10 Sep 2026

UK energy sector still failing to remove career barriers for women but gender balance is within reach

Highlights:

New data from UK's top 100 energy employers shows progress on female representation in leadership stalls
Significant gaps at C-suite level and on 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).

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.

Monica Collings, Chair of POWERful Women

Unveiling the statistics, Monica Collings, Chair of POWERful Women, said:

“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.

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.

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.”

Olga Muscat, partner at Bain & Company and leader of the firm’s UK Utilities and Renewables practice

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%).