Mis-fits And Misfits: Fronting Inclusion In The Energy Industry

I can’t think of the words “inspire inclusion” without the picture I’ve affectionately named “12 men in blue shirts” coming to front of mind. I took the photo of my screen three years ago, while sitting in overalls, dialled into a leadership meeting from site.?

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Meetings didn’t always look like this. Sometimes there were purple shirts, sometimes green… But the demographic remained the same. Although I had a seat and a voice at that table, I made the decision to resign. My key driver was defined by purpose, a desire to impact more directly on decarbonisation and lead positive change. However an inability to influence internal culture and a yearning to find belonging certainly played a role in the call.?

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It’s easy to intermix the words diversity and inclusion, but they are both very different. I’ve worked in a team where, despite being gender, ethnicity and age diverse, inclusion and belonging amongst team members was non-existent. I’ve also worked in a team where I was one of the youngest, the only non-native Dutch speaker and only female amongst 200 men, and felt a complete sense of belonging as one of the crew. Inclusion plays a critical role in achieving gender diversity through inspiring belonging. If it could speak, it would say “Oh hey! We value, respect and empower everyone’s voice and the unique perspectives they offer. We support and remove barriers so all can reach their full potential”.

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Because that really is the crux of it. Belonging is a basic human need. If this is missing in a workplace and there is a feeling of exclusion, individuals withhold their ideas and opinions. Psychological safety in the workplace is hindered, productivity is reduced (you can read more here) and mental health suffers. Conversely, inclusive teams, where equity is strived for and individuals feel a sense of belonging, are more engaged, productive and innovative.

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Diversity, not just gender diversity, is good for business. It is a multi-billion dollar industry and by now, its benefits are a simple truth. So why, why is it so difficult to influence and effect change in this space? Why are we still often seeing leadership meetings like the photo above?

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While I may be speaking from 15 years in the Energy Industry, I see similarities in other male dominated industries. I have spent a large portion of my career working from site supervision to operational leadership and senior leadership roles, motivated by the drive to positively influence change in an industry I deeply care about. The Energy Transition is a big problem to solve and we need diverse talent to solve it sustainably. Now in an executive leadership role, I embrace and enjoy the responsibility, mandate and platform to influence both within and outside of my organisation from a position of understanding. Understanding how it feels to be excluded, to not fit the mould, to experience barriers to reaching my potential. But my god it can sometimes be a triggering, exhausting, infuriating journey. And the barriers can seem so ridiculous that my peers and I easily gaslight ourselves into believing it’s not as important as we think.

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Let’s start with some of the levers that can be pulled to influence and “inspire” inclusion. A fantastic piece of research by Dr Ellen Ford (ex-NZ Army leader, MBA and PhD in leadership) identified several themes that were barriers to achieving inclusion and therefore diversity and retention of women in the Army. The themes included: uniforms/PPE that were fit specifically for women, broader and public representation of women in the industry, language and a safe place to call out harassment, and flexible working for parents. Many of her recommendations to the Army were adopted with success and are just as relevant to the Energy Industry. But in this industry, it still feels like an uphill battle.

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Two years ago my colleague Emily and I embarked on a mission to find female fit PPE. We were outspoken in our framing of the issue and were met with support and empathy from other women in the industry. After a few dead ends, we found a company motivated to support our initiative. When the sample overalls and trousers/tops arrived they felt completely normal compared to the misshapen and oversized PPE we had been used to. We gave glowing feedback and requested 12 more pairs of overalls to kit out the team. The tenacious product manager supporting the initiative on the supplier side, informed us that their sales manager and CEO (both male) didn’t believe the demand was large enough to add this product to their range and a bespoke run had a minimum order of 1000 items. Even reaching out to other operators, we knew we weren’t going to find 500 women (assuming two pairs each) in the country who needed cal rated, fire retardant industry overalls. But business and bottom line aside, it begs the question: What does this say for building inclusion in our industry if it can’t be as simple as “we make well fitting PPE for both men and women because both men and women need well fitting PPE”?

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The same frustrations are met when trying to achieve a broader public representation of women in industry. One seemingly “easy win” is to promote diversity on panels and amongst conference speakers. On discussing this with Megan Woods, previously serving Energy Minister, she shared that she too calls out all male panels (“manels”) and often refuses to speak if it appears she is the only female speaker. While feedback is generally taken well, we still often see panel photos or speaker lists comprising of all or nearly all-male engineers or industry experts. Although there has been some improvement here, what is being shown both within and to the wider public by our industry is Still. So. Male. This might be understandable if there were no women in our industry to be found – but they’re not hiding. There are a lot of them. Totally open and eager to share their voice and let’s be clear, not just on themes pertaining to women.

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And this is where the gaslighting starts. Why doesn’t everyone notice? Why isn’t it being called out or prioritised? It’s important right? Right? And as women in leadership choosing how to publicise these issues, it’s terrifying as we walk the fine line of likeable and outspoken (last year’s IWD article explains here).

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In any initiative aiming to inspire inclusion, there is one thing in common: inclusive leaders are critical in the push for change. Openly embracing inclusion from the top deeply impacts the culture of the rest of the organisation. In every challenging initiative to promote equity and demonstrate all voices are valued, there must be leadership who recognise the issue in the first place and are ready to redefine the rules to materially impact change.

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In my own organisation, our executive team are proud of our culture and we work hard to ensure the wider team feels, and feels empowered to promote, belonging. While I strive to be an inclusive leader, I see the biggest waves of impact when it’s a member of my team actively fostering an inclusive environment. I feel super proud when I see a team member self-correct mid-sentence to say “crewed” instead of “manned”. I smile when I see them quickly lift and back a young female engineer who experiences mansplaining during a meeting with externals. And I get happy tears when a female project engineer comments “I get treated just like anyone else on site, no one makes assumptions on my capability because I’m a woman”.

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There is cause for hope. But there is still a lot of work to be done. I recently read the obituary of Efeso Collins, an inspiring MP and inclusive leader, where it was said he quoted writer James Baldwin in his maiden speech in parliament: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”.

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So as an industry let’s face it. With the complex problems we need to solve, we can’t afford not to.?