Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/703545
NETWORK / 14 / JULY/AUGUST 2016 important, adds Davies, and many organisations in the power sector are working collectively to attract a healthy talent pool. "You can't do that on your own. Obviously when it comes to recruiting it's di erent, but as a sector how do you make it more appealing? It's about trying to cut through all the con• icting messages, which are confusing to people when they're trying to make career choices." Once women are working in the sector, a di erent set of problems comes into play. Davies says there are plenty of opportunities for companies to make themselves more appealing to women, including family-friendly policies and a culture that is open to • exible working. Dr Helen Meese from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers admits that some heavy industry roles are not easily adapted to home working. But she notes that jobs are becoming more varied and technology has made • exible working easier, while less technical roles such as project management can readily be done remotely. "I don't have to be in overalls to do my job," says Meese. "Changing perceptions is important, saying that being in a STEM profession is creative and innovative and you're using lots of di erent skills to solve problems." Pioneering companies have established schemes such as leadership development, mentoring programmes and even unconscious bias training. But Davies says entrenched male culture still has to be addressed. "You hear companies talking about it a lot, but how do they actually follow up that commitment? Companies can set targets and KPIs, but it's about how they create wider cultural change. It's not just CEOs saying what they want – systems and processes have to change." She cites as a very simple example companies issuing clothing that is designed both for men and women (see box). UK Power Networks' total workforce, including areas such as customer service and human resources, is about 20% female. But this drops to 11% of its network operations employees and to just 4% for control engineers. Carolyn Nixon, head of communication, engagement and leadership training at UK Power Networks, says the company has a proactive women's network that invites guest speakers and gives women the chance to connect. "We've also run coaching sessions for promising and aspiring women employees, led by gender equality specialists who give practical and inspiring advice on how to target senior roles." Positive role models are also considered a fantastic way of boosting participation, and encouraging women to see themselves in senior roles (see box on previous page). Davies adds that a diverse workforce with mobile and • exible skill sets is important as the energy sector transforms and non-traditional business models and market participants increase. Networks may be awareness of the many bene˜ ts attached to better gender balance. But the numbers don't lie and there's clearly still a long way to go before they are realised." N It's time to acknowledge that female workers deserve female-specifi c clothing and equipment. Ahead of National Women in Engineering Day on 23 June, research results were published by the union Prospect that show ill-fi tting health and safety equipment is putting women at risk and causes regular discomfort. The cross-sector survey carried out by Prospect revealed that the energy sector is among the worst for failing to provide female-specifi c health and safety clothing and equipment. Just 29% of respondents said that the personal protective equipment they wear at work was designed for women, while 57% reported that their PPE sometimes or signifi cantly hampered their work. A further 27% said they were occasionally hampered. Trousers, overalls, jackets and gloves were identifi ed as the items least likely to provide a suitable fi t. Excluding overalls, these items were cited most frequently as the worst PPE clothing in the research. Responses to the survey were received from 3,086 women between the ages of 20 and 59. Prospect's deputy general secretary, Sue Ferns, said: "These fi ndings are stark when considered against data from the Health and Safety Executive showing that 142 people were killed at work and 611,000 injured in 2014/15. "Equipping workers properly should not be seen as optional and it can be done." One size does not fi t all "You hear companies talking about it a lot but how do they actually follow up that commitment? WOMEN IN INDUSTRY IGNITING CHANGE 2 In June, PwC and Powerful Women, a gender equality campaign group, published Igniting Change 2, a second annual report measuring progress on achieving gender balance in the UK energy industry. When it was established two years ago, Powerful Women set an aspirational target to see 30% of executive board members being held by women by 2030. Today that figure is just 6%. Furthermore, of every 100 board seats held in the UK energy sector today, just nine are held by women: two executive directors and seven non- executive. By comparison, there are 39 male executive directors and 52 male non-executives for 100 board seats. PwC surveyed 89 leading energy sector companies to obtain its information about progress on gender equality and found that 62% still have all-male boards. Only seven companies out of the 89 had achieved the 25% female representation at board level recommended by Lord Davies in his reviews, commissioned by government in recent years. Only 18 of the 89 companies report the proportion of women in their senior management teams as a matter of course and only 23 report their proportion of female employees more broadly. The full report can be downloaded at: www.pwc.co.uk perceptions among young people and their parents are crucial, as is the creation of more • exible entry routes and challenging traditional recruitment practices. Collaboration is also