Breaking barriers and shaping futures: Three female senior engineers leading change in Fife

At the Mossmorran site, qualified Chemical Engineers Susannah Storey, Sarah Polspoel, and Hannah Simpson hold senior roles, overseeing major process functions and leading hundreds of team members working across operations, safety, and environment.

Their career journeys have been anything but conventional, but together, they are playing a central role in driving performance, while paving the way for future generations.

Susannah is FEP’s Safety, Security, Health and Environment Manager, and leads the team that is responsible for the safety and compliance of around 500 employees and contractors who lead the process of producing up to 830,000 tonnes of ethylene per year. 

At school, she was often the only girl in her physics classes, something that felt more like a personal challenge than a deterrent. “I didn’t come from a family of engineers, in fact, most of my family worked in law or accounting. Choosing engineering felt like a bit of a rebellion,” she said. “But I loved that I had to work harder at it, and with that there was more personal satisfaction”. Susannah’s advice is to “not be bound by what you see around you, but feel empowered to break the mould and explore opportunities that you didn’t realise where out there.”  

Hannah, the first female Business Team Leader at FEP is responsible for a department of more than 60 skilled technicians, and is equally driven about the path to seniority: “You have to advocate for yourself. Make it clear where you want to go, and don’t wait to be asked. I’ve moved from technical roles into strategic leadership, and I’ve been vocal about where my strengths lie and what my ambitions are.”

Process Manager, Sarah, began her career at ExxonMobil as an engineer before progressing into senior product roles in Brussels. She later returned to manufacturing, where she now leads a team comprising more than 90 people. Her day-to-day responsibilities include managing the plant to ensure it remains safe and reliable, and continues to deliver maximum results. 

All three women acknowledge that engineering is still a male-dominated field, and while that progress is improving, there is always work to be done.

“The chemical industry is still very male-dominated, with only around 25% of those entering engineering being women, which is consistent with overall number of women entering engineering. That said, we are seeing improvements in female leadership. It’s something we can actively track year on year to understand where we are improving. We do this because we believe a diversity of thoughts and styles result in the best decisions.’’ explained Sarah.

“Alpha behaviour can still be present in the workplace, however it’s important to stay yourself and stand firm. There have been times where I’ve had to work harder to be heard as I had a different style to the majority in the room, however persistency ensured I got the outcome I wanted. Fortunately, I’ve also had the support of brilliant mentors who helped me grow, and I now strive to do the same for others.”

Agreeing with this sentiment, Hannah believes the key lies in shaping the culture for the better: “We’re actively trying to improve recruitment and open the door to a more diverse network. Real allyship is about speaking up, even when inequality doesn’t affect you directly.”

Susannah says she is “very deliberate in supporting females to succeed in their roles through coaching and challenging biases that exist in the workplace”.

Sarah adds: “My advice is to aim high. Go in with the mindset that you will over-deliver and bring the best results ever seen in your job. Learn from people leaders and approach your work as you would if you owned it. It’s this kind of focus, ambition and confidence that will carry you forward. It can be easy to feel like you need to justify your presence. That’s why having that inner belief matters.”

For more information about ExxonMobil Fife, please visit: www.exxonmobil.co.uk

ENDS

About ExxonMobil Fife

Operating round the clock, 365 days a year, and employing around 500 valued staff and contractors, ExxonMobil’s Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) has the capacity to produce more than 800,000 tonnes of ethylene per year, and is one of the most modern plants of its kind in Europe.

Ethylene produced at FEP is safely transported by pipeline to the Braefoot Bay Marine terminal on the River Forth and shipped to continental Europe where it is a vital base chemical in a range of products that touch our lives every day.