Becoming more inclusive: A quick guide

What are some barriers to inclusion many women will recognise? Ford highlights examples such as being asked to do admin that’s not their job (organising the leaving do or taking meeting minutes, say) or having their competency questioned because of their gender. Or managers may assume that because women have children, they don’t want to work late or travel. He adds: “Our affinity bias means we tend to socialise with people who are most like us, so women find they are excluded from nights out at the pub, or golf days, and all that kind of stuff, which inevitably lead to career-related opportunities. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

It's important that as a leader, you “think about sharing your social capital evenly across your team – not just always talking to the same people because you have a high affinity relationship with them”, Ford adds.

When he worked at JP Morgan, Ford sat on a lot of promotion committees. “One of the things we used to do was nominate someone as the ‘bias spotter’. “Just to ask, ‘would you be asking that question is this was a man?’ Just checking in that we weren’t judging people by a different standard.” Making other small changes can help. “If women aren’t being heard in meetings, there are all sorts of techniques you can use to change the way the meeting is run,” Ford points out.

Women working for large energy companies are paid less per hour than men by approximately

Another issue is the gender pay gap. According to research published by law firm Pinsent Masons, in the latest reporting year, approximately 69 energy employers reported on their gender pay gap via the government portal. The data published shows that women working for large energy companies are paid approximately 14.8% less per hour than men. This is roughly on a par with other industries and sectors, and a decrease of 0.7% compared to the average gap reported in 2023.

The data also shows that, on average, there is a 5.2% difference in the median bonus payments to men compared to women. This is at the lower end when compared with other sectors and is a decrease from 18.9% during the previous reporting period.

The figures show that many operators are demonstrating year-on-year progress since the reporting obligation was first introduced. For instance, the median hourly gender pay gap has improved by up to 2% for some organisations, with several energy companies reporting improvements of up to 5% in their median hourly gender pay gap. “It’s important that people are taking the gender pay gap seriously and taking real steps to address it,” says Sarah Hopkins.

Another vital means of being inclusive is simply listening to women, she adds. “Organisations that have women’s networks are co-creating policies, working environments and solutions for women, not making assumptions about their experience. If you see particular groups or demographics leaving your business, ask them why and do something about it. But just as important as the exit interview is the ‘staying interview’. What is that makes you stay here? Why have you bought into what we are delivering for our customers or internally?

“Again, it’s very much about building a culture and living it authentically: listening to all colleagues and taking action about what is important to them so that we can deliver, innovate and be inclusive. There’s some great practice across the sector, so we should all be committed to sharing and learning so that we can make the sector inclusive for all and retain great people.”

“Our affinity bias means we tend to socialise with people who are most like us, so women find they are excluded from nights out at the pub, or golf days, and all that kind of stuff, which inevitably lead to career-related opportunities”

Gary Ford, Men for Inclusion

A Utility Week Intelligence Report in association with the Womens Utilities Network