The FINANCIAL — Career prospects for women in the oil and gas industry have improved in recent years and an increasing number of women are taking advantage of those opportunities, according to the majority of energy professionals in the inaugural Global Diversity and Inclusion Report.
While nearly three-quarters of respondents (72%) believed oil and gas remains a male-dominated industry, and there is still a lot of progress to be made, the majority of energy professionals said it was quite or very important for the oil and gas industry to ensure it is attractive to women. This finding is particularly relevant given nearly nine out of ten survey respondents were male.
The industry's progress may be most notable in respondents' thoughts about the future. More than 60% said they expect the greatest increases in female representation to be among professionals just entering the industry and those early in their career, according to BP p.l.c.
"We want women to know that the oil and gas industry has made tremendous strides in recent years and that it offers opportunities not provided by other sectors. Whether working internationally or domestically, onshore or offshore, the possibilities are endless. While the industry acknowledges it still has work to do in terms of a gender balanced pool of talent, the results of this survey demonstrate that industry initiatives and programs to engage women about careers in oil and gas are making an impact and we need to keep focused for them to continue to do so," said Kirsty Bashforth, Group Head of Organizational Effectiveness, BP.
"At BP, we work to attract, motivate, develop and retain the best talent from the diversity the world offers — our ability to be competitive and to thrive globally depends on it. Women, which represented nearly 32 percent of BP's hires last year, are playing an increasingly vital role in the effort. For BP, diversity and inclusion is not a 'nice to have.' It's a 'must have'," he added.
The survey uncovered the barriers and challenges women frequently face in the oil and gas industry, as well as potential solutions for increasing female representation. One in five (20%) strongly agreed gender based discrimination occurs within the industry and respondents cited societal conditioning, a lack of qualified candidates and family care responsibilities as most significant barriers to increasing the proportion of women in the industry. Implementing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs in schools, offering flexible working arrangements and implementing company goals to encourage an improved gender balance were cited as the most important ways to increase female representation.
"We'll never have the best industry if we can't attract the best talent regardless of gender," said Paul Caplan, President of Rigzone. "While barriers still exist and companies can do more to ensure fairness, an oil and gas career offers tremendous global career opportunities, complex problems to solve and above average pay – all reasons talented professionals should consider energy first," he added.
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