The oil and gas sector employs the second-lowest proportion of women, after construction. This trend, well rooted in the sector’s mentality, is slowly beginning to change. What is the current situation? What actions are to be put in place so that oil and gas companies hire more women?
Unfortunate record for petroleum
Today, the oil and gas sector directly and indirectly employs more than 425,000 people in Canada. Of these, only 20% are women (11% in the construction industry), compared to 38% in other sectors. Occupying only 17% of the most senior positions and 1% of CEO functions, they are often limited to clerical jobs (communication, administration, human resources). The fact that they do not work in the field nor hold technical positions obstructs them in their career development. Indeed, hired for the same positions as men, few of them reach the top of the hierarchy, as confirmed by a study conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Petroleum Council among 2000 professionals of the oil and gas sector in 38 global companies. However, upcoming major hirings (55,300 recruitments by 2020) to overcome the many retirements (75% of employees are over 50 years old) and to support increased production of oil, if the barrel reaches $50 to $80, provides a glimmer of hope in this very masculinized sector. Has the time come for parity?
How to attract women into the petroleum industry?
The few women who have managed to climb into key positions in oil and gas companies have made men aware that it is a shame to leave sharp and bright female profiles behind, on the sole pretext that women are less flexible, not as strong… Various actions are therefore being developed to attract women into this sector. In terms of training, the focus is on increasing the number of technical and scientific channels, with discovery of the sector’s professions by students (ExxonMobil has implemented a discovery program for high-school girls) and on partnerships with associations of under-represented groups (for example, Women Building Futures). Improved training would allow women to be present at the level of 35% – and no longer 20% – in oil and gas companies by 2022. Then, some are thinking of setting quotas for hiring as many women as men of new graduates, which would allow them to have a promising career path and achieve positions of responsibility. In addition, new technology lets tasks be performed remotely (drilling), more safely and productively (computer aided exploration). These new duties require new skills, particularly in computer engineering, which women can fully take advantage of. Finally, concrete political measures such as those taken by Harper in February 2014 (increasing the participation of women in Alberta’s oil and gas industry) helps support the cause of women who wish to work and advance in the petroleum industry.
Appropriate training, mass recruitment, innovative technology, minimum quotas… all the stars seem finally to be lining up this decade for women’s representation in the petroleum field to be balanced.