Oil and gas industry in vital need of women

Published: Mon 29 Aug 2016, 7:58 PM

Workplace diversity is becoming more important than ever as the energy sector undergoes a rapid transformation, and as gender balance increasingly emerges as a definitive factor in organisational success, female leaders said ahead of the upcoming Adipec 2016 'Women in Energy' conference.
Speaking on the occasion of Emirati Women's Day, female achievers said that while great strides have been made in promoting gender diversity, the oil and gas industry is still struggling with exceptionally low female-to-male ratios, when compared to other fields of work.
"Things have dramatically improved for women in the UAE in the past few years, driven principally by the strong and unwavering support of the country's leadership," said Fatema Al Neaimi, manager of the gas strategy and master planning unit at Adnoc, and a speaker at the Adipec 2016 conference.
"However, we still have a long way to go as there are many challenges that need to be addressed, and these challenges are not just specific to this country or the region, but are global obstacles that the industry is facing every day. They are also both physical and socio-psychological in nature - from creating supportive corporate infrastructures, to inspiring women to be a part of the industry's future developments," she said.
According to a recent report, the oil and gas industry has the lowest representation of female professionals among all employers. In addition, an analysis of US energy companies by global advisory firm Korn Ferry found that women make up just six per cent of CEO positions in energy. From a global standpoint, professional networking site, LinkedIn, found that women make up just 26.7 per cent of all its oil and energy industry profiles. That is the lowest percentage among the industries examined - healthcare had the largest percentage, at about 59.8 per cent, and tech came in at the middle, at 30.6 per cent.
Today's new energy landscape, characterised by an evolving global energy mix and a strong focus on operational efficiency, presents women with numerous career opportunities and pathways to choose from, say experts. Eileen Wilkinson, vice president for exploration in Mena at Shell, highlighted the important value that women bring to the energy workforce. - rohma@khaleejtimes.com