Our Director of Corporate, Nic Granger, writes:
The OGA is delighted to sign up to the Tech Talent Charter as we promote inclusion and diversity across the OGA team and across the oil and gas industry. We are committed to having diverse teams across our Digital, Data and Information Technology teams, and the organisation as a whole.
We believe that real inclusion can support individuals and organisations in navigating the future, engaging staff and fostering innovation. As a technology-based sector we’re keen to collaborate with other Tech Talent charter signatories to learn new aspects of how we can embed inclusion and diversity across the workforce.
In April the OGA published our first Inclusion Report. In this we talk about why we believe that real inclusion can support individuals and organisations in navigating the future, engaging staff and fostering innovation.
The oil and gas industry has, in some respects, already got a broad and diverse talent base. Many of those who work in the oil and gas sector will be used to being part of global teams comprised of people with a range of nationalities, backgrounds and cultural experiences. The skills needed to ensure that a wide coalition of talent can be effectively brought together are exactly what is needed to ensure that – within the UK context – the brightest and best continue to be attracted to this sector. As the industry we regulate, promote and influence is a technology driven industry the Tech Talent Charter clearly aligns with this.
The TTC Diversity in Tech 2019 report shows 24.1% of technical roles are held by women, this is a similar number to one in recent Boston Consulting Group work done for the World Petroleum Council which shows an average of 22% of female staff across the oil and gas sector.
Female representation at mid-management level is, according to the BCG study, fairly consistent with graduate levels but drops significantly at the stage of moving into senior management.
The pool of senior technical women available for leadership roles is then lower than necessary to provide equal representation, resulting in the current position where according to Powerful Women 89% of the top UK energy companies have no women on their executive team (this is broader than upstream oil and gas).
The Tech Talent Charter is looking to address inequality in the UK tech sector and drive inclusion and diversity. As we sign up to the charter, we recognise that the OGA has made progress, but we know we are not yet where we want to be.
We are changing how we attract, recruit and develop our people, unlocking the talents and capabilities we have as an organisation and attracting new talent.
To maximise the benefits of inclusion and diversity, the OGA will go beyond statutory requirements and build a Great Place to Work that champions inclusion and diversity, maintains an inclusive culture and continues to raise awareness of inclusion and diversity with all our colleagues and partners.
This strategy requires the OGA to continue taking the right decisions, in the right way and communicating openly – all consistent with our core values: Fair, Accountable, Robust and Considerate.
Everyone must feel valued, included and part of what we are trying to achieve. If you want to hear more about our approach check out our recent Podcast.