09 Jun UK energy sector still failing to remove career barriers for women but gender balance is within reach
- New data from UK’s top 100 energy employers shows progress on female representation in leadership stalls
- Significant gaps at C-suite level and all-male boards persist
- Welcome progress on women in middle management, suggesting a growing pipeline to the top
Ongoing challenges and incremental progress in female representation within the UK energy sector has been revealed by analysis released today (Wednesday 11 June) by POWERful Women (PfW), in collaboration with Bain & Company.
Despite improvements at some levels, the sector currently sits below 40% female representation in leadership and middle management, a target that POWERful Women has set the industry for 2030. With five years to go, the organisation is calling for a commitment by all industry leaders to urgently address barriers to attracting, retaining and progressing talented women in the industry, for better business performance, resilience and innovation.
The Annual State of the Nation Report 2025, which this year benchmarks female representation in an expanded list of the largest 100 UK energy employers (representing a combined workforce of over 230, 000 people) shows that across the whole sector women are in:
- 30% of company boards roles (executive and non-executive), a small increase from 29% in 2024.
- 16% of Executive Director roles on boards, up from 15% in 2024.
- 34% of Leadership roles, unchanged from 2024.
- 34% of middle management roles, where there has been the highest increase, from 32% in 2024.
- 15 UK energy companies still have no female board members at all.
- 73% of company boards still have no female Executive Directors.
The report reveals a significant gap in female representation in the top decision-making roles within the energy sector, which continues to hinder overall gender diversity. Only 8% of CEOs and 9% of Board Chairs in the top 100 energy companies are women. The CFO role has the highest female representation, with women holding 16% of positions.
Moreover, the energy sector is significantly behind the FTSE 350 which has already achieved its 40% women on boards 2025 target, which is unattainable by the energy sector unless each company adds one woman to its board within the next six months.
However, there are reasons for optimism. Five of the nine female Chairs, 3 of the 8 female CEOs and 8 of the 13 female CFOs were appointed in the last two years. Furthermore, the number of companies adding women to their boards over the past 12 months outpaced those removing them (20 boards added at least one woman, while 7 boards removed one or more).
Unveiling the statistics, Monica Collings, Chair of POWERful Women, said:
“I am pleased to see that a focus in the past year on women in middle management – and addressing culture and retention issues to support their careers – might at last be delivering results, as we’ve seen the most significant increase at that level, and this suggests a potential pipeline for future leaders too. However, it is disappointing to see no progress on women in energy leadership, a persistent gender gap in the C-suite and still far too many energy companies with no women at all on their boards. Companies must act decisively to reverse stagnation, especially in key decision-making roles.
“To achieve net zero, it’s essential to attract fresh talent and cultivate new green skills, and this is a powerful opportunity to build an industry that truly reflects the diverse communities and customers it serves. And it’s not just about attraction but retaining talented women within a supportive workplace culture.
With just five years left to achieve our 40% representation target, we must be bold in our ambition and intensify our efforts. By showcasing outstanding examples of good practice from companies that have already achieved gender balance, we aim to spark a transformative acceleration of progress across the industry. Now is the time to step up and drive meaningful change.”
The path to gender balance is achievable
Today’s report shows that, despite slow progress, POWERful Women’s 40% targets for women in leadership and middle management are within reach, as long as there is focussed action by energy companies. On average, each of the top 100 companies in the energy sector needs to add five female leadership team members and 38 female middle managers by 2030 to bridge the gap to 40%. The report sets out a blueprint strategy to achieve this, with a suite of recommended actions, with creating an inclusive workplace at its heart.
Olga Muscat, partner at Bain & Company and leader of the firm’s UK Utilities and Renewables practice, commented:
“We need to be tapping into, and developing, all pools of talent to meet our net zero ambitions and to overcome the UK’s green skills gap. POWERful Women is playing an important role in holding up a mirror to the industry on how effective it is in delivering on those vital objectives. This year’s statistics are a useful call to action given the slowdown in progress and the gaps that are still very evident.”
Comparisons of company types
This year’s Annual State of the Nation report includes some deeper dives into company types to look at how female representation varies based on company size, where the company is headquartered, its sub-sector, and the type of work it performs. Some insights include:
- Large companies (2000+ employees), perform best for women on boards, in leadership and in middle management, and are above the sector 30% average.
- European-headquartered companies are best for women on boards (likely due to regulatory momentum), but UK-based companies lead for women in leadership and middle management.
- Oil & gas companies perform slightly better than alternative & renewable or power & utilities across all three sectors too, but the difference is minimal at middle management level.
- The lowest female board representation can be found in infrastructure & distribution (24%), oilfield & offshore drilling (24%), and energy financial & investment services (25%).
– ENDS –
MEDIA CONTACTS:
POWERful Women:
Anna Stanford, Communications Adviser – +44 7961 234634 anna@powerfulwomen.org.uk
info@powerfulwomen.org.uk
Bain & Company:
Gary Duncan, Director of Public Relations – gary.duncan@bain.com
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Compilation of the 2025 statistics:
POWERful Women has once again collaborated with Bain & Company to gather statistics on female representation among the most significant energy companies in the UK, selected on the basis of sector presence, material operational UK presence and workforce size. For 2025, the scope of the analysis has been expanded to cover 100 of the UK’s most significant energy employers, up from 80 in prior years, to reflect the evolving makeup of the modern energy sector. Together, these 100 companies represent a workforce of more than 230,000 employees in the UK, thereby providing a representative view of the sector. The 2025 data for the top 100 companies is compared against historical data for those same companies, rather than the previous year’s top 80 published by PfW in 2024. This approach ensures a like-for-like comparison, providing a more accurate picture of progress in female representation.The board, leadership and middle management data was gathered through direct engagement and publicly available information correct as of end of March 2025. Only 37 and 32 of the 100 companies were able to provide us with leadership and middle management data, respectively. However, those that did so are some of the largest employers in the UK energy sector – representing more than 60% of the in-scope UK workforce – and so still provide a valuable view of the sector. - The report can be downloaded here
- Infographics are available on request – email anna@powerfulwomen.org.uk
About POWERful Women
POWERful Women is a professional initiative working for a gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive energy sector fit for the energy transition. Hosted by the Energy Institute, our goal is for women to be in at least 40% of middle management and leadership roles in UK energy by 2030. To deliver this we support, challenge and connect: we support and connect women to advance their careers (for example, through mentoring, coaching and networking events); challenge companies on progress (for example, reporting annual statistics); collaborate with other advocates and government; and provide practical support to companies (for example, by sharing good DEI practice through our Leaders Coalition). www.powerfulwomen.org.uk.
About Bain & Company
Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world’s most ambitious change makers define the future.
Across 65 cities in 40 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes. Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today’s urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment. We earned a platinum rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 1% of all companies. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry.
