1. THE STORY SO FAR: MIND THE GAP Ruth Cairnie Chair, POWERful Women
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THE STORY SO FAR: MIND THE GAP Ruth Cairnie Chair, POWERful Women
POWERful Women Annual Conference 16 May 2019

2. TARGETS ON GENDER BALANCE
Davies/Hampton-Alexander: 33% women on FTSE 350 boards by 2020
PfW: 30% of energy executive board positions to be held by women by 2030
PfW: 40% of energy middle management roles to be held by women by 2030
What gets measured gets managed!
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3. CURRENT STATE OF PLAY: Energy sector board statistics 2019.
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4. 2019 BOARD STATISTICS
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5. THE STORY SO FAR … BEHIND THE STATS
What is really going on behind these statistics?
Only 8 companies meet the Davies target of 33% board seats by 2020 – down 1 from last year
Only 6 companies meet the PfW target of 30% Exec Board seat by – also down 1 from last year
Total board seats has reduced from 502 to 480. However, important to look at the picture the percentages paints.
22 women joined energy company boards (7 were lost) but we still see little progress in balance overall.
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6. WHY GENDER DIVERSITY IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS
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7. FUTURE-PROOFING ENERGY BUSINESSES
Better decision-making and new thinking
19%
Higher innovation revenues for companies with above average diversity on their management teams
Just one female on the board cuts the risk of going bust by
20%
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8. THE ENERGY SECTOR OF THE 21ST CENTURY
NEW SKILLS & CREATIVITY FOR A TIME OF UNPRECEDENTED TRANSFORMATION
Decarbonisation and new sources of energy
Emerging markets - eg flexibility
New industry structure and business models
Changing customer expectations and affordability
The role of technology and innovation
Digitalisation
Skills gap - need for diversity of skills and talent
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9. WHAT’S NEXT?
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10. ENERGY LEADERS’ COALITION
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11. FOCUSSING ON THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS
Did you know that fewer than 20 of the UK’s energy companies account for 75% of those directly employed in the energy sector?
If they all took positive steps to accelerate action on gender balance we would reach a huge proportion of the UK energy workforce.
Any organisation can start out on that journey today by making a public pledge. And POWERful Women will support you on your journey.
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12. POWERful Women encourages progress through:
WORK WITH US
POWERful Women encourages progress through:
reporting: celebrating success and showing room for improvement
advice and mentoring for aspiring women (eg POWERful Connections)
practical support for companies (eg D&I working groups)
corporate leadership (sponsors and pledges, the Energy Leaders’ Coalition)
working with government (BEIS leadership) and other organisations
Join in! @_PfWomen

13. AND FINALLY …
“In a world where the expression ‘war for talent’ has never been more true, you can’t rule out 50% of the world. Likewise, when challenge and fresh thinking is key to decision-making, you must have ‘diversity of thought’. People from different backgrounds, gender and race bring that.”
Steve Holliday FREng FEI, former CEO, National Grid
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