International Women’s Day 2021 – diversity in the wake of disaster

March 8th marks International Women’s Day, a day the international community has dedicated to reflecting on the state of gender equality. In 2021 this reflection is paramount, as we assess the impact of the COVID-19 crisis that has ravaged our world and shone a spotlight on the social imbalances still prevalent in our societies.

As primary caregivers in the unequal distribution of domestic labour, women have taken on an unequal burden during this time, when private and professional lives have become so intertwined. This has left many with an increased domestic burden in addition to pressures of employment risk, health risk, and the mental strain resulting from this period of crisis. Not to mention the scourge of gender-based violence experienced by women the world over, often in their own homes to which they were restricted during ongoing national lockdowns.

There is no denying that this past year has been devastating, and we will continue to deal with its setbacks for many years to come. However, as we look toward the future there is one glimmering flicker of hope in the midst of the devastation – the opportunity to build back better.

As vaccines begin to make an appearance and are rolled out slowly but surely, organised entities in every shape and form are putting plans in place to reposition goals and adjust organisational structures, finding ways to strengthen their weakened positions. There is opportunity here for willing organisations to build gender equality into these plans, making just representation a part of the very fabric of their operations.  

The energy industry is arguably one of the best positioned to seize this opportunity and focus on improving a gender imbalance that continues to pose a major threat to future sector sustainability. In oil and gas, women account for only 1/5^th of the employee base, with the percentage of female representation dropping as ranks become more senior, reaching only 1% at CEO level.

A report released in 2017 by the Boston Consulting Group and World Petroleum Council, explains the impact of this imbalance to be threefold. Firstly, a small pool of female talent only grows smaller as women are discouraged from joining the industry or leave prematurely. Second, companies lose the opportunity for higher quality of teamwork, diversity of perspectives and creativity in problem-solving that has proven to characterise more diverse teams. Finally, a noticeable lack of diversity poses a reputational risk to the industry, as women are not attracted to careers in the sector, creating a vicious cycle.

The small pool of women in the industry is not due to a lack of ambition or flexibility. The afore-mentioned BCG report found men and women to be largely as ambitious as each other, and that women are often in fact as flexible or even more so than their male counterparts. In a gender-focused survey of energy employees conducted by NES Fircroft and energyjobline in 2020, only 24% of female respondents answered that ‘lack of flexible working benefits’ was a reason they would consider leaving their current role.

On the whole, these two reports found that a lack of communication around promotion and a lack of support for advancement were the most-cited reasons for women feeling unable to progress in the industry. 45% of respondents in the 2020 study cited ‘lack of leadership opportunities’ as a reason they might leave their current positions, with a further 40% citing ‘lack of training/mentoring opportunities’ as a secondary reason. It was further found that 50% of women stated they were considering moving away from the sector, confirming the threat of a continually diminishing female talent pool in the industry.

Images sourced from, Nes Fircroft. (2020). Women in Energy: Global Study 2.0.

UN Women have chosen an apt theme in this regard for International Women’s Day this year, that of ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’. The organisation has highlighted the vital importance of having female representatives at the highest levels of both public and private life, in order to build women’s perspectives into future crisis responses. At the governance level, women leaders from countries the likes of Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, New Zealand and Slovakia have been praised for their rapid response and effective structures put in place to manage the COVID-19 crisis. At the community level women have been vital to relief efforts as healthcare workers, domestic caregivers and community organisers. Women have proven time and time again that they too are capable of leading efficiently and successfully, and can do so alongside men in the energy industry.

So what might energy companies do to break this cycle of underrepresentation? When asked what excited them most about the industry, 59% of women in the 2020 survey cited ‘working on solutions to meet evolving energy demands’ as a primary reason, while a further 59% also cited ‘variety of projects’ as another reason. 70% answered that ‘sponsored training and learning’ was the most desirable work benefit to get from an organisation, far outweighing the traditional face-value concessions women are offered such as ‘free gym membership’ (28%) or even ‘enhanced maternity leave’ (only 22%).

Women in this industry are hungry to learn. They are skilled, capable and ready to take on new challenges. All they need is enhanced support. Better communication around promotion opportunities will mean more women are aware of the possibilities for advancement. Sponsorship and mentoring will provide the necessary guidance for mid-career women to feel capable in upholding a healthy work-life balance. Broadening the range of career paths from which senior positions are filled will provide more opportunity for women to step in to executive roles, which in turn will encourage younger colleagues that this kind of promotion is well within their reach.

This change is not inevitable, and will not take place organically. Historical power structures were created intentionally, with the aim of sustaining the influence of the powerful. Undoing these structures therefore requires intentional action, with the express purpose of breaking traditional institutional barriers. A destructive force as strong as the COVID-19 pandemic does some of the work, in that it breaks down existing structures to the point of needing reconstruction. It is therefore up to organisational leaders to grasp this opportunity for renewal and take intentional steps towards a more just and equitable system.

The Women’s Energy Council intends to uplift and champion the voices of those who have done and are doing this taxing, intentional work. Throughout the month of March, we will release weekly podcasts highlighting the stories and experiences of some of the women who have blazed a trail to high-level leadership in the industry. These will be accompanied by other content surrounding the themes of diversity and inclusion in energy, and focused on projects or people that have taken strides towards a new, more equitable sector.

We look forward to sharing these stories with you, and hope you will join us in this journey to a more sustainable future for energy.

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