Beyond Diversity: How Women Are Reshaping the Future of Energy

The picture is changing.

Across boardrooms, offshore operations, engineering teams, supply chains and emerging energy technologies, women are no longer women the exception rather than the norm.

 They are not simply seeking a seat at the table. They are helping to reshape the table itself.

Yet we should not confuse progress with completion.

Women still represent only around one-fifth of the global energy workforce, compared with roughly 40% of workers across the wider economy. Their representation in many technical and vocational energy roles remains below 5%. The question, therefore, is no longer whether women belong in energy.

The question is how we accelerate their progression from participation to influence, leadership and ownership.

Over the past decade, I have watched the conversation around women in energy evolve considerably.

Earlier in my career, being the only—or one of very few—women in a meeting, operational environment or leadership team was hardly unusual. Today, we see more female engineers, HSE professionals, supply-chain specialists, executives, entrepreneurs and policymakers entering the sector.

Importantly, women are increasingly occupying roles that influence strategy rather than simply supporting it. This matters at a time when the global energy workforce is itself transforming

What Still Needs to Change?

Representation alone is not enough.

Organizations can recruit more women and still fail to create environments in which they advance. The next stage must address promotion, pay equity, access to operational assignments, succession planning, board representation and, critically, who receives exposure to the experiences that prepare executives for senior leadership.

Research from the International Energy Agency has identified persistent gender gaps in pay and career mobility within the energy sector.

Companies therefore need to move beyond asking, "How many women do we employ?"

They should be asking:

Where are they in the organization? Who is being promoted? Who owns a P&L? Who leads major projects? Who is being prepared for the C-suite?

That is where meaningful progress will be measured.

Mentorship Is Important. Sponsorship Changes Careers.

I have always believed strongly in mentorship. Young professionals need people who will listen, advise, challenge and help them navigate their careers.

But mentorship alone is insufficient.

Mentors advise you. Sponsors advocate for you.

A sponsor says your name when you are not in the room. They recommend you for the difficult assignment, introduce you to decision-makers and challenge assumptions about whether you are "ready." If energy companies genuinely want more women in senior leadership, executives—both male and female—must actively sponsor high-potential women.

Sometimes the most career-defining opportunity is not another training programme. It is someone saying: "Give her the opportunity. She can do this."

AI Is Creating Another Opportunity

Artificial intelligence, automation and digitalization will fundamentally change the energy workforce.

At the same time, the sector already faces significant skills shortages. More than half of the energy firms, unions and educators surveyed by the IEA reported critical hiring bottlenecks.

This creates an opportunity for women.

The next generation of energy careers will increasingly combine engineering, operations and commercial expertise with data analytics, AI, cybersecurity, sustainability, communications and digital leadership. Women entering the industry today should therefore think beyond traditional career pathways.

Learn the industry—but also learn the technology transforming the industry.

he Caribbean Story

The Caribbean provides a fascinating window into this transformation.

Trinidad and Tobago has decades of experience in oil, gas, petrochemicals and energy services. Throughout my own career, I have seen women move into increasingly senior positions across operations, engineering, logistics, HSE, finance, HR and executive management.

Guyana, meanwhile, offers something different: the opportunity to build a modern energy workforce almost from the ground up. Women are already participating in offshore operations, HSE, entrepreneurship and local-content development, while organizations such as Women in Energy Guyana are creating networks specifically designed to strengthen women's participation and advancement.

Suriname, with its emerging offshore opportunity, has the chance to learn from both Trinidad and Guyana and intentionally develop diverse local capability as its energy industry expands.

And Venezuela, historically one of the world's major petroleum economies, reminds us of the depth of technical energy expertise that exists across our wider Caribbean and Latin American region. Both the Government leadership and the Energy Ministry leadership have Venezuelan women at the helm.

These markets are at very different stages of their energy journeys, but collectively they demonstrate something important:

The future Caribbean Region’s energy workforce does not have to look like the workforce of the past.

My Advice to Young Women Entering Energy

Build technical credibility first. Understand the business you work in—not only your individual function.

Ask for the difficult assignments.

Spend time in operations.

Learn how your company makes money.

Understand financial statements.

Develop your communication skills.

Find mentors, but actively seek sponsors.

Build relationships across your industry rather than only within your company.

And never underestimate the value of visibility.

Your reputation is being built long before you receive your first executive title.

What Companies Should Do Next

The business case is no longer simply about diversity programmes. It is about talent.

Companies should therefore build stronger pipelines from schools and universities, expand technical apprenticeships for women, establish sponsorship programmes, measure promotion and retention—not simply recruitment—and deliberately place women into operational and commercially significant roles.

Most importantly, leaders must create cultures in which talented women can see a credible path from entry-level employee to executive leadership.

Beyond Diversity

Progress rarely comes simply because an organization publishes a diversity policy.

It comes when opportunities change.

It comes when leadership behaviours change.

It comes when someone opens a door—and when the woman walking through that door performs so well that the next woman does not have to fight quite as hard to enter.

That is why the next chapter for women in energy must move beyond diversity.

It must be about influence, opportunity, sponsorship, leadership and ownership.

Women are already changing the energy industry.

Now we need to ensure they have an equal opportunity to lead its future.

Words Matter Communications — Leadership. Influence. Stories that create change.