Lack of female talent in UK’s energy sector caused by ‘deep-rooted issues’, research shows

There is broad agreement across the oil and gas sector that firms need to attract more women, particularly in light of the focus on energy transition. Data just in from Pinsent Masons highlights a worrying deep-rooted issue within firms which is hindering progress on that front, both in terms of attracting more women to work in the sector and in supporting those in jobs already into more senior roles. We’ll look at the issue and a potential solution to it. 

This is data sourced by Pinsent Masons from 64 employers in the energy sector which have reported their gender pay gap via the government portal for the latest reporting year, 2022-23. Noticeably, it’s lower than other sectors and down on equivalent figures in the sector from the previous year. So, in the case of large energy companies that have reported, women working for those companies are paid on average approximately 15.5% less per hour than men. This is roughly on par with other industries and sectors. Overall, however, there is, on average, an 18.9% difference in the median bonus payments to men and women across the sector, which does not compare favourably to most other sectors.

The causes of the pay gap are covered in some detail in analysis piece for Out-Law by D&I specialist Kieron O’Reilly called: ‘Gender pay gap data can be catalyst for change in UK energy sector’. He says: ‘It’s widely recognised that there is a shortage of women working in the STEM sectors, and whilst efforts are being made at recruitment stage to balance this, this is yet to have a significant impact. The issue is particularly acute in respect of more senior positions, of which men continue to hold the majority.’ He goes on: ‘These issues are well acknowledged within the energy sector, and oil and gas industry especially, where approximately only one third of entry level employees are female – less than that across other STEM sectors.’

Kieron goes on to deal with steps companies are taking to address the gap, based on his own experience. He says: ‘At Pinsent Masons, we have seen the impact of using gender pay gap data at the local level in the energy sector. The GPG tools we use help identify actions well-suited to real situations in local teams, from recruitment to career development. Teams and departments differ, as do the challenges they face, so the solutions to closing pay gaps will differ too.’

The gender pay gap tools that Kieron refers to are part of an offering developed by Pinsent Masons’ D&I consultancy, Brook Graham, alongside the Equality Law team which they’ve called the ‘Workforce Demographic Forecasting Tool’. In essence, it involves modelling the workforce over a defined period – a 5-year period  - and putting in place a number of targeted actions designed to achieve the specific diversity goals the business has set for itself – a roadmap with levers you can pull to achieve the forecasts which have been set by the business. So, let’s hear more about it. Earlier I caught up with Kieron to understand how it works:

Kieron O’Reilly: “It's a tool that we use to get some results and it's a simple thing. We've created a box, if you like, where we put information at one end and, at the other end, an analysis comes out and we use that analysis to be able to model a workforce and have a look at what it will look like in five years and ideally then, we will develop it to say what do we really want it to look like? So, we can alter the model to achieve the diversity aims we're looking for and it's from that we can then decide what actions we need to take to achieve them.”

Joe Glavina: “How did it come about, Kieron? Where did the demand come from?”

Kieron O’Reilly: “What we found, and the reason we produced it in the first place, was that a lot of our clients, especially in industries, traditional industries, like construction, and energy, ones where we see a lot of work going into, say, gender equality programmes, but not a lot of results being achieved as a whole. When we looked at those organisations we found that it is the same problem across the organisation, but it manifested differently in different parts of the business. So, imagine a different business unit, or a department, and in the past, what we would do is spend time looking at each of those departments to work out what we could do to help affect the change. However, typically, those things are pretty much the same. So, we realised that using data, we can put a dataset together that applies to all situations and it speeds up the process. So, it allows us to very quickly do an analysis of where an organisation is at a local level and identify local and practical changes that can be made, and it’s quite quick now.”

Joe Glavina: “Does this go wider than gender pay gap reporting?”

Kieron O’Reilly: “It does. That's where we began but, of course, with the development of ethnicity pay gap requirements, we started to use those. We also can use it for any diversity strand, pretty much, and in the past we've used it for disability, we've used it for sexual orientation, we've used it for religion and different areas. So, we are able to use it across a range of different diversity strands and therefore, looking at pay gaps, looking at workforces, it allows us to plot out and predict how to make the changes we need to achieve the aims we want.”

Joe Glavina: “Is it something that that the client uses on their own or do they have handholding from Pinsent Masons? Or does Pinsent Masons use it for the client?”

Kieron O’Reilly: “We use it for the client. So, essentially, we ask them for a range of data and information and we then use that to process the analysis and then from that we will interpret it for them and then it is from that interpretation that we then work together very collaboratively to look at what are the local changes that we can put into effect, because all clients have a range of different needs and competing resources, even from day-to-day work. So, what we do is put them together that fits in the way that works for their business as usual. But it starts with us, and then we work collaboratively with clients.”

Joe Glavina: “Anything else?”

Kieron O’Reilly: “I think the main point, really, is that when you're trying to deal with some of these challenges, people feel is too complicated or too complex. What we find by using this particular tool is that it makes it very clear, very simple, what actions need to be taken and those actions are built into what people are doing every day. So, it's actually normal language, it's normal activity, it’s just how they are supported and equipped to do that change and carry out those activities. So, the reality is it doesn’t feel different, it doesn't feel strange, it’s actually what most people are doing locally. So, it's, it's something that is easy to affect and I think that's the difference. It's no longer complex, it’s no longer complicated, it’s clear, it’s easy to understand, and it's something you can get on with on your day-to-day work.”

If you would like to know more about the ‘Workforce Demographic Forecasting Tool’ then please do get it touch with Kieron – his contact details are there on the screen for you – or you can contact your usual Pinsent Masons’ adviser. We have also included a link to Kieron’s analysis piece for Out-Law which is called ‘Gender pay gap data can be catalyst for change in UK energy sector’.
LINKS

- Link to Out-Law analysis article: ‘Gender pay gap data can be catalyst for change in UK energy sector’