New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Improving gender diversity in the UK energy sector
2/8/2023
8 min read
Feature
Following the publication of POWERful Women’s Annual State of the Nation report in May revealing a disappointing lack of headway on gender diversity in the UK’s energy sector, Madeline Watts interviews Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica and Chair of the Energy Leaders’ Coalition, to find out his thoughts on achieving a more inclusive workplace.
Q: What was your initial reaction to this year’s State of the Nation report?
A: It’s good that we’re making progress. However, it’s quite clear that we’re not making enough progress and we’re not making that progress fast enough. We’ve got to really question ourselves and see what we could do better to get the results and what could be hampering the results.
Q: Why do you think gender diversity in the energy industry remains behind the FTSE 350 and sectors such as mining and tobacco?
A: To change representation in any industry – whether it’s gender, race, nationality – you need to take a multifaceted approach to it. You need to have visible role models, that’s really important at the top end of the pipeline. You also need to actively increase recruitment at the other end – meaning early career talent – and you have to pull them through the system.
I suspect that many organisations focus too much on role models and not enough on getting people into these industries. The pipeline doesn’t work if you’ve got air bubbles in it. If you don’t have role models then you might not be able to attract the right people to the industry. But if you only have role models then it won’t be sustainable.