Creating an inclusive utility culture: Our commitment to women in the industry

The utilities sector is at a turning point. While progress has been made, it remains a male-dominated industry – particularly in field-based and leadership roles. At Calisen, we believe an inclusive culture isn’t just about hitting diversity targets – it’s about ensuring women feel valued, supported, and empowered to succeed. If we want a future-proofed workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve, we need to do more than acknowledge this gap. We need to act.

So what does an inclusive utility company culture look like? It would ensure that women have equal access to opportunities, from leadership positions to frontline roles, with clear career progression. It would provide meaningful support at every stage – through mentorship, peer networks, and leadership development – and actively remove barriers such as inflexible working arrangements or outdated perceptions of field roles. Representation at the top is also crucial as diverse leadership drives change, which creates a ripple effect that fosters a more inclusive industry for everyone. True change means shaping a workplace where women can thrive at every level.

At Calisen, we’re committed to building this culture. We have set an ambition to achieve 40% female representation by 2030 and are already making progress, with women making up 50% of our executive committee and 31% of our senior leadership team. To accelerate further change, we’ve launched ‘empowerHer’, a women’s network fostering connection, advocacy, and allyship across the business.

But the challenge isn’t just about leadership. One of the biggest barriers is the perception of field roles as male-dominated, discouraging women from entering and progressing within the industry. We are tackling this head-on by showcasing the success of women in these positions, increasing visibility and awareness of opportunities, and actively addressing perceptions to attract more female talent.

“We have set an ambition to achieve 40% female representation by 2030 and are already making progress, with women making up 50% of our executive committee and 31% of our senior leadership team”

Support doesn’t stop at recruitment. We’ve partnered with the Womens Utilities Network to provide mentorship opportunities, ensuring women at all levels feel supported. Our peer support network specifically for women in field roles gives them a space to connect, share experiences, and access tailored guidance. Recognising the unique challenges of fieldwork, we are also piloting additional security measures for lone workers and introducing women-specific uniforms designed for comfort and practicality.

At Calisen, diversity isn’t just a goal – it’s key to the industry’s future. We are committed to driving meaningful transformation, not just in our company but across the sector. By breaking down barriers and amplifying women’s voices, our goal is to accelerate change and build a utilities sector where all women can thrive.

Why every colleague counts

At Centrica, inclusion isn't a tick-box exercise – it’s a cultural mindset. We recognise that sustainable change happens when people feel seen, heard, and empowered to thrive. That's why we're dedicated to making every colleague count by fostering a culture of mutual trust and respect, empowering our people to be themselves, grow, and develop, while bringing purpose and meaning to their daily work.

The utility sector is undergoing transformation in response to key challenges that the workforce must echo. For us, the workforce of the future is one that possesses the skills to lead the transition to net zero and reflects the full diversity of the communities we serve. Yet, while progress has been made, women across the industry continue to face structural barriers, from limited visibility in leadership to outdated assumptions around capability and care responsibilities.

To truly move the dial for women in utilities, our sector must go beyond well-intentioned pledges and embed inclusion into the everyday.

At Centrica, we’ve taken a whole-system approach to ensure Every Colleague Counts:

We’ve built data-driven insight to understand where inequality exists and who is being left behind such as our ‘This is Me’ campaign for National Inclusion Week.

We’ve reshaped policies to provide appropriate support to women at all stages of life – from parental leave and fertility pathways to menopause support and flexible working.

We invest in active allyship training, working with leaders and people managers to create cultures where difference is respected and bias is challenged.

We’ve elevated women’s voices through colleague networks, and leadership pipelines — ensuring representation isn’t performative, but powerful.

Our commitments have earned us recognition in the The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality; UK Best Workplaces 2025 (Most Inclusive Workplace); and high rankings in the CCLA Mental Health Benchmark. Centrica won the Diversity Network of the Year award for Wellbeing with our fertility network, and was also highly commended at the British Diversity Awards for our carers’ network.

But we know there is still more to do...

Industry-wide change requires collective action. Organisations like WUN are vital in bringing organisations together to highlight not just the challenges, but also the opportunities ahead to drive more impactful change.

We see opportunities in:

Mentorship and sponsorship to be formalised and embedded, not left to chance;

Policies must be lived in practice, not just written on paper;

Leaders must be held accountable for creating workplaces where women don’t just survive – they succeed and thrive.

When we say Every Colleague Counts, we mean every voice matters. By putting inclusion at the forefront, we unlock innovation, resilience, and the power of women across the sector to shape a more equitable and sustainable future.

Championing allyship and inclusion: Driving meaningful change for women in utilities

By Claudia McIntosh, SmartestEnergy

Significant strides are being made toward greater gender inclusivity across the energy and utilities sector. We must ensure that women in utilities feel empowered, supported, and equipped to succeed at every stage of their careers.

At SmartestEnergy, we recognise that allyship plays a vital role in accelerating gender equity in our industry and creating an environment where women can thrive. Allyship is about more than just acknowledgement of the challenges someone faces – it requires action. To be an effective ally, individuals must actively support and advocate for women and other underrepresented groups, addressing barriers and biases that hinder progress.

Leadership plays a crucial role in this by promoting inclusive workplace cultures, fostering psychological safety, and creating opportunities for diverse voices to be heard. Non-female allies have an essential role in challenging inappropriate behaviours, advocating for equity in policies and initiatives, and amplifying the voices of their colleagues.

At SmartestEnergy, we are committed to embedding inclusivity into the fabric of our company culture. Through our SmartestBalance initiative, we have launched an allyship campaign that provides employees with training on key topics such as inclusivity, bias, and psychological safety.

We host internal events to facilitate open conversations, enabling employees to learn from each other’s experiences without judgement. By fostering open dialogue, showcasing inspiring journeys, and providing practical support, we hope to drive tangible, lasting change within our industry and beyond.

“Through our SmartestBalance initiative, we have launched an allyship campaign that provides employees with training on key topics such as inclusivity, bias, and psychological safety”

However, to build a truly inclusive sector, we must look beyond our own workplace. More must be done to break down the barriers that deter women from entering – and then staying – in the industry, from addressing imposter syndrome to ensuring that networking opportunities are inclusive and accessible. Companies are responsible for creating pathways for women to advance into senior leadership roles by implementing diverse hiring practices, mentorship programmes, and leadership development initiatives.

There is work to be done in diversifying access to the energy and utilities industry. But through allyship, championing equity, and taking deliberate action, we can create a more diverse, dynamic, and innovative energy sector – one where women not only enter but are positioned to thrive. As we look to the future, SmartestEnergy remains committed to being part of the solution, working collaboratively with industry partners like the Womens Utilities Network to build an equitable and inclusive utilities landscape.

The right policies can power a more equal future for women

The energy sector is undergoing a period of exciting transformation. Alongside these changes comes a powerful opportunity: to build a more inclusive and representative workforce that fully harnesses the talents and perspectives of women across the sector.

Recent data from POWERful Women (PfW) and PwC UK shows that women currently occupy 29% of board seats in the energy industry – a figure that highlights the potential for growth and progression. At Brook Green Supply, we see this as a challenge and a chance to take meaningful steps to ensure women are not just included but empowered to thrive and lead in this vital sector.

Women play a crucial role as energy consumers, producers, innovators, and decision-makers. Their insight and expertise are key to shaping the future of energy – from securing global energy supplies to designing sustainable systems for generations to come. Unlocking this potential requires the creation of environments where women can develop long-term careers, take on leadership roles, and influence strategic direction.

“At Brook Green Supply, we’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far, with women making up 42% of our company and broadly represented at all levels”

One of the most effective ways to foster this progress is through thoughtful, inclusive workplace policies. These policies send a strong signal: that women are valued, supported, and given the tools they need to succeed. Attracting diverse talent is only one part of the picture – retaining it, especially at senior levels, is equally important. This can often be achieved through greater flexibility, support for caring responsibilities, and access to tailored career development.

Across the industry, initiatives such as return-to-work programmes, enhanced parental leave, and flexible or compressed working hours are already making a difference. These not only support women as they balance work and life commitments, but also help all employees realise their full potential and contribute meaningfully over the long term.

At Brook Green Supply, we’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far, with women making up 42% of our company and broadly represented at all levels. We’re committed to building on this momentum by reviewing and evolving our policies to ensure our workplace remains welcoming, fair, and forward-thinking. With this as our driving force, we’ve recently introduced and enhanced a number of policies aimed at helping all of our employees to strike a balance between their goals in both their home and work life. These include enhanced maternity and paternity leave – giving our people industry-leading support in their family journeys – pregnancy loss support, an issue increasingly getting the attention in the workplace it deserves, and greater flexibility around core hours in addition to existing flexibility around home working, all shaped in collaboration with our team.

Parental leave often looms large in conversations around gender diversity, equality and equity in the workplace, having a significant impact on outcomes in these areas. We believe that parental leave requires balance – it should support all parents regardless of gender, and work towards eliminating any potential gender pay gaps and underrepresentation in senior positions.

“We believe that parental leave requires balance – it should support all parents regardless of gender, and work towards eliminating any potential gender pay gaps and underrepresentation in senior positions”

For example, shared parental leave can be hugely positive in theory, but where one parent has a great parental leave policy, and the other doesn’t, it limits choice, usually resulting in the lower paid partner needing to take the leave to lower the impact on the couple’s joint income. This can then be compounded by the gender pay gap and under-representation of women in senior positions, meaning the woman is disproportionately likely to need to take the leave.

While Brook Green Supply can’t directly control pay, representation and policies in other companies, we are committed to ensuring that we do the right thing in all three of those areas, setting the standard for companies around us to do the same. As a result, we’re continuing to explore further evolutions to our parental policies, alongside other initiatives to maintain equality in pay and opportunities throughout the company.

By investing in these initiatives, we’re not just shaping a better workplace – we’re contributing to a more resilient, innovative, and sustainable energy sector. Our aim is to empower all our employees to lead, challenge convention, and drive the change our industry needs.

We’re excited about what the future holds – and we believe that by championing inclusion and supporting women in energy, we’re laying the foundations for a brighter tomorrow.

Navigating the maze: How Capgemini champions women through every stage of life

The metaphor of a maze is often used to describe the complex, intersecting barriers women face in professional environments – barriers shaped by gender, class, disability, ethnicity, motherhood, and more. At Capgemini, we don’t just acknowledge this complexity, we design for it. Our approach to inclusion is grounded in a belief that true equity means meeting people where they are, at every moment that matters.

A foundation built on inclusion and wellbeing

Capgemini’s inclusion strategy is expansive, spanning gender, ethnicity, neurodiversity, disability, sexual orientation, social mobility, inclusive behaviours, and age. Complementing this is our wellbeing strategy that addresses physical, mental, financial, and social wellbeing. Together, this forms the foundation of our commitment to supporting all women.

Inspiring the next generation

Our journey with women begins long before they enter the workforce. Through partnerships with organisations like CodeFirstGirls, CodeYourFuture, and 10,000 Black Interns, we reach into schools, colleges and underrepresented communities to spark interest in technology careers. From school talks and university hackathons to mentoring programmes in social mobility cold spots, we’re opening doors for girls from all backgrounds to see themselves in STEM.

Creating equitable entry points

Capgemini’s early careers programmes are designed with accessibility in mind. With no age limit, over 53% of our apprentices and graduates are women. Structured development plans, mentoring, and regular progression reviews ensure that women can thrive. For those re-entering the workforce, our Relaunch programme offers internships and permanent roles, with 80% of participants being women and a 100% conversion rate to permanent positions.

Empowering growth and leadership

We believe that progression should be transparent and inclusive. That’s why we’ve set bold targets – 40% female representation globally and 30% in senior roles by 2025. These goals are backed by data-driven talent reviews, diverse promotion shortlists, and succession planning that considers both gender and ethnicity. Programmes like Future Leaders, EZRA Coaching, and our Inclusion on Boards equip women with the tools and confidence to lead.

Supporting parenthood and caregiving

Parenthood shouldn’t be a barrier to career success. Capgemini’s enhanced Primary Parent Leave (gender neutral) offers 26 weeks of fully paid leave for primary caregivers and four weeks for partners. We also provide paid leave for fertility treatment, a £20,000 fertility benefit, and 10 days of paid leave for baby loss – partners and surrogates included. Our Family Matters portal, parental coaching, and digital GP platforms ensure support through every stage of parenting. We also offer neurodiversity diagnoses for employees plus dependants, and private therapy access for the whole family.

Flexibility as a standard, not a perk

Flexibility is embedded in our culture. Every role is open to flexible working – whether that’s hybrid, remote, part-time, or compressed hours. Our hybrid working charter, Flex-Abroad benefit, and manager training ensure that flexibility is available and effective. This is especially vital for women balancing work with caregiving or health needs.

Championing women’s health

As an Endometriosis Friendly Employer, Capgemini provides dedicated support for employees living with endometriosis. We also offer comprehensive menopause support through a formal policy, internal champions, the Peppy platform, and regular awareness events. Employees aged over 40 can also benefit from free health screenings and a wide range of tailored wellbeing resources.

Planning for what’s next

Employees aged 55+ are often keen to explore new career options and retirement planning. Through our Navigating Your Future Hub and flexible retirement options, we help employees plan their next chapter. Our partnership with 55Redefined empowers older employees to explore new opportunities and redefine what the future looks like.

Learn more about careers at Capgemini by visiting our careers page.

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