As part of our continuing Women in Energy series, Rita Brown talks to award-winning Chevron employee, mother and mentor Alex Fordham.
What were your interests growing-up?
I grew up in London in the 1980s, spent a lot of time out and about on my bike around the Thames and always had an interest in nature. As a family, we holidayed around the South Coast and I was always fascinated by the sights such as the Durdle Door arch in Dorset but it wasn’t until we moved as a family to Yorkshire that I was completely blown away by the contrast in the environment. It was so different to what I had been used to when living in an urban city and it sparked my curiosity in how these natural landscapes had evolved over time.
What was your introduction to STEM?
It all came from my natural curiosity about how landscapes were created. My geography teacher focused on physical geography which talked directly to my interest in the natural world. She had a real knack for taking the classroom outside so organising field trips to places such as Ikley Moor in West Yorkshire where you can see the results of Ice Age glaciers and geological forces in action.
I probably didn’t realise at the time where all these interests were leading me until my older brother began his A Level in geology. I would catch sight of him doing his homework and it really captured my imagination and spurred me on to learn more.
How did you get into the oil industry?
I completed my BSc in Geology at the University of Liverpool in 2001 and from there, came to the University of Aberdeen to undertake my PhD. I originally planned to stay in academia but while undertaking multi-company, industry-sponsored projects, I began to build my network within the oil and gas industry. The people I met were extremely enthusiastic and I could see how working in industry was a way of applying my education to real-life developments, rather than just theory-based learning. By this stage, I had also decided I wanted to stay in Aberdeen so it was a natural fit.
What was your exposure to the industry before carving out a career in it?
Beyond working with joint industry projects while at university and having friends who had joined oil and gas companies, not much.
How would you describe yourself?
I’m a dyed-in-the wool geeky scientist who truly believes that understanding how physical processes shape the world around us is fundamentally cool and that being able to read a landscape and how it got there only adds to its beauty. That I can use this knowledge in my career, in a practical way that is actually useful, is a bonus.
I love communicating my passion for the natural world with others, adults and children alike. I was secretary of the Aberdeen Geological Society for eight years and that is testament to my love for sharing information. Sourcing interesting people to talk about different subjects and current research constantly stimulated my mind and I loved seeing the impact this had on others.
What has your experience as a woman in STEM been like? Any moments which stand out?
I couldn’t say that I could attribute any negative experiences in my career to my gender, although I am certainly aware of it. For example, in a large meeting I am often in the minority and as my name is often abbreviated to ‘Alex’, people can naturally assume I am male before we meet, but I don’t feel that my gender has ever held me back.
For me one of the most exciting parts of working in oil and gas is the seemingly limitless opportunities. Having a combination of technical discipline and soft skills has led to me experiencing a variety of different roles, cultures and countries.
In my experience, Chevron is a company that truly assesses people on merit. I believe you can do anything if you work hard enough.
You’ve been heavily involved in mentorship. How many people do you think you have mentored and why is it so important to you?
I’ve been a mentor with TechFest’s STEM in the Pipeline programme for secondary school pupils for more than 10 years. I run the geoscience workshop where I provide a crash course in petroleum geoscience for about 90 pupils from 15 local schools. When developing my workshop, I try to base it on my own experience in school, demonstrating my own passion for the subject, which will hopefully rub off on pupils. Over the years, I’ve mentored almost 1,000 kids and as time goes on, I am increasingly bumping into them at meetings and industry events. It’s a great feeling to know that something I said may have made an impact.
At a fundamental level, geology helps you understand the wonder of the world we live in, but more than that, it can offer a fantastic career with global opportunities. Geology as an independent subject is not usually covered across schools and so I believe it’s more important than ever that we, as professionals, go the extra mile to showcase it as a petrotechnical discipline.
How would you grade the industry in getting women involved? What could it be better at?
Things are definitely changing, but it takes time and concerted effort to communicate the right messages to children early. By the time they are in secondary school, it is often too late as they have made academic choices which steer them in a particular direction. Investment in STEM education and subjects early on is crucial.
Perception also has a big part to play. This is an area where I’ve seen improvement, for example, women in adverts for the oil and gas industry. In my experience working with many children over the years, the majority of them don’t see their gender as a barrier. Chevron has a number of women in senior positions, for example our managing director here in CUE, Greta
Lydecker, who is also originally a geologist. Wider society needs to make an effort to see women in these positions routine, so it doesn’t even need to be commented on.
Once you get into the workplace, as a mother myself, I feel employers promoting flexibility for both men and women could play a big role in attracting more diversity into industry. We have made great technological advances in communications over the last 10 years and this could be better deployed to let people integrate their work and personal commitments more flexibly.
What’s your hope for women’s role in the future of energy?
I hope women continue to be valued and judged for their contribution. Beyond just gender, any problem is best solved with multiple perspectives, and so the more diversity you bring into an organisation, the better the solution. If I can communicate even an element of my wonder about the natural world to a student and switch a light on for them to think about starting on the path to join us in the oil and gas industry, then it’s worth it. It’s exciting to work in a dynamic and innovative industry that is driven by technological advancement and seeing that excitement in others – at such a young age – is extremely rewarding.
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