Equinor’s Alex Grant joins coalition to accelerate gender diversity and inclusion in the UK energy sector

12 Feb Equinor’s Alex Grant joins coalition to accelerate gender diversity and inclusion in the UK energy sector

POWERful Women has today welcomed a public commitment from Equinor’s UK Country Manager, Alex Grant¹, to a gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive energy sector in the UK and to accelerating the pace of change towards this goal.

Alex joins POWERful Women’s Energy Leaders’ Coalition², now comprising the heads of 15 of the UK’s largest energy employers and the regulators Ofgem and the North Sea Transition Authority. The leaders on the coalition have each made a commitment to drive better female representation and inclusive workplaces within their own organisation and the sector as a whole.

While the number of women in the industry has risen over the past decade, progress is now stalling, particularly in key decision-making roles where female representation  remains very poor. In 2024, women occupied just 16% of executive director roles across the top 80 UK energy companies, and a fifth of those companies had no women on their boards at all³.

Alex Grant, Equinor UK Country Manager, said; 

“At Equinor, we strive to ensure that all our employees reach their full potential, and we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an industry, we know that we need to do more to ensure that women are better represented, and I am very pleased that we have joined the POWERful Women Leaders’ Coalition to help drive this.”

By joining the Coalition, leaders sign up to a charter4 committing them to communicate their company’s targets and timeline for change and be accountable for progress. Their data is published every year, alongside examples of policies that are making a difference.

Members of this unique coalition also commit to advocating with their peers and with government for better balance across the industry, meeting five times a year to learn from each other, share challenges and successes, and plan collective action.

Katie Jackson, Chair of POWERful Women, commented;

“I am delighted that Alex has made this important public commitment to advancing gender diversity, equity and inclusion in the energy sector. This kind of business leadership is essential for driving change, particularly now, when we see some worrying pushback on diversity and inclusion. Action on DEI is about being able to access the very best talent available for your business, which leads to better performance, innovation and customer trust. And building inclusive workplaces benefits everyone, creating safe and supportive spaces where people of all backgrounds and experiences can work together to deliver results and thrive. I look forward to the work of the Coalition this year, to accelerate change towards our goals.”

Cordi O’Hara, President of National Grid Electricity Distribution and this year’s Chair of the Energy Leaders’ Coalition, commented;

”I am pleased to welcome Alex onto the Coalition. This year, with five years to go to meet POWERful Women’s 40% target, we have strengthened our resolve and focused on key activities that we think will make a difference, including more public advocacy by CEOs, communicating the business benefits of diversity and inclusion for building a talented workforce for the energy transition, and collaborating with others to achieve results. I look forward to Alex joining us in this mission and the opportunity to draw on his experience, ideas and leadership skills.”

Alex Grant added;

“As a business, we are focused on improving gender diversity and have initiatives in place to support this including workforce training, our Women in Equinor UK employee group, and flexible working policies. We know there is always more to be done and, when tackling complex issues such as gender diversity, collaboration is crucial. Initiatives such as POWERful Women are a vital part of this. I look forward to working with them to ensure that our industry is accessible to all, and that the energy sector attracts the best talent possible.”

ENDS

CONTACT FOR MEDIA ENQUIRES:
Anna Stanford, Communications Adviser: +44 7961 234634 & anna@powerfulwomen.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Equinor
Equinor is a leading broad energy partner to the UK, supplying natural gas from Norway, developing domestic energy resources, and generating low-carbon electricity. Equinor has been operating in the UK for 40 years and aims to reach net zero emissions globally by 2050. Headquartered in Norway, the company employs 23,000 people globally, and over 750 in the UK. Equinor’s purpose is to turn natural resources into energy for people and progress for society. Equinor supports the UK economy by investing billions in crucial energy infrastructure, working with over 700 suppliers across the country.

In 2023, Equinor supplied 27% of the UK’s demand for natural gas and around one sixth of its demand for oil, both produced with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry. It operates the Mariner oil field and is maturing the Rosebank project with plans for electrification.  Equinor currently powers around 750,000 UK homes through its three operational wind farms; Sheringham Shoal, Dudgeon, and the world’s first floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland. In partnership with SSE Renewables and Vårgrønn, Equinor is building the largest offshore wind farm in the world, Dogger Bank, off the Northeast coast of England, and is maturing its plans to extend both the Dudgeon and Sheringham Shoal wind farms. 

It is also a leader in both carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen, developing low-carbon power with carbon capture, hydrogen, and CO2 transport and storage projects in the UK. In 2024, Equinor’s first battery storage asset, the Blandford Road, became operational, delivering flexible power to the UK.