俄罗斯北部的园林中为园艺用途收获园艺目的而获得园艺目的的更有效的机制，在俄罗斯北部的“人物建设”作业摩尔曼港。然后，我在2009年迁入可再生的医药制造业的医疗保健部门工作。

I have been fortunate to travel extensively over the years – I arrived in Australia as a backpacker and never left. I now live with my husband and daughter in Sydney and enjoy the great outdoors and everything this beautiful country has to offer, including the beach, camping, hiking and good food and wine. Working mums are constantly trying to get the balance right – I’ve learnt it’s important to accept you cannot get it right all the time and that’s ok, and to ask for help when you need it.

In addition to my role at Tesla, I am a Director of the Clean Energy Council, a member of Transgrid’s Advisory Council and I proactively participate in industry events as a speaker/panelist. I am particularly passionate about the advancement of women in renewables and am currently a mentor in the Clean Energy Council’s pilot mentoring program for women.

Where do you work and what do you do?

Reporting to the Director of Energy Products, APAC and part of the senior leadership team, I lead Tesla’s Sales and Business Development team for industrial energy storage projects across Australian, New Zealand, Korea, South East Asian and Pacific Island markets. Tesla’s mission isto accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energyand in Australia we have successfully delivered several landmark energy storage projects, including the renowned Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia.

我们的团队通过在澳大利亚的领先市场地位，在Tesla领先的市场地位，在亚洲主要增长国家的领先市场进入，实现非核心太平洋的新的市场进入，通过取代柴油来实现新的市场进入。我还支持特斯拉的政策和市场改革的宣传，以使能源存储的全面技术能力成功被货币化并发展市场。

How did you get into the renewable energy industry?

2009年，我提出了意识到进入可再生能源行业的决定，以便我可以将我的技能和经验与我热情的部门一致。回头看，我不知道我是如何使这种情况发生的事情，但我记得说“也许我可以为一个开发绿色能源的石油公司工作”。当BP太阳能广告为项目开发经理提供他们在澳大利亚的公用事业规模的太阳能战略时，我知道我已经找到了完美的作用。

Even though I didn’t have the prerequisite “industry experience”, I called the hiring manager and pitched myself for the role over the phone and shamelessly begged for an interview. Following a rigorous recruitment process, I was offered the job and joined the infamous BP Solar alumni. Over the next 3 years, the team was selected to deliver some of the pioneering solar farms in Australia, including Greenough River in WA and Moree in NSW.

What do you like most about your job?

在特斯拉，我与行业中的一些最聪明的人合作，他们对加速到可持续未来的过渡和高度动力来提供公司的使命。在我的角色中，我也很幸运能够在澳大利亚能源行业中与许多伟大的领导人一起分享特斯拉的愿景，以及我们沿途转换的一些非信徒！

Tesla is continually innovating its products and leveraging technological developments across the business to drive down the cost of electric vehicles and energy storage. The product portfolio has evolved significantly over the last 5 years to address an increasingly complex range of applications and it is very rewarding to be part of rolling out these new services in the market.

In the past, renewables were good for the environment but required subsidisation or other policy drivers to secure investor confidence. Now, with renewables being the cheapest form of energy and energy storage a key enabler of the transition, the market is poised for significant growth as traditional fossil fuel generators are retired. The future of energy is bright (and clean) and I am excited and privileged to be part of such a buoyant industry.

作为一个在男性主导的行业工作的女性，你的最大挑战是什么？

Throughout my career, I have found the lack of female role models in senior positions to be one of the greatest challenges. I had to come to Tesla to have my first female manager who was incredibly supportive and encouraged me to own my achievements and take my rightful “seat at the table”.

A lack of female role models can result in younger women feeling unsure of how to behave because they don’t have many examples of female leaders paving the way; if we are assertive or promote our achievements, we are told we are not a team-player; if we don’t speak up in meetings, we are told we are too timid! It has taken me a long time to find the self-assurance to back myself and believe that I have a valuable contribution to make.

Another key challenge was not having the confidence earlier in my career to call out poor behaviour; not having the courage to “choose to challenge” for fear of being labelled “difficult” or not liked by colleagues. People in senior positions (male and female) need to make these calls to show that the behaviour will not be tolerated and for others to also feel empowered to challenge the status quo.

您认为更多的女性进入清洁能源部门会怎样？

It’s really encouraging to see such incredible female talent in the sector, across a diverse range of roles and organisations and the Clean Energy Council has shown great leadership in promoting women in the industry through the “Women in Renewables” initiative.

We are also quite fortunate to have inspiring role models such as Tesla’s Chair Robyn Denholm, as well as strong female leaders across key energy organisations including Dr. Kerry Schott at Energy Security Board, Anna Collyer at Australian Energy Market Commission, Clare Savage at Australian Energy Regulator and, until recently, Audrey Ziebelman at Australian Energy Market Operator and the Chair of the Clean Energy Council, Rachel Watson.

要吸引更多女性进入清洁能源部门，我们的领导者需要成为变革的冠军;我们需要鼓励灵活的工作安排，积极促进妇女，庆祝他们的成功并定期“选择挑战”。这可能就像拒绝参加任何没有任何女性的讲话小组一样简单，或者至少是原因的。

Finally, we need to promote our industry to young women, to encourage our girls to pursue STEM in school and university and share our experiences with them. The next generation are especially aware of how crucial the clean energy transition is so we need to promote how exciting and impactful working in this sector can be, and show what pathways are available to them.

What advice do you have for women looking to enter the clean energy sector?

After years of flip-flopping Government policy and investment uncertainty, the transition to a clean future is well underway and we need a diverse range of talent to deliver on our ambitious targets. For anyone looking to enter the sector, I would say “just go for it”! Call up the hiring manager, network at industry events, connect with people on LinkedIn. This industry is full of people who care passionately about the future of our planet and we recognise that in others.

我也建议简单的“做你自己,back yourself”. On my first day at Tesla, I was quite intimidated by all the smart people I had met. My current (male) manager must have seen that I was bit overwhelmed and advised me “not to confuse confidence with competence”. It was sage career advice in that moment (and for life) and is something I would strongly recommend.

最后，从来没有更好的时间进入该部门。每个州和地区都有数十亿美元的管道项目，这需要多样化，称职的劳动力来带来果泥。没有许多其他行业可以提供这样的增长轨迹，如果过去12年来任何事情，我可以向你保证，它不会沉闷！

What do you wish you were told when you first started out in our career?

If you are given an opportunity, grab it with both hands and take your seat at the table. You can work out how to fly the rocket later. For example, in mid-2016, I joined Tesla to support the growth of the newly formed energy storage business; less than 12 months later, I found myself working on the world’s largest battery, Hornsdale Power Reserve. I was in that fortunate position because people had believed in me and offered me an opportunity at a time when I was at a crossroads in my career and my life. As a part-time working mother to a 2 year old, I wasn’t a typical Tesla employee, nor was I sure how secure the role was or where the market opportunity for industrial-scale batteries would emerge. However, the success of Hornsdale put large-scale batteries firmly on the map and demonstrated to the world what Tesla and its technology was capable of.

Sometimes in life, you have to take risks to progress, even if the path ahead is uncertain. I will always be grateful to the people throughout my career who took a chance on me and believe it is important to now give back to other women. Empowered women empower other women.

In what ways can we challenge gender bias in the workplace? Where do you think it is most effective?

Challenging bias in the workplace starts with awareness and confronting people about their (sometime unconscious) biased behaviour is a good starting point. This might involve a difficult conversation but generally most people respond positively, once they are made aware of the impact of their actions.

Culture in an organisation is usually set by the example of the leadership team. Having strong leaders who challenge any bias sends a powerful message that “this is not how we do things around here” and outdated attitudes and beliefs will not be tolerated. This also has the impact of empowering others to have the confidence to “choose to challenge” at different levels throughout the organisation.

无论是在工作场所还​​是通过在家中更公平地分享家务和家庭家务和育儿，我们都可以挑战性别偏见。这具有在工作中进展平等的效果，使家长能够为其儿童扮演模型的职位，以塑造未来劳动力的期望。全球大流行创造了一个独特的机会来解决这种不平衡，我很高兴看到我们如何在科迪德世界中迈进。