Women in Energy Is Still A Work in Progress
To mark International Women’s Day, GridDuck spoke to Dhara Vyas, deputy director for policy and advocacy at Energy UK. As a senior woman in a field dominated by men, we asked Dhara how more women can be included at the top table and what might be stalling progress in 2022.
The energy sector is going through a period of rapid transformation that will have enormous implications for our daily lives. It’s taking a lead in how the country will meet net zero targets, for instance, but the industry is also influential in tackling one of the biggest challenges of our time: climate change.
In other words, this is an exciting time in energy. There is plenty of opportunity to drive meaningful change but women are often left out of the conversation. Like in financial services, women are largely underrepresented in the energy industry, especially at a senior level. According to Powerful Women, an organisation that campaigns for gender diversity in the energy sector, only 24% of women sit on a board. The percentage of women who occupy executive director positions is even lower, at 14%.
“Progress is not fast enough,” says Dhara Vyas, the deputy director of advocacy and policy at Energy UK, a trade body with over 100 members. “I think it’s a really uphill struggle for women. I think women’s rights are being eroded in some areas and that’s really worrying.” She cites having children, affordable childcare, part-time work, and multiple domestic pressures that disproportionately fall on women and got worse during the pandemic. They carry a huge emotional burden, she adds.
Of course, it’s not just mothers who can end up excluded and shut out from top professions. The Fawcett Society – a gender equality organisation – calculated the 2021 gender pay gap at 11.9%. Although it’s shrinking, the gap will not close until about 2050 at this rate of progress. According to the UK government, the pay gap is driven by more women occupying junior-level and low-paying jobs. The International Labor Organization published figures in 2020 reporting that 88% of women in 121 countries were some type of personal care worker. Contrast this with men: 72% were science and engineering professionals.
Imposter Syndrome
It can therefore be hard to attract women to fields where they are vastly outnumbered and perhaps might even feel intimidated. Imposter syndrome, a pervasive feeling of inadequacy and self-doubt, is something that often plagues women. One KPMG study found that 75% of women across industries had experienced imposter syndrome at some point in their careers.
In some cases, this negative mindset can hold women back from putting themselves forward for positions that lead to promotion. It’s well documented that women only apply for jobs they feel extremely qualified to do. The same is not true of men.
Despite reaching a senior level in her career, Dhara recognises imposter syndrome in herself. “I don’t know if that’s down to being a woman, down to not being white or down to being from a working-class background,” she tells GridDuck. “I think class is a really big factor, and it’s probably an intersectionality of all those different things.”
Dhara Vyas, Energy UK
A Lack of Diversity
Having worked professionally for over 20 years, the deputy director admits that she’s never had a non-white manager and has encountered stereotypes and biases. In fact, she adds, she’s often the only person of colour in a room. Her experience is common. In 2021, consulting firm McKinsey calculated that the percentage of minority women who reach an executive-level position, or C-suite, is 4%. The Fawcett Society, meanwhile, recently reported that only 8% of FTSE 100 CEOs are women, and none are women of colour.
Dhara has, however, benefited from “brilliant” female leadership which has inspired her, especially if they’ve overcome their own obstacles. Now in a position of leading others, she hopes to emulate that with her own teams at Energy UK: “If I could do that for somebody else, I will feel like I’ve done a good job.” As a result, she actively encourages women to speak up and tries to make space for them to take part in conversations that can be dominated by men.
Energy is a Growth Area
Dhara is relatively new to Energy UK, having joined the trade body from Citizens Advice in November. She has a large remit, including working as a spokesperson for the organisation. With a new chief executive, Energy UK is going through significant change and has responded not only to the pandemic but now to the gas crisis. “There’s no reason to believe that prices are going to come down anytime soon and this is an economy-wide issue that’s impacting on everyone,” Dhara says. “Responding to the gas price crisis is crucial for Energy UK and will be a big part of what we do in the coming year.”
These immediate priorities sit alongside making sure that the right policy and regulatory framework is in place to meet ambitious net zero targets. The organisation works across the likes of power generation, retail markets and smart flexible systems. Energy is currently a growth area and an interesting market to work in right now, argues Dhara. “As leaders, as managers, as an industry trade body I think it’s really important that we are being up front and honest about vocally supporting the steps that can be taken to encourage women to apply to work in this sector.”
Energy Sector: Including More Voices
In 2018, Energy UK launched the Equality and Diversity forum, a cross-industry committee looking to share different experiences, in a bid to encourage best practice and widen perspectives. It has also produced a series of videos with women talking about their jobs, hoping to raise their profile. The organisation also approves of Powerful Women’s targets aimed at improving how many women occupy senior roles. One of these is to have 30% of women on executive boards by 2030.
Asked what might be impeding women’s progress in the sector, the deputy director mentions that perhaps women generally don’t take up as many STEM careers. She does stress that there are many career paths available to women who want to work in energy and they’re not all technical. For example, she doesn’t have a science or engineering background herself, but comes from a career shaped by public policy.
“I would never have dreamt that I would end up working in the energy market and I absolutely love it,” Dhara tells GridDuck. “I am so pleased to have the opportunity to do something that makes a difference to people’s lives. That’s what drives me, it won’t drive everyone, but that’s what drives me.”
Making Space for Women
So how might you bring more women in? For Dhara, who is a mother to two young children, a big goal is to make space for women to choose the career they want. People should be free to make a choice about what hours they want to work, she says, and that shouldn’t undermine their ability to contribute to the workplace. She suggests that blind recruitment practices should be used more often. For example, leaving off names and universities from applications. She also believes that paternity leave could be improved, giving new parents the ability to share their responsibilities more equally.
She advises young women interested in the sector to not rule anything out and look at all avenues, with new opportunities for influencing government or coming up with innovative solutions. “I see how important my role is for the energy transition,” Dhara observes, “to make sure that we are having less of an impact and decarbonising how we live our lives. Women care about the future. They want the planet to survive, so we really need women to be working in this area.”
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