Why gender diversity is now business critical in energy leadership
John Tilbrook
The energy sector is undergoing one of the most profound transformations in history. And while decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation are bringing about positive changes, they are also placing unprecedented pressure on leadership teams across oil, gas, power, renewables and infrastructure.
Today’s energy leaders must now balance legacy assets with emerging technologies, respond to evolving regulations, manage geopolitical risk and lead increasingly complex workforces. At the same time, the sector is facing persistent skills shortages at a leadership level, which are only growing as the aforementioned pressures mount.
This issue is one that industry leaders and stakeholders have long tried to tackle, but the underlying issues are vast, and solutions aren’t simple or, in some cases, clear. If we look at gender representation in the sector and at senior levels, for example, there is a clear disparity that is widening the leadership gap, limiting innovation and slowing progress at a time when the sector cannot afford inertia. But how to tackle this is a highly complex puzzle that no one has yet solved.
Gender diversity: The missing piece of the executive talent puzzle
The energy sector is one of the least gender‑diverse parts of the economy, with a particular challenge of misrepresentation at senior level. While data suggests encouraging signs of optimism in middle-tier roles, progress in gender representation at the very top remains slow. According to the latest data from POWERful Women – a professional initiative backed by the Energy Institute – which benchmarks 100 of the largest UK energy employers (a combined workforce of 230,000 people), women are only represented in:
- 30% of company boards roles
- 16% of Executive Director roles on boards
- 34% of Leadership roles
And perhaps more alarmingly, 15 UK energy companies still have no female board members at all.
Why gender diversity is so important for the energy transition
The statistics clearly show that there is a gap in diversity, though arguably those in the sector don’t need the data to know that there is a gap in gender representation – it’s a historical issue that has been talked about for some time. A growing gap in women in STEM at education level is adding to the disparity, but energy employers cannot tackle this root issue themselves as they simply have little sway.
But a solution is needed as many in the sector are already well aware of. Energy will only continue to face unprecedented complexity which will require the best possible leadership set-up to navigate. Given that gender‑balanced leadership teams often consistently demonstrate stronger decision-making and more effective risk management, this is certainly a solution to invest serious thought into.
Diverse teams are better equipped to challenge assumptions, evaluate a wider range of scenarios and avoid ‘groupthink’, all of which are critical when managing long-term infrastructure, regulatory uncertainty and technological change. In addition, businesses with greater gender balance tend to be more innovative and adaptable, with leadership cultures that encourage collaboration, engagement and the exchange of ideas. These cultural strengths translate into higher levels of employee commitment and a more resilient workforce during periods of transformation.
In contrast, leadership teams that lack diversity – gender or otherwise – often reinforce the status quo. Within the energy sector, this has historically resulted in male-dominated cultures, limited flexible working practices and narrow definitions of leadership success that prioritise traditional, linear career paths over transferable transition skills. Such environments can unintentionally exclude or disadvantage capable leaders who bring different perspectives or leadership styles, slowing business progress at a time when agility is increasingly essential.
How forward‑thinking employers are closing the gap
The question, then, is not if firms need to close the gender gap in energy, but rather how they can do so. Businesses in the energy sector need an average of five more women in leadership and 38 more women in middle management to achieve POWERful Women’s goal of 40% women in leadership and middle management across the energy sector by 2030.
Achieving this is going to be no easy task and, unfortunately, there isn’t a silver-bullet to resolving this. Yes, developing early pipelines is crucial for long-term sector resilience, and those who invest now in sponsorship, mentoring, and leadership development for high potential women will create the environment necessary to turn the dial on gender disparity. Redesigning role profiles to value transition skills, collaboration and systems thinking, not just traditional CV markers, can also help.
However, there are other barriers which aren’t easy to tackle. The nature of leadership roles and indeed any job in energy makes it almost impossible to offer elements which would help attract and retain more females. Professionals have to be on-site, which limits both the appeal and the ability to offer flexibility that other sectors may be able to. And, of course, there’s also the fact that you can’t pick up a plant and move it somewhere else – the talent has to come to the plant. That creates geographical limitations on talent pools, which puts further pressure on diverse targets.
We may not have a solution, but one is needed
In a month when we celebrate International Women’s Day, I wanted to bring this topic back to the fore, not perhaps with a solution to the issue, as much as I’d like to have one, but rather with a call to arms for all stakeholders in energy. Gender diversity in the sector has been a concern for years, but the barriers haven’t been removed because there isn’t a clear solution. What we need, is concise collaboration as an industry and a platform to share new ideas together, for the benefit of the sector as a whole.
My question, then, is who will be part of the conversation?
