The ‘Women in Energy’ webinar, which was co-hosted by Africa Oil & Power (www.AfricaOilAndPower.com) and the African Energy Chamber on Thursday identified education, gender bias and access to capital as key inhibitors to proportionate female representation within the oil and gas industry; a recent McKinsey study places female industry participation at just 15%; the webinar served as part of the ‘Women in Energy’ series and #EqualBy30 initiative, which centers on driving female participation in the global transition to clean energy future.
The ‘Women in Energy’ webinar hosted by Africa Oil & Power (AOoP) and the African Energy Chamber on Thursday united Africa’s female energy leaders in answering how women can help bridge the talent gap, break the glass ceiling and overcome obstacles to equal participation in oil and gas.
The webinar panel comprised Selma Usiku, Head Exploration, Azinam; Khadijah A Ba, Executive Chairman, Der Mond Oil & Gas; Oluseun Solanke, Principal Reservoir Engineer, Oando Energy Resources; and Mirelle Toulekima, Managing Director, MT Energy Resources.
According to a recent study conducted by McKinsey, women make up just 15% percent of the world’s oil and gas workforce; 17% of the power and utilities sector and 32% of the renewable energy workforce.
In Africa and the Middle East, women make up just 9% of senior management positions in the energy sector, with gender diversity decreasing with seniority. Women make up less than 8% of technical jobs in the oil and gas sector, and just 9% of management positions in the utility sector.
One of the primary inhibitors to active female participation within the industry was identified as access to education, specifically in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
“Boston Consulting Group published a study on gender parity in the oil and gas industry that found that 54% of post secondary scholars are female, yet only 27% are in the STEM subjects,” said Oluseun Solanke. “Why is this? One of the reasons put forth by the study is that traditional ideas about the oil and gas industry are quite macho-centric.”
