- Conference
- 2022 Energy Service Group Conference
- Date
- 14 February 2022
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference picture someone working in the energy sector, and you are likely to mentally summon up an image of a white, middle-aged male. Although a lack of diversity isn’t unique to energy, it is an issue that needs solving.
While the situation is improving, it’s not changing fast enough, recent events have rightly woken up the world up to racial disparity once more. The good news is, there are things the industry can do to improve diversity, while also providing a better service to its customers.
“According to a recent survey for EqualBy30 carried out by technology company Diversio, women account for 32% of the global energy sector workforce, while racial and ethnic minorities account for 22%. For racial and ethnic minorities, the C-Suites leaders’ percentage is even lower, 20%
Diversity and inclusion have been on the energy sectors agenda for a while, but if we want to create a more inclusive workplace, every single person in the energy sector needs to work on tackling biased opinion through training in recruitment.
Few Black students enter the industry, so there’s a problem in terms of getting young people from education into the sector. The energy sector is overwhelmingly white, either when you’re talking about policy, or roles. It’s hard to find Black leaders, it’s hard to visualise career progression, and it’s hard to map out your career without that.
Energy has an opportunity to think creatively, going beyond their existing recruitment networks and invest in the future. We need to break down the barriers affecting professional development, and help Black members create their own career path in the sector.
Conference calls on the Energy Service Group Executive to
1. Work with NBMC and Higher Education SGE to encourage more Black students to enter the energy industry
2. Create a more inclusive organisation by building a culture of inclusivity and engaging with the NBMC on engagement with employers on the following areas:
a. Removing gender language from job adverts
b. Introducing blind CVs with no racial or socio-economic indicators
c. Diverse interview panel
d. Introducing Ethnicity Pay Gap monitoring