Written By Niki Gill, Laura Glover and Allegra Hessels

The 2024 Young Women in Energy (YWE) Summit took place in stunning Kananaskis at the beginning of March, where women from across Canada gathered to discuss the diversification, decarbonization and digitization of the transforming energy sector. Bennett Jones was one of the sponsors of this year's YWE Summit, and we had the pleasure of attending this stellar two-and-a-half-day event.

Throughout the conference, one of the key themes we observed were discussions around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with a specific focus on how companies can shift to actively creating a more equitable, diverse and inclusive workforce in the evolving Canadian energy sector.

Key Takeaways

• Companies within the energy sector recognize that advancing DEI is linked to better business results and can provide a competitive advantage.
• The value of implementing DEI metrics as a tool for monitoring progress and holding organizations accountable to DEI targets.
• Companies must attract, retain and advance diverse individuals in order to achieve DEI success.

Tracking DEI Metrics

Women represent 50.9 percent of the population and 47.5 percent of the Canadian workforce.¹ Yet, women make up only 22 percent of the workers in the energy sector and 32 percent of the workers in the renewable energy sector.² Corporations recognize that diversity is important for delivering better business results and can be a source of competitive advantage.

For example, increased gender diversity is associated with higher financial returns. Energy companies with above-median (21 percent) representation of women in senior and executive management positions experienced higher return on equity than companies with below-median representation.³ In response, Canadian energy companies are focusing on initiatives that work toward a more diverse and inclusive workforce, both in the name of social conscientiousness and increasing shareholder value. In addition to gender representation, DEI efforts also prioritize the inclusion of other historically underrepresented groups, including, 2SLGBTQ+ people, Indigenous people, racialized people and people with disabilities.

Several presenters emphasized the value of using key performance indicators as a tool to measure DEI efforts. Particularly in the data-driven energy sector, where measurable and quantifiable metrics are used in day-to-day operations strategic planning, companies have found that applying similar metrics and quotas to DEI strategies has been helpful in advancing DEI goals. Panelists stressed the importance of adopting internal DEI targets and quotas in the same manner companies adopt production or revenue targets.

Recruitment, Retention and Inclusion

Experts from across the industry shared their best practices for advancing DEI strategies in the workplace. Speakers highlighted that fostering inclusivity requires a focus on DEI throughout the employment lifecycle, from recruitment to retention and promotion.

In achieving this goal, presenters highlighted the importance of using inclusive language in job postings to attract candidates without interference from unconscious bias on the part of applicants or the employer. Words such as “competitive” tend to attract male candidates, whereas terms such as “collaborative” tend to attract more female candidates, suggesting that candidates self-select out of certain opportunities based on whether they perceive themselves to fit the gender roles subtly prescribed in job postings. As a result, organizations have found success using AI software that flags gendered language in recruitment postings, to attract a wider breadth of talent across genders.

Various speakers emphasized how DEI efforts enhance employee engagement and retention, as employees are more likely to feel valued and supported by their organizations. As one speaker noted, people want to work somewhere that aligns with their values. Therefore, fostering an inclusive work environment contributes to a positive work environment and helps to attract and retain top talent.

Presenters also addressed situations in which organizations may attract diverse talent through their recruitment efforts but fail to achieve their DEI goals in the long-term due to the disproportionate attrition of women and other minority groups. Organizations may inadvertently create this 'leaky bucket' by focusing predominantly on recruiting diverse candidates without also creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment at all levels of their organizations. Attrition numbers are a valuable performance indicator that some companies overlook, and speakers stressed the importance of monitoring employee departures to assess the success of company DEI strategies. Companies may also look to self-identification and employee feedback surveys or exit interviews to assess the success of their inclusion initiatives. 

Conclusion

March is Women’s History Month—a perfect time to celebrate the achievements of women in the energy industry. The 2024 YWE Summit provided an opportunity to celebrate these successes while also providing an opportunity to reflect on the work still to come to achieve gender equality and inclusion for women and other minority groups in Canada’s energy sector. The summit emphasized the business value in promoting DEI initiatives for energy companies where women and other minority groups have historically been underrepresented. Promoting DEI fosters innovation by encouraging a diverse pool of perspectives, experiences and talents.

As energy companies look towards the future, they should focus on increasing equity at all levels of their organizations. Diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces are not just good for employees—they are also good for business.