International Women’s Day 2021: Celebrating Women in Energy

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality. This year we are marking the day by profiling some of the wonderful women who work for UGP.

The energy sector is widely regarded as one of the least gender diverse areas of the economy. A recent report by the professional initiative POWERful Women and consulting giant PwC studied the board member composition of 80 companies in the UK energy space.  It found that 38% of the UK’s top energy companies had no women members on their boards. Also, more than two-thirds of the firms lacked a single woman-occupied executive seat.

United Gas and Power are determined to lead the way and ensure we have stronger representation of women in the workforce. Additionally, however, UGP is not merely employing more women to tip this numerical target but rather creating a workplace that empowers and encourages the employment, development and progression of everyone irrespective of gender.

Sally Rusbatch, Account Manager

“The energy industry used to be very male dominated, but that has really changed now. When I started at UGP I was the only woman in the sales team, our team is now almost a 50/50 split. The results of the team are evenly split as well, showing your gender has literally no affect on your performance to do well in energy.

We have a number of strong women working in every side of our business from the bottom to the top, so much so, gender is never even a topic of conversation – equality goes without saying here.

As a woman, I have worked in a number of male dominated sectors and found success. When hiring other females, many would find that daunting though and re-consider taking a job in that bullish environment. I have found though, all it takes is a few bold ladies and there is no barrier to others joining and becoming a truly versatile and comfortable environment.

I love working in energy. So many of our competitors are heavily male dominated. I think what sets us apart is our customer service and rapport building, patient account management and solution focus. A real step away from the brash experiences many companies experience from brokers and supplies with macho sales teams.”

Kimberley Whitaker, Business Improvement Manager

“I am a mum to three boys ranging from the age of almost 2 to almost 17!  I live with my partner Ben in Baildon.  I hadn’t had experience of working in the energy industry until I started work for UGP in May 2015.

I have had various roles at UGP, ranging from Credit Controller to Billing Manager, Office Manager, Customer Service Manager, and now I am the Business Improvement Manager.  Pretty much all areas of the business (except Sales!)

I really enjoy working in this industry as no two days are the same! I have seen UGP’s growth over the years and I am very proud to say I have been here (almost) from the beginning 😊 “.

Chloe Hollins, Sales Support

“On International Women’s Day and as a female in a notoriously male dominated industry, it’s important for me to feel like I’ve been given the tools, skills and support I need to progress in my career. My time at UGP has shown just that and I have been able to develop in my role in Sales within the Major Accounts team. Going above and beyond for our customers is something we pride ourselves on and for me to feel confident to make decisions that will be supported, knowing my opinions are respected, listened to and used on key projects and to know my voice matters ensures I can do just that.

Whilst relatively new to UGP I have worked in the energy industry for 7 years and even in this short time I’ve seen a lot of changes to the industry as a whole. The energy sector has always been a male dominated industry, with board members, directors and managers not being a reflection of the company they work in. Whilst I believe there is still work to be done on the industry as a whole, I’m happy to work for a company that is continuously evolving, with an SLT made up of over 50% women, it shows that change is happening.

To continue to change, evolve and educate as individuals, businesses and communities we’ll make positive impacts on the people around us and the planet we live on. On that note Happy International Women’s day to all the wonderful women and people in my life that help me be better and do better every day!”

UGP has more people identifying as male than female, with 35% identifying as female. While we’ve a little way to go to reach the 45% national average for female representation, in a typically male dominated sector, we are steadily closing the gap (figures correct as at October 2020). Importantly, across UGP’s managerial team, women represent 43% of all employees.

Even more significantly, United Gas & Powers Senior Management team is a trail blazing 50/50 male/female split! You can see more on our diversity report in the below video –

The energy sector still has a long way to go but UGP is excited to be leading the way in a more diverse workforce and helping to shape this new landscape.

We’re hiring! Interested in joining the UGP family? Check out our current vacancies here.