Energy Workforce finds gains in sector’s minority, women employment gains, encourages continuation
The Energy Workforce & Technology Council released its latest Workforce Diversity toolkit based on updated data.
Research shows companies with a higher percentage of women in executive positions have a 34% higher total return to shareholders than those that do not and companies with ethnic diversity on their executive team are 25% more likely to have above average profitability and 27% likelihood of outperforming peers in value creation.
“Developing diverse talent is imperative for the energy technology and services sector as it continues to develop new and innovative technologies to lead us into a lower carbon future,” said Leslie Beyer, CEO, Energy Workforce & Technology Council.
“We continue to increase employment in the sector after significant declines in the workforce stemming from the COVID 19 pandemic. Looking to a more diverse set of potential employees will accelerate the industry’s workforce goals, while broadening the creativity of the sector,” she said.
This latest study, published in collaboration with Accenture, draws on insights of more than 250,000 workers, including 62,000 in the United States. The report also considers race and ethnicity dimensions along with gender.
Notably, the study found that the percentage of women in the sector rose to 19%, almost reaching Energy Workforce’s 20% goal set in 2018 and up from 16% that year. Ethnic and racial minorities, which were not part of the 2018 study, comprised 28% of the sector. One of the reasons for women’s increased representation is they were recruited at a greater rate, comprising 20% of all recruits in 2020 vs. 16% in 2018, the study found.
The Workforce Diversity toolkit is a member-only benefit and was developed to provide recommendations for Energy Workforce member companies to help further progress towards each organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
The toolkit incorporates input from the updated study and subsequent member workshops. It is a living document that includes a diversity index to measure where companies stand regarding diversity, equity and inclusion, it also includes actionable recommendations, infographics, and best practices for organizations to adopt to make a substantial impact in the makeup of their workforce. Energy Workforce’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee continues to develop and update best practices that will routinely be added to the toolkit.
Energy Workforce has long been committed to building diversity in the energy services sector and released its first Workforce Diversity toolkit in 2019, following an extensive study of the energy technology and services sector carried out in 2018.
Today, Energy Workforce was recognized by the Houston Business Journal with the Outstanding Diversity Helping Hand award which recognizes for-profit and nonprofit organizations that have shown dedication to promoting and championing diversity and inclusion in the business community or are supplying diversity-related resources, such as job sites, diversity training programs and e-learning.
