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This blog looks back at UKERC’s EDI event earlier in the year, when around 70 people from across the energy sector met to discuss progress and challenges in delivering projects linked to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, from academia to industry. The full event agenda can be found at the end, with links to download slides.

Background

Towards the end of last year, UKERC HQ started to think about how we could celebrate the projects from our Whole Systems Networking Fund (WSNF), which was created to improve diversity in energy research. We realised there was an opportunity to take a broader look at EDI in the energy sector, and teamed up with the Energy Institute – an industry membership body – to organise an event focussed on successful EDI initiatives from across the sector that could inspire others. Titled ‘Diversifying the Energy Sector: EDI initiatives that succeed’, it took place in March at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre, a social enterprise near London Waterloo.

WSNF Impact

UKERC’s WSNF began in 2014 with a focus on gender parity. From 2019, the criteria were broadened to include all protected characteristics. Data collected from applicants in the current phase show that the WSNF has increased diversity by attracting a high proportion of ethnic minorities (52%) and women (63%) – although there is still progress to areas such as disability. [1]

The WSNF is proof that by making resources available, we can start to address the under-representation of different groups in academia. The problems, however, go much deeper: for example, the pipeline of young people considering a career in STEM is still heavily gendered [2]. And what about the experiences of minorities across the sector? Is industry doing enough to recruit, retain and promote a diversity of people at all levels? These are some of the questions we wanted the event to explore, with a focus on identifying barriers and practical solutions.

Opening remarks and keynote

After a welcome from UKERC Director Rob Gross, who outlined the thinking behind the WSNF, we heard a keynote from Chris Jackson – science communicator, former academic and current Director of Sustainable Geoscience at Jacobs – which set the scene for the day. A passionate advocate for minorities in the workplace, Chris talked about his experience of initiatives across academia and industry, picking apart how we define and measure ‘success’.

Chris pointed to recent research showing ongoing workplace disparities in the UK, particularly in energy. For example, 38% of energy company boards are still all-male, while only 14% of executive director roles are held by women [3]. Meanwhile, only 2% of managers in the sector are from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, despite this group making up 12% of the UK population.

Chris highlighted schemes such as the Cowrie Scholarship Foundation, which supports black British students from disadvantaged backgrounds through higher education, as well as a number of schemes at Jacobs, his current employer, aimed at improving inclusivity [4].

Structured networking: exchanging ideas on evolving projects

Before moving to the core of the event – a 90-minute structured networking session centred on nine EDI-related projects – each project lead had two minutes to introduce their work to participants, in a session chaired by Dr Xinfang Wang, UKERC’s EDI Champion. Five WSNF projects were joined by four guest projects from our partners in academia and industry.

The structured networking was designed to allow in-depth conversations between participants and project members on challenges and next steps.

The aim of the session was to encourage the exchange of ideas, with in-depth conversations on challenges and next steps. We felt this would be more easily achieved by randomly allocating participants to different projects for two 30-minute slots, as opposed to traditional, informal networking event. Feedback about the session was generally positive, although some participants wanted to engage with more of the projects, and to be able to choose which ones they engaged with, so there is definitely scope to refine the format for future events.

EDI Case Studies

“I don’t really know any outwardly LGBT like people who are above me … so I don’t really have any role models.” (LGBT+ staff member, from IGNITE Network+ research)

After lunch, we heard about a range of EDI initiatives in the energy sector, in a session chaired by Prof. Becky Lunn, Director of IGNITE Network+. Prof. Lunn opened with an overview of her research, focussing on the experiences of women and LGBT+ researchers. She highlighted the work still to be done to make academia more welcoming, and to overcome systemic bias, increase diversity in energy publications and support working-class researchers. Emphasising that change cannot happen without collecting meaningful data, Prof. Lunn also cited qualitative research capturing individual experiences, such as the quote above.

Our first case study was from Dr Femi Omoniyi, who talked about the mentoring programme he runs on behalf of the Association for Black & Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK). Since 2007, AFBE-UK has helped around 20,000 beneficiaries. Although not exclusive to ethnic minorities, it was founded to tackle the shortage of engineering skills and the under-representation of black and minority ethnic backgrounds; its mentoring programme supports engineers in their career development at all levels. AFBE-UK also partners with corporations to run group sessions and tailored programmes.

“…my mentor always encourages me to take baby steps towards my development because small efforts multiply…” (AFBE-UK mentee)

Next, we heard from Antoni Bohdanowic, co-chair of BP’s Neurodiversity Network, with a talk entitled ‘Unlocking the power of thinking differently: neuroinclusion at BP’. Antoni explained that encouraging staff to self-identify as neurodivergent and making adjustments is only a first step. It doesn’t help everyone who is neuro-divergent, as it relies on individuals understanding their own needs and being able to articulate them. He argued that a more inclusive approach is to make standard work practices neuro-inclusive, from recruitment through to retention and promotion. Examples included giving candidates access to interview questions in advance, and ensuring promotion criteria are not biased against neurodiverse employees.

Finally, we heard from Stephen Gill, a founder of the International Network of Women in Cooling (INWIC), who described the origins of the network – a collaboration of organisations from across the world working in Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, and Heat Pumps (RACHP). INWIC aims to promote best practice and inspire future generations of women to join the sector. Key to its success is sharing information via on online educational and mentoring platform. The creation of INWIC serves as a model for how disparate groups can create a network that brings people together, forging connections that can help break down similar barriers that exist for women in workplaces around the world.

What’s Next for EDI in Energy?

The final session was a panel discussion entitled ‘What’s next for EDI in energy?’, chaired by Georgina Worrall, Head of POWERful Women [5]. We invited three panellists to share their expertise in how to increase diversity: Aileen Bevan from Innovate UK (UKRI), Sean McQuaid from Transition Through Inclusion and Diversity for Equity (TIDE) and Dr Shini Somara, Broadcaster, Mechanical Engineer & Fluid Dynamicist [6].

The frank and ardent discussion ended with a number of pleas from the panellists:

1. Make everyone feel welcome in the sector. Create new avenues for young people, with an open door to apprenticeships.
2. Minorities who feel able to speak up about their experiences may help to inspire others who feel different.
3. We shouldn’t forget that it’s often the people who are not in the room who need convincing.
4. Talk to young people, listen to them and don’t shy away from difficult topics like climate change. and fossil fuels.
5. Good quality data is the key to analysing what changes we need to make.
6. Organisations need to focus on support, workplace culture and representation.

Conclusion

Prior to a final networking reception, Joanne Wade, Chair of UKERC’s Advisory Board, gave the closing remarks by reminding the audience that if we don’t get EDI right, things will go wrong for the sector. While she welcomed the attendance of future leaders at the event, Joanne emphasised that the people already in positions of power need to be in the room – something she promised UKERC would work on.

We learned a huge amount from this event, and we look forward to working with our partners to deliver bigger and better EDI initiatives in the future. To hear about future UKERC activities, stay in touch by signing up to our newsletter – and let us know if you have any EDI-related news from the energy sector you would like to share.

Notes

[1] UKERC Whole Systems Networking Fund (2019-2924): project details and report

[2] For gendered differences in attitudes to STEM subjects in school, see Attitudes towards STEM subjects by gender at KS4 (Department for Education report, 2019); for other aspects of diversity, see  Diversity and inclusion in STEM (House of Commons Committee report, 2023)

[3] Statistics on energy industry boards compiled by POWERful Women

[4] Cowrie Scholarship Foundation website; EDI initiatives at Jacobs: Advancing Justice and Equality Action Plan and Harambee employee network

[5] POWERful Women website and Empower Her in Energy apprenticeship scheme

[6] Dr Shini Somara’s website

Agenda

Photo credits: James Tye Photography