Women are slowly, yet gradually getting included in the energy sector. 

In fact, many believe that the industry’s transition towards greener energy is favoring this inclusion.

The Renewable Energy sector is relatively new and has a working culture that is still quite flexible. This offers more opportunities for women to enter the job market with less stigmas and less chances of being overlooked. 

The benefits of including women in energy

The Gender Diversity Report of 2019 highlighted a number of benefits of empowering more women in the energy industry. Some of them are: 

Recruitment

With the increasing demand for energy and new technologies, these sectors struggle with skill shortages in engineering. Companies that limit themselves to only recruiting men, further narrow the skilled talent pool they have available for staffing. Thus, hiring more women can help with labor shortages, enlarge the talent pool and encourage local recruitment. 

Profitability

In the mining industry, the top 100 companies for high profit margins and social success have more women on their boards. Furthermore, providing equal opportunities and treatment to women in the workforce would boost the global economy. According to Mckinsey Global Institute, if all countries were to close their gender gap, the worldwide GDP would increase by $12 trillion USD by 2025.

Meeting Expectations

Boards with greater gender diversity demonstrate greater accountability, collaboration, improved governance, and increased compliance with national and international regulations. Basically, diverse boards have higher acceptance rates from the public and investors. 

Improved Performance 

Companies with more women employees have better teamwork and communication skills and greater creativity in solving problems. Additionally, they outperform homogeneous teams on several metrics, including fostering greater innovation. 

Better safety records

Female employees are more likely to follow safety protocols, treat equipment responsibly and operate safely. Thus, women-operated equipment usually requires less maintenance and repair.

The leaders shaping the industry

Earlier this year, Oil and Gas investor and Hart Energy announced the honorees of the ‘25 Influential Women in Energy’ list of 2020. This marks the third consecutive year of celebrating the merits of outstanding female leaders in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. 

The list of honorees here: 

• Tanya Andrien, Chief Operating Officer, Enverus
• Ami Arief, Senior Vice President, Tellurian Production LLC
• Emily Baker, Chief Commercial Officer & Founding Partner, Lotus Midstream LLC
• Andrejka Bernatova, Investor and Advisor, Energy Technology and Infrastructure
• Bonnie Black, Vice President, Drilling, Pioneer Natural Resources Co.
• Amanda Brock, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Commercial Officer, Solaris Water Midstream LLC
• Jaime Butler, Vice President, Permian, Baker Hughes Co.
• Stephanie Cox, CEO, Wood
• Kate Day, Partner, Bracewell LLP
• Hinda Gharbi, Executive Vice President, Reservoir & Infrastructure, Schlumberger Ltd.
• Andree Griffin, Unconventional Development Manager, ExxonMobil Corp.
• Johanna Haggstrom, Director of Technology, Halliburton Co.
• Sam Holroyd, Executive Advisor, Lantana Energy Advisors
• Wendy King, Vice President, Great Plains Business Unit, Lower 48, ConocoPhillips
• Cathy Lebsack, Vice President, Land & Exploration, New Ventures, Devon Energy Corp.
• Shauna Noonan, SPE President, Director of Artificial Lift, Occidental Petroleum Corp.
• Eileen Perillo, Vice President Finance, Unconventionals, Shell USA Co.
• Tiffany Polak, Development Director, Marathon Oil Corp.
• Heather Powell, President & CEO, Ventana E&P LLC
• Kristen Ray, Vice President of Technology fo Petroleum & Legacy U.S. Assets, BHP
• Julie Robertson, Chairman, CEO & President, Noble Corp.
• Brenda Schroer, Senior Vice President, CFO & Treasurer, Concho Resources Inc.
• Liz Schwarze, Vice President, Global Exploration, Chevron Corp.
• Kristin Thomas, Senior Vice President, Public Relations, Continental Resources Inc.
• Cindy Yeilding, Senior Vice President (Incoming OTC Chairwoman),BP America Inc.

Congratulations to all!