Women in STEM Spotlight: Samantha Freebairn
Samantha Freebairn is the Senior Manager of Aviation Safety Training at Qantas Airways. Previously, she was a pilot for the Royal Australian Air Force, where she flew humanitarian and combat missions across Asia and globally and conducted aeromedical evacuations. Throughout her career, Samantha has forged partnerships between inter-government agencies, police, fire and rescue, and civil industry to drive cultural change for women working in male-dominated environments. Under her leadership, her team in the Air Force developed programs that doubled women pilot numbers in two years after being stagnant for the prior 30 years.
Having now transitioned to a corporate role, Samantha, amongst her many responsibilities, is implementing new augmented reality solutions into safety training. She dreams of encouraging more little girls who love rainbows to study physics and take to the skies!
1. How did you decide to become a pilot?
I have always been fascinated by airplanes. On a family holiday to Hamilton Island, a small island off the coast of Australia that’s part of the Great Barrier Reef, I took my first aircraft flight when I was nine. That was during the 1980s when kids could still visit the flight deck and meet the pilots during the flight. I still remember the pilots looking back at us kids and asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Without missing a beat, I chorused back “pilot."
I soon learned I would need to be good at math, science, and English to become a pilot. That wasn’t a problem because I loved math and science. I grew up in a small town in Australia with paddocks and farms, and went to an all-girls school. At no point during my childhood did I ever rule myself out of things on account of being a girl.
2. The Air Force Graduate Pilot Scheme, as part of a broader initiative called Project WINTER (Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles), has increased the number of women pilots in the Royal Australian Air Force. What did Project WINTER involve?
When I commenced Project WINTER in 2011, the Air Force had not met pilot recruitment targets for the preceding eight years. A different way of thinking was needed to not only recruit high-caliber candidates but also retain the high-quality talent already in the organization.
Women were one of the target demographics with high-quality candidates but low application and success rates. Project WINTER identified that traditional recruitment methods were not reaching or resonating across the diverse demography of Australian society. We needed to take a multi-faceted approach to demystify military aviation.
To change our mindset, we framed our program around these questions: ‘What would it take to have a female Chief of Air Force?’ and ‘What are the barriers associated with the recruitment, retention, progression, and support of women pilots?’ Our research revealed that the Air Force needed to cluster women in their training to normalize their presence. This prevented women from being labeled as ‘tokens’ at operational squadrons. We also needed to provide support throughout pregnancy and motherhood, as motherhood was a common reason women exited the military.
Through Project WINTER, we identified an opportunity to accelerate women’s training pathways earlier in their careers, enabling more flexibility and ongoing progression later. Under the Graduate Pilot Scheme, we partnered with universities with aviation training to create pathways for their female students to become pilots. We also created a program to guarantee women an operational role after maternity leave. This allowed more women to have children at any point in their careers. Previously, women pilots would delay motherhood or leave the military entirely because they didn’t want to be posted to an administrative role.
3. How has your experience working in Asia and other parts of the world shaped who you are today?
My work in Asia has been transformative both personally and professionally. As part of the Air Force, I was often part of the first response efforts to deliver humanitarian aid. Flying critical equipment, supplies, and people during challenging times, like the Bali Bombings evacuations in 2022, requires a different approach. It would not have met any desired outcome if I were only mission-focused during a vulnerable time instead of leading with kindness, empathy, adaptability, and open-minded curiosity. Flying those types of missions required a different approach.
My career journey has taught me invaluable lessons about human courage and spirit in the face of adversity, resilience, collaboration, innovative thinking, and the absolute superpower of diversity when tackling important and seemingly insurmountable challenges.
4. You have now transitioned into a corporate career with Qantas Airways. What can the private sector do to encourage more women to enter and stay within STEM careers?
In the military, training is systemized, and people are valued over the long term. Where possible, I would encourage companies to take a longer-term view of talent. This requires a deeper understanding of why women are not entering, progressing, or staying within STEM careers within their organizations and industries.
Based on my experience, it is incredibly important to normalize STEM education and careers for women and girls at home, school, and the workplace. This may involve clustering within training pathways, ensuring women are not isolated in the workplace. Or it may require identifying and promoting influencers and role models at every stage of a woman’s STEM journey. Studying STEM provided me with underlying knowledge to then build on in my chosen profession. Aside from needing to be able to learn aerodynamics, STEM provided me with an ability to critically analyze in a logical way and seek precision in execution, but probably most critically, it taught me how to be adaptable. During my entire career, I have had to adapt. Adapt to changing situations, new technologies, different teams, and various environments. Overall, I believe that ‘STEM’ is a mindset. We need to encourage everyone to have skills in critical thinking and creative problem-solving.
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