11 Mar Women in energy are feeling less connected
The results of our recent Tell Us What Your Think Survey send a clear message from our network: women in energy are feeling less connected as a result of Covid-19 changes to the workplace. Nearly 60% said they felt less connected with their colleagues and wider work network since working from home during the pandemic, while 21% said they felt more connected and 18% said there had been no impact.
While this is not a scientific sample, it backs up anecdotal evidence we have heard that women are missing the conversations and connections they feel they need to advance their career. Interestingly, 41% said they didn’t feel that Covid-19 had yet had any impact on their career progression, but more than a third said it had.
Several pieces of research recently have suggested that women have been disadvantaged during the pandemic – being more likely to be furloughed and bearing the lion’s share of home-schooling and domestic work. While technology has very swiftly facilitated remote working, there is a risk that lack of visibility in the workplace could negatively impact their advancement. We need to ensure that Covid-19 accelerates rather than reverses positive change and that flexible ways of working create workplaces where everyone can flourish.
What we can do
The Tell Us What You Think survey, which is a follow-up to POWERful Women’s 5th Anniversary Survey in early 2020, also sought to identify the support that women now need in light of Covid-19. By far the most popular request from respondents was for more networking opportunities, both online and across the country when we are able to meet in person. Coaching workshops and mentoring were also high on the list of asks.
When it came to the topics and skills women in energy feel they need to learn more about for career success, resilience and change management are unsurprisingly at the top, followed by leadership, how to find opportunities, communicating with confidence and up- or re-skilling for the energy transition.
We’ll be using this valuable feedback to continue to develop our programme of activities to support women in advancing their careers. In the meantime, keep an eye on our upcoming events programme and check out our mentoring scheme.
Thank you to everyone who contributed.