A young Australian woman has revealed how “sexist” workplace culture forced her to quit her six-figure FIFO job.
Brooke McIntosh was just 22 when she became a sales assistant in the mines of Western Australia.
She rose through the ranks and was earning more than $100,000 a year as a truck driver when she decided to leave her five-year career.
Ms McIntosh became disillusioned with the male-dominated FIFO industry, where the barrage of sexist comments about her ability to do her job and even her body eventually caught up with her.
She found that sexist culture persisted throughout the industry, even after she took a pay cut to go into construction.
Reflecting on her experiences, McIntosh, now 28, said working in the trade as a woman was like “walking on eggshells” as workplace banter quickly turned sour.
“You can be making a good joke and then someone says something inappropriate. If you wouldn’t say it to your sister, your daughter or your mother, don’t say it to me,” he said. news.com.au.
Former FIFO worker Brooke McIntosh (pictured) has revealed the horrific sexist culture that permeates all trades and caused her to leave a six-figure job.
Ms. McIntosh found herself being one of the few or only women on a team, leaving her in the minority wherever she went.
She said her time in the industry made her feel like she was “a piece of meat.”
“If your pants were a little tight, people would say, ‘Oh, those pants fit you well,'” she said.
When she tried to crack down on her male workers’ “back to the kitchen” mentality, Ms. McIntosh’s work life only became more difficult.
She recalled how every time she scolded a worker for an unprofessional comment, they would “stay silent and feel unpleasant,” leading others to comment, “don’t talk too much around her.”
While she genuinely enjoyed the goal-oriented and well-paid work, Ms McIntosh left the industry after her mental health hit an “all-time low”.
Ms McIntosh called on men in the workplace to help stamp out toxic behaviour, saying: “They need to call out their colleagues in the workplace.”
Ms Mcintosh said her mental health was at its lowest while working in a mine as a woman, adding that workplace banter quickly turned sour.
The former FIFO worker began working as a business coach and founded casastayz, a company that helps Australians maximise the potential of their AirBnBs.
Ms McIntosh has also become an advocate for mental health awareness, having run from the Pilbara to Perth to raise $42,000 for her 20Talk project and Blue Tree.
She is now training to become the youngest and fastest woman to run around Australia, covering 80km on a 14,000km route.
His aim is to have Australians cover sections of the route alongside him in an attempt to raise a further million dollars for the Blue Tree Project.
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