POWERful Women has today welcomed the CEO of Centrica, Chris O’Shea, onto the Energy Leaders’ Coalition (ELC) [1], a group of major UK energy company heads who have made a public commitment to improving diversity and inclusion within their organisations and the energy sector as a whole.
The ELC was formed in 2018 in response to the poor level of female representation at senior levels in the UK energy industry. It is a recognition that better balance is good for business [2] and essential for attracting and retaining the talent and innovation necessary to reach Net-Zero.
Commenting on the commitment, Chris O’Shea, Group Chief Executive for Centrica, said;
“At Centrica, we’re on a journey to make sure that all colleagues feel welcome and can thrive. We know that by creating a more diverse workforce and a truly open and inclusive working environment that values and leverages the benefits of that diversity, we will win as individuals, as a business, as a sector, and as a society. It’s clear more needs to be done to attract, retain and develop women in the energy sector. I’m therefore delighted to join the Energy Leaders’ Coalition, as I passionately believe that we achieve more by working collectively than individually.
“I’m looking forward to learning more about what others have done and sharing what we are doing in Centrica, and confident that together we will find and implement solutions to challenge inequality and remove barriers that prevent women from advancing their careers.”
In May this year, POWERful Women (PfW) and PwC UK published new statistics on the number of women in board seats and executive director roles in the top 80 most significant UK energy employers [3]. The company data showed that representation at senior levels remains disappointingly low, with very little progress made since 2020:
- 24% of all board seats across the sector are occupied by women
- 14% of executive director seats are occupied by women
- 28% of companies still have no women on their board
- Only 18 out of the top 80 UK energy companies have any female executive directors.
By joining the ELC, the leaders sign up to a charter, committing them to communicate their company’s ambition, targets, and timeline for change and be accountable for progress, including setting key measures to track and report publicly. They also commit to providing the resources and support internally to deliver improvements, to learning from each other and sharing successes, and to advocating for better balance across the industry.
Nick Wayth, Chief Executive of the Energy Institute and PfW Board Member, said:
“Society recognises that diversity of background and thought is central to a successful energy transition and that the under-representation of women is something that needs to be addressed urgently. We are delighted that the CEO of Centrica has joined the Energy Leaders’ Coalition, a safe and collaborative space for the heads of the largest UK energy employers to learn what works best when it comes to putting diversity and inclusion into practice. A public commitment to better balance like this – made at the very top of an energy company – is incredibly important for driving and influencing change. We all look forward to working with Chris to accelerate progress.”
Later this year the ELC will publish its third-anniversary report. It will review the work of the past year and the progress the 16 companies have made against their own and industry targets. The report will also show which diversity and inclusion actions have made the most difference, illustrated with best practice case studies. The CEOs will look ahead to what still needs to be done to overcome barriers and increase the number of women at the top of the sector.
