Increasing representation (and retention)
Johanna Dow, the chief executive of business water supplier Business Stream, is an industry leader from a smaller organisation that is also focused on providing the best environment for women possible (reflected in the atypical gender split on the company’s board, which is 60:40 in favour of women). “It’s about making sure the working environment and the culture supports the development and promotion of women at all levels,” says Dow, who won Woman of the Year at last year’s inaugural Womens Utilities Network (WUN) / Utility Week Women in Utilities Awards.
“I think it’s really important we create an environment where women feel they are not just encouraged to do a good job but are supported to thrive and develop a career for themselves. It’s important that women (and men) feel they can flourish rather than just survive. Because surviving’s not enough.”
The representation of women in the utilities industry has improved, Dow says, although there is a long way to go. “If you look at the hard numbers, it’s still true that 70% of all roles in the sector are filled by men. But I think it is changing, particularly within the water industry. Retailers that operate in the sector have female CEOs. Having more women in these senior roles helps, because it does provide people with role models that they can aspire to.”
Despite the progress, alarming research by WUN found one third of women in utilities were thinking of exiting the industry in 2024. If this outcome is to be avoided, then the interviewees contributing to this report agreed that it’s all about the C-word: culture. “Policies are great, but they can be read in different ways: inclusion is about the culture you are creating,” says Parsons of Centrica.
“It’s important that women (and men) feel they can flourish rather than just survive. Because surviving’s not enough"
Jo Dow, Business Stream
Gary Ford, managing director of Men for Inclusion, has extensive experience in the IT and financial services sectors, where just hiring more women wasn’t enough. He agrees with Parsons. “When we wanted to get more women into finance and more women into technology, we did a really good job hiring them in the first year or two, but then found they weren’t sticking around: it’s because the culture hadn’t yet progressed to allow them to develop their careers,” he explains.
Policies for women: What does good look like?
Centrica may have some groundbreaking policies when it comes to supporting employees, but what does good look like for other organisations when it comes to creating an environment where women can thrive?
One of the consequences of the pandemic has been the rise of flexible and remote working, a good outcome when it comes to supporting women. Or as Dow says: “We know that women are caregivers more often than men – although that’s not exclusively the case. I think we recognise that and try and provide an environment that supports that.
“If you are a caregiver, having flexibility is key, whether that is caring for kids, or elderly parents, or somebody with a disability. At Business Stream, if you produce the right outputs and the right outcomes, then we’re happy: you don’t have to be here 9 – 5 every day to demonstrate it.”
Meanwhile Hopkins says it is “disappointing” there’s been a backlash against working from home from some companies and bosses. “A move away from hybrid or remote working doesn’t allow people to easily balance work and life commitments, and often the reasons organisations give as rationale just don’t stack up. Cultures often claim to want colleagues to ‘bring their whole selves to work’, but in reality, this means recognition that we all have priorities that are not work-related as well as those that are.
“We have female-friendly PPE in women’s sizes, and women’s fit pregnancy PPE. We also offer free period products at all of our sites”
Judy Middleton, Kier Group
“If companies want their cultures to be authentic, they have to recognise and facilitate this, not create artificial barriers that often disproportionately impact women.”
Judy Middleton, HR director of Kier Group’s natural resources, nuclear & networks business, says provision of flexible working shows that employers trust their employees, which has an impact on engagement, performance and retention. “Whatever survey you read about why people either go to or stay in a job, flexibility is always in the top three factors. It’s important to men as well as woman, and that has shifted post-Covid.
“People really value flexibility, so we need to adopt agile working practices across the whole industry. Even when it comes to people out on site, flexibility is an important factor for applicants for jobs at Kier.
“If we want to encourage women, we have to offer flexibility.”
Middleton points out that although she works part-time, she has thrived at Kier Group and been promoted three times. “Managers have been supportive of both flexible working and my career development.” She acknowledges that it’s easier to provide flexibility to colleagues doing office jobs than in frontline roles. “When people are out on site, we need to think creatively.” When it comes to supporting women onsite, this extends to the provision of the correct PPE. “We have female-friendly PPE in women’s sizes, and women’s fit pregnancy PPE. We also offer free period products at all of our sites.”
Centrica also stocks “proper women’s PPE, including maternity wear”, says Parsons. She recalls days spent as an engineer “in PPE that doesn’t fit, bobbing around in a van with sleeves that are six inches too long, and a crotch that’s around your knees”.
“Female engineers shouldn’t be turning up bedraggled at customer sites with PPE that’s far too big, wearing a British Gas logo,” Parsons adds. “It doesn’t look professional – and it’s not safe.”
“Most men who make use of paternity leave have a woman in their lives who is sharing caring duties with them. So businesses that have really good paternity leave policies are supporting women”
Emma Philogene, Thames Water
Another key area for supporting women (and men) is maternity and paternity leave and pay. Kier Group offers six months’ full pay for women on maternity leave and enhanced paternity pay of eight weeks’ full pay for new fathers, says Middleton.
“I think there is recognition that paternity policies are incredibly important in enabling women to thrive at work,” points out Emma Philogene of Thames Water. “Most men who make use of paternity leave have a woman in their lives who is sharing caring duties with them. So businesses that have really good paternity leave policies are supporting women.”
But as well as support following the birth of a child, it’s also vital that women are supported to come back to work, she explains. “One thing we found through a maternity returners campaign we ran at Thames is that women who come back into the business may feel unsupported. They were unsure how to navigate it having been out for a long time. Providing them with support, mentorship and the opportunity to collaborate and work with each other has been a big deal.”
Many women leave businesses within a year of coming back to work following starting a family. “There is an opportunity to arrest a trend that starts to go in the wrong direction in women’s mid- or late 30s,” says Philogene. She says that keep in touch days are valuable for engaging women while on maternity leave. Major changes to the business such as restructuring or new managers coming onboard should also be communicated. “When there is significant change that occurs while a woman is on maternity leave there should be a real effort to communicate with her upfront.”
Navigating all life’s stages
Our commentators also agree that support for women should extend to another key life event: the menopause.
Middleton of Kier Group says: “We have policies and guidance in place around menopause. It’s important in an industry that is heavily dominated by males that they do understand the impact menopause has on female colleagues.” This includes the provision of a ‘menopause café’ where women can come together to discuss experiences and challenges. Only recently, a female colleague at Kier shared how supported she had been by her line manager, and the sense of relief, care and value she felt as a result. Johanna Dow says that women want to be able to have open conversations with their managers about the menopause. “We developed a menopause policy: but what made it powerful was developing a colleague-led menopause support group, so that women were able to get advice and support from other people who had been through it.
“The policies themselves are not enough, it’s the actions that go around them.”
“There is work to be done around women’s health,” says Hopkins. “Women’s health and men’s health needs are quite different, and they impact the work experience and lived experience differently. Some of the better organisations are talking candidly about these differences and educating managers and colleagues about what colleagues’ needs might be at different stages in life. For example, menopause and peri-menopause impact many women and their partners significantly, and it is great to see many organisations really focusing on developing supportive policies.”
“Women’s health and men’s health needs are quite different, and they impact the work experience and lived experience differently. Some of the better organisations are talking candidly about these differences”
Sarah Hopkins, Pathways People Solutions
Philogene says that menopause policy can make “a massive difference to the experience of a woman in work”. “If the goal is to keep women motivated and producing high quality work for a business, anything you can do to engage them is a good thing.”
And ultimately, the ability to bring one’s whole self to work is an important part of feeling engaged. “A workplace that is inclusive is one where people are able to be themselves, and belong. They will be more prepared to contribute and it helps them to thrive,” believes Middleton.
Parsons makes the point that genuine inclusivity should include, well, everyone. “That’s why our attitude at Centrica is that ‘every colleague counts’ today. How do I support you and allow you to succeed – and that means anyone in the organisation. Where do you want to go next in your career? We’ve all got jobs to do, but you’re going to get more from a person if they feel supported, valued and seen.”
“A workplace that is inclusive is one where people are able to be themselves, and belong. They will be more prepared to contribute and it helps them to thrive"
Judy Middleton, Kier Group
She points out that Centrica has historically been focused on diversity and data. “But you can’t create a culture of belonging if you dial down our male colleagues because they don’t fit the agenda, or the tick box, or the strategy.”
Gary Ford says that making the utilities sector more inclusive of women inevitably involves the input of men. “My view is that women can’t solve this type of problem on their own – and men certainly can’t.” He believes progress has stalled in the last couple of years. “Industries have done a good job attracting more women, or attracting people that were not necessarily represented in their business, but they are finding they are not progressing as fast as they would like them to, or they are leaving.” (Which echoes the findings of WUN’s research in 2024.)
There is also something of a push-back against diversity and inclusion among men and in public discourse, Ford says. “With any change, you’re always going to get that. The question now is how we respond. Building better opportunities professionally for women and girls is still the absolute priority.”
Men often unwittingly create problems, says Ford (his book is called The Accidental Sexist). “Most people are well-intentioned: they want to do the right thing, particularly in work. But sometimes they get it wrong.” Get it right, and the organisation will flourish, along with its employees. “Get inclusion right, and you begin to notice how much better the discussion is – how much more insightful. Better decisions are made, which leads to better outcomes for everyone, whatever their gender.
“A big part of inclusion is about recognising the benefits for you as an individual and your team. When you spot them, it has a kind of snowball effect, and people say, ‘yeah, we need to do more of this’.”
A Utility Week Intelligence Report in association with the Womens Utilities Network
A Utility Week Intelligence Report in association with the Womens Utilities Network