Gender diversity in the oil and gas industry
Clare Power A and Andrew Kennedy AK&L Gates.
The APPEA Journal 56(2) 538-538 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15044
Published: 2016
Abstract
A woman in every boardroom, secular happy holidays greetings, and Indigenous internships. These strategies are inoffensive and mostly well intentioned, but real change requires disruption. Indirect discrimination is an obstacle to true diversity and can lead to legal complications for employers. It is common for rigid practices or organisational structures to apply equally to everyone, but disproportionately affect one particular group of people. In a global industry that demands movement and flexibility from employees, what are those employees offered in return?
In particular, the oil and gas industry must increase its efforts to attract and retain skilled women. The skills shortage is one indicia of a sector that has failed to change with the times. The industry needs to increase female workforce participation by challenging structural barriers, not simply with lip service to critical issues like work-life balance. The conversation should expand to include flexible work, mentorship, networking, offshore opportunities, and changes to recruitment practices. Furthermore, the next generation of women engineers is gearing up, with talent to feed into the industry from the ground level.
It is time to get more women in the pipeline. Do law and practice match the rhetoric?
Clare Power graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia in 1980. She was a founding partner of Salter Power, a predecessor firm to K&L Gates in Perth, and is now Of Counsel at K&L Gates. Clare is a member of the firm's global Women in the Profession Committee, and has served on a number of government, private and not-for-profit boards. Clare has acted for both the Western Australian Government and listed companies on oil and gas related matters in WA, including the development of major LNG infrastructure and domestic gas reservation issues. In October 2014, Clare was part of an international K&L Gates team that presented an LNG workshop to the Tanzanian Government as part of the International Senior Lawyers Project. |
Andrew Kennedy is a Partner in K&L Gates’ Perth office. He has experience covering general contract, commercial law and litigation, with a specific focus on workplace relations and workplace safety. Andrew has worked closely with clients across a range of industries, including oil and gas, to provide legal and strategic advice in employment and industrial relations matters. He has prepared and delivered workplace training, developing customised briefings on issues such as appropriate workplace behaviours, pre-employment medicals, performance management, industrial legislation reforms, and OH&S laws and regulations. Andrew also has extensive dispute resolution and litigation experience, including representing clients at mediation and conciliation, as well as appearing in courts and tribunals. |
References
Australian Institute Of Company Directors, N.D.—Statistics. Accessed 19 February 2016. <http://www.companydirectors.com.au/director-resource-centre/governance-and-director-issues/board-diversity/statistics>.Broadley, K., 2013—Engaging girls in STEM: a summary of academic research. In Alliance, 50 (April), publication insert.
Brown, D.A.H., Brown, D.L. and Anastasopoulos, V., 2002—Women on boards: not just the right thing ... but the “bright” thing. Report published May 2002. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada.
Carter, N.M. and Wagner, H.M., 2011—The bottom line: corporate performance and women's representation on boards (2004–2008). New York: Catalyst.
Clewell, B.C., and Campbell, P.B. (2002). Taking stock: where we've been, where we are, where we're going. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 8, 255–84.
Dawson, J., Kersley, R. and Natella, S., 2014—The CS Gender 3000: women in senior management. Report published September 2014. Zurich: Credit Suisse.
Desvaux, G., Devillard-Hoellinger, S. and Baumgarten, P., 2007—Women matter: gender diversity, a corporate performance driver. Report published October 2007. Paris: McKinsey & Company.
Engineers Australia, 2012—Women in engineering: a statistical update. Report published 7 May 2012. Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Engineers Australia.
Engineers Australia, 2015—The decline of STEM studies in year 12 and constraints to university engineering studies. Policy note published 25 June 2015. Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Engineers Australia.
Professionals Australia, 2015—The slower track: women in the STEM professions survey report 2015. Melbourne: Professionals Australia.
Reinsvold, C.H. (2014). The oil and gas CEO. Oil & Gas Financial Journal 11, .
Stewart, E., 2015—Government’s commitment to getting more women into STEM a step in the right direction. ABC News (online). Accessed 19 February 2016. <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-08/australia-needs-more-opportunities-for-women-in-stem/7009760>.
The Forum Of Executive Women, N.D.—A case for increasing gender diversity on corporate boards. Accessed 19 February 2016. <http://www.forumofexecutivewomen.com/SiteData/docs/ACaseforIn/a646351273157e06/A%20Case%20for%20Increasing%20Gender%20Diversity%20on%20Boards%20v13%20Final.pdf>.
Women In Mining and Pwc, 2015—Mining for talent 2015: a review of women on boards in the mining industry 2012–2014. Accessed 19 February 2016. London: Women in Mining (UK) and PwC.
Workplace Gender Equality Agency, N.D.—What is the gender pay gap? Accessed 19 February 2016. <https://www.wgea.gov.au/addressing-pay-equity/what-gender-pay-gap>.
Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2015a—Australia's gender equality scorecard. Report published November 2015. Sydney: Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2015b—WGEA data explorer: oil and gas extraction within mining division. Accessed 19 February 2016. <http://data.wgea.gov.au/industries/88>.
