Lubes’n’Greases: What about the lubricants industry was attractive to you? What about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields in general were appealing to you when choosing a career path?

Baker: My interest kind of developed from school. When I was picking my focus area, I knew I didn’t want to do English, because I just wasn’t into writing. I’ve always been pretty good at math and science, so I picked them basically because I enjoy them and understood them. 

When I was thinking about what my next step was and what I wanted to do, I had a very good teacher at the time. I went to a school where a lot of the teachers had very small classes. It was very one-on-one with teachers and students, which was really good and provided a lot of contact time. My teacher set some time aside because I was struggling a little bit during chemistry. Then things just clicked, and I just understood it. So when I was applying to universities, I knew I could do chemistry, and I just felt very inspired by that teacher, I guess. 

I knew I needed to get some hands-on experience during my degree to be able to go into industry. I didn’t really know what that looked like at the time. My knowledge at the time was that you get involved with the big pharmaceutical companies or medicinal-type companies, but I wasn’t really aware of the industrial side of chemistry. So I was applying for this placement and applied for probably 12 placements before I ended up getting offered a job with a big industrial coatings company. I absolutely loved my year there and knew I wanted to work in an industrial setting. 

To an extent, you have to wait for opportunities to open up to you, but I knew what I wanted to do after I graduated. I ended up getting rehired after I graduated. It was a couple hours away from home at the time, so I relocated. I ended up wanting to come back closer to my family a couple years later, so I moved jobs for a bit more of a step up. Then the role at Rocol came up, and that’s how I ended up where I am now. 

Lubes’n’Greases: You talked about a teacher who helped you to realize your passion and aptitude for chemistry. Do you have any other mentors who helped you get to where you are now? 

Baker: In my early career, I had one really good manager after I graduated. I’d say a lot more of my mentorship and guidance has come from my time at Rocol. I feel like I found myself a company that seems to have seen something in me and has fostered and encouraged my growth as a scientist. A lot of that is because of my old manager—I’ve recently had a promotion, so he isn’t my manager now—but he gave me a lot of guidance, tips and help along the way. And he still does by helping me to see ways to better myself or things to look into to better do my job. 

Across the leadership team as a whole, I think they are really there to promote their employees—to help them better themselves and move up the ranks. I’m glad to have found a company where I feel really settled, and I enjoy the culture that we’ve got going. 

Lubes’n’Greases: What are some of the challenges that you’ve experienced as a woman working in your particular field? On the other hand, what have been some of the triumphs?

Baker: Challenge-wise, I think when I was younger there was a push for more people—not just women—to get involved in STEM disciplines. But I never really knew the options that I could do with it. I really didn’t have an awareness of all the industries that I could be involved with, and I view that as a big challenge. People that recognize what they can do with a STEM degree have that advantage, since that whole world is opened up to them. If you don’t know what you can do with your degree, why would you choose it? You wouldn’t know what path that might lead you down. 

I also think that when I was just starting my career, the fact that I was so young and inexperienced, to an extent, was a challenge. I was at that stage where you just have to go through it and earn your stripes and earn your reputation. 

In terms of triumphs, at Rocol we’ve delivered this PFAS-free food-grade lube product range. Personally, it’s been a massive thing for me to be involved in it, and the recognition that I’ve gotten from the project has been great. I’ve also appreciated the opportunity to be a spokesperson for the product range. I’ve never worked at a company before that would let someone out of the lab for long enough to go deliver that and trust them to do a good job promoting it. It’s been a real highlight. Being able to go out and speak about what I’ve been working on is a huge thing—seeing the start of a project through to the very end, past what would usually be the end for someone in a technical role. It’s been really rewarding and really nice to go out and work with the sales and marketing teams. 

I think another triumph has been my recent promotion, which was quite unexpected, to be honest. So now I have more responsibility across a broader product range. I hadn’t applied for it; it was due to a change within the team, but for someone to say that they’re promoting me because they think I’ve done really well and they think I’d succeed in the next step is very validating. That’s been a huge, huge thing for me and my confidence in myself this year. It’s also been nice to have a small team, so I can influence them and help to develop them, too. 

Lastly, it’s been nice to be recognized as a successful woman in STEM, and it’s sort of like I can be a success story that might inspire other women to take the opportunities that the STEM field can offer them. It’s nice to have that influence to spread across the audiences that you get. 

Lubes’n’Greases: Can you share a bit about what projects you’re working on right now? What challenges have been associated with the work, and how have you navigated them? 

Baker: Some of what we are working on is confidential for the time being. But I can say that we are working on PFAS-free lubricants. We are keeping a close eye on potential new certifications that are coming up and any guidance on any PFAS and food safety regulations. We want Rocol to have that kind of market leadership role. We want to have the latest accreditations and just generally be on the cutting edge of the industry, especially in regard to our food-grade products. 

We’re also doing everything we can to help our customers with their sustainability efforts. What they’re asking for is a big part of what is driving us forward. The same goes for any other accreditations that might come along. The use of mineral oils is a big question at the moment as well as MOSH and MOAH components. 

We do have some other exciting new technologies in the pipeline, too. One is for greases, which I can’t share too much about. We’ve got some cool things happening with our metalworking fluids. We’ve had an apprentice—who is female, actually—who completed her degree through Rocol. Part of her degree was working on creating metalworking formulations that are safer and higher performing.

Lubes’n’Greases: What advice would you offer other women—or anyone else, really—who is interested in a career on the technical side of the lubricants industry? 

Baker: Of course, chemistry, science and STEM as a whole are still male dominated. There’s no denying it. It would be nice to see women in more leadership roles in the future. I think Rocol is actually one of the only places I’ve worked where a lot of women hold pretty high positions throughout the company. 

As for advice, I’d tell women thinking of entering the field to ask anyone you know who works in science or technology for some help, for work experience, and use that to figure out what you actually want to do. Don’t just think, “Oh, it’s male dominated, and I’m not going to fit in there.” 

And for any women that are involved in STEM at the moment, get involved with your local networks and spread the message that STEM can be a good career path for women.  

Sydney Moore is managing editor of Lubes’n’Greases magazine. Contact her at Sydney@LubesnGreases.com