International Women's Day
International Women's Day
To recognise this important day, we wanted to take a moment to highlight and share the amazing work, journeys, successes and hardships of the women at SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium.
Click their profiles below to learn more!
Who are you and what do you do?
I am a qualified zoo keeper with my Cert 3 in Captive Animals and am currently sharing my time between SEA LIFE Melbourne and a veterinary clinic whilst undergoing my Cert 4 in vet nursing. Completing my Cert 4 will allow me to continue to care for our incredible animals in more ways that benefit their overall well-being and health.
I have a musical theatre background and in a past life I sailed around the world singing, made the transition 3 years ago and haven’t looked back. Now I sing to our incredible birds whilst scrubbing the rocks! 😊
In your opinion, why is it important that more women get into roles like yours?
To inspire the next generation of young girls out there!
What do you think is the biggest issue today facing women in roles like yours?
Being underestimated, our job is incredibly physical and requires a lot of manual labour. Jobs such as plumbing, shoveling and physically demanding trade-orientated jobs are usually thought of as a "man's job", but us ladies do it all! We use the power tools, we do the plumbing, we lift kilos of food daily and we move mountains of snow! Just because we are women doesn’t mean that it's 'too hard' for us.
How did you end up in your role?
When I finished high school I went to University and studied a Bachelor of Conservation Biology and Ecology. After that I applied for internships, volunteer programs and cadetships in multiple different organisations so that I could gain industry experience. SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium offered me a work experience placement and at the end of that they offered me a job! And ten years later I am still here! Since then I have done multiple other courses including my Certificate III Captive Animals, as well as multiple commercial scuba diving courses.
What does a normal day look like for you?
A typical day involves many different tasks. Including:
- Checking all the filtration systems and noting down any maintenance or cleaning to do later in the day
- Preparing food
- Weighing food
- Feeding animals
- Recording food consumption
- Entering the data on to the computer and analysing the results.
- Scuba diving to clean the exhibits – lots of scrubbing!
- Administering medication to any animals that require them.
- Creating and implementing animal enrichment and monitoring the results.
- Monitoring animal behaviour and creating animal training programs.
- Testing water quality
- Entering the data on the computer, analysing trends and then cleaning to fix the water quality issues.
There is a lot of cleaning to make the exhibits hygienic for the animals as well as making them look nice for our customers. The filtration systems also need a lot of cleaning to remove any waste from the water.
Then there are the odd jobs such as working with marketing on any campaigns or with the education team to help out with school groups. Our normal day finishes with checking all the systems to make sure that everything is working correctly so that no issues will arise over night when we are not here.
In your opinion, why is it important that more women get into roles like yours?
In my opinion, having gender equality in the work place is paramount. Everyone has different skill sets and views on issues in the workplace and having diversity will only lead to better outcomes. For our line of work, these better outcomes all lead to better animal welfare so it is very important.
Do you think there’s a stereotype attached to women in your role? What barriers have you faced, as a woman, in becoming successful in your field? How did you overcome them?
I have very rarely felt barriers from my own workplace in my job due to being a woman. Which I am very lucky to be able to say that. Mostly being labelled as a stereotype comes from the external people like contractors or customers who don’t know what I do in my normal day to day job. For example, customers will often comment on ‘the man’ scuba diving in the water however never think that woman can also do that job. I scuba dive multiple times a week and have clocked up over one thousand dives here at SEA LIFE in my ten years of work here. My diving duties include cleaning as well as large animal catch outs such as sharks and stingrays.
What’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to a woman thinking of starting their career or more specifically a career like yours?
I would encourage all women to pursue a career in the zoos & aquariums industry. If you are passionate about it then absolutely anyone can go after their dreams. Women are good at science. Women are good at plumbing and trade work. Women aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty. So my advice would be to just get out there are go for it!
Who is your biggest influences and/or icon?
My biggest influences are the strong women in my life including my mum and my grandmother. Tereza, my manager, is also a big influence. She has been here at SEA LIFE since my first day of work here and has moulded me in to the Aquarist I am today.
How did you get here and what's it like to be an Aquarist/Penguin Keeper?
I did a Zoology degree as well as a veterinary nursing degree, and I have been volunteering with animal shelters, rescues, zoos and vet clinics since I was in high school.
We, zookeepers, are often told by other people that we are “lucky” to work where or with the animals that we do. Yes, we consider ourselves some of the luckiest people in the world! We knew when we started caring for animals that we wouldn’t get public holidays, we don’t get Christmas or Easter holidays at home, we work overnight and around the clock and we are ready to drop everything to come in and work if we need to.
We are here when they wake up each morning, we are here when they go to sleep each night, we watch them open their eyes for the first time and close their eyes for the last. We are lucky but we worked hard to get here, and we will never stop working hard.
What’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to a woman thinking of starting their career or more specifically a career like yours?
You don’t need to have a thick skin. Working in a vet clinic as well as zoo keeping, you see a lot of emotional situations. We care for these animals as if they are our own, and you are sometimes told to “have a thicker skin”, “not be so emotional”, “be tougher”. I disagree - I think you need to feel every loss, have a cry at the end of a stressful day, get excited when something good happens, it makes you a better keeper.
You need to be resilient, bounce back from situations quickly and be able to act fast in an emergency, but once the emergency is over, debrief and don’t be afraid to say you are struggling with certain aspects of the job.
We don’t shut the animals off each night like a computer and go home and forget, we take them with us everywhere, and it makes you good at your job to have empathy and concern (it's called intuition), but you also need to have other things in your life that make you who you are.
Hobbies, goals, social lives! Working in the animal field is not like other fields where a work/life balance is important, it can be harder to achieve but it's definitely a goal everyone should have.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Tabatha and I am an Aquarist at SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium. My primary responsibility is caring for the animals in our Rainforest Walk on Level One. These include snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles, lots of freshwater fish and a saltwater crocodile! I am also the primary Aquarist caring for our second largest marine exhibit in the building, the coral atoll.
What barriers have you faced, as a woman, in becoming successful in your field? How did you overcome them?
Working in the field or as a Zookeeper or Aquarist, many of your colleagues are men. Because this is physical work I have been overlooked for many tasks as they are viewed as a "mans" job or because "it just might be a bit hard for you sweetheart" with no regard for my actual skill or strength. It can be extremely frustrating to work hard for your dream career your whole life and be overlooked because of your gender.
I wouldn't say the issue is gone. Unfortunately, this is something women in this industry continue to face but there is strength in numbers. With more women in the industry, it makes those remarks easier to brush off, gives women more opportunities to push back and do those physical or trade-like tasks because they won't be isolated and most importantly it gives more women the opportunity to move up the ranks and create real change.
What’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to a woman thinking of starting their career or more specifically a career like yours?
Don't give up! I know we hear it all the time and I know it gets tiring but please don't give up. You can do anything you put your mind to and if you are tired of battling push harder to help ensure the next woman doesn't have to face these stereotypes. Not only will you be doing an incredibly important task, but you will also feel accomplished and fulfilled. Keep pushing forward.
How did you get here?
I worked as a volunteer at Reef HQ and after completing my Bachelor of Science (with honours) at James Cook University, I began the search for my dream career. I went for an interview at Mooloolaba Underwater World to make myself known to the industry. Upon returning home to Melbourne I got the call for a job at the newly built Melbourne Underwater World from interviewing in Queensland. You never know where you'll end up if you don't get out there and try!
What do you think is the biggest issue today facing women in roles like yours?
It’s a male dominated area still – however society has encouraged women in male-dominated roles and has become largely more accepting of women in this space.
Women typically excel in this field as they are naturally maternal and are able to provide excellent care and necessary husbandry that our animals require.
Don't let anyone stand in your way. Chase your dreams!
What change would you like to see in the world?
More support for one another and respecting different backgrounds.
Everyone has unique attributes and contributions that they can bring to a team.
What's one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
Be open minded, keep learning and persevere. Not everyone will support you in your journey but you'll learn to trust in yourself!
