AXIS has released their analysis of the industry’s 2024 gender pay gap (GPG) showing movement towards better balance but the rate of progress is still too slow. GPG reporting provides a snapshot of the health of our industry and our potential future performance. Diverse teams drive better results and at a time when we’re fighting to maintain a homegrown energy industry we all need the best performance across this sector. So who cares? The answer should be: Everyone.
Last week AXIS wrote: since gender pay gap reporting began, some progress has been made in closing the gap with a 10.8% improvement by operators and 1.3% by service companies. Using the operators current rate of progress in a best case scenario, it will take 13 years to achieve balance.
Energy Voice used the AXIS analysis in an article they released last week and the most liked comment on LinkedIn was ‘who cares’.
We have noticed that GPG reports seem to trigger a defensive or aggressive response from some people. In the past we have seen that the narrative has pitched men against women, and vice versa. We’re pleased to note that we rarely see that these days.
GPG is a useful data point on the diversity assessment of the industry as it gives us some insights on how balanced and diverse the industry is. GPG has its limits however as it doesn’t disaggregate the data and from the ONS, we know that the pay gap for black or minority ethnic people is greater but the UK annual reporting doesn’t show us this.
Why does diversity matter?
Diverse teams drive better results. AXIS’ tagline of ‘Better Balance, Better Business’ sums this up perfectly.
Diverse workforces are twice as likely to meet or exceed their financial goals.
The focus is on working together and how we set up systems and remove barriers to ensure diverse teams are developed and given the right leadership to excel. Our industry is an interconnected web of suppliers, contractors, operators, industry bodies, regulators and if one area of the industry isn’t performing, it affects us all.
So we should be holding each other to account and we should all be contributing to improving inclusion and diversity across the industry. After all, these are not small gains, Forbes even suggests that diverse teams can increase cash profits (EBITDA) by 33 percent.
So if it matters to everyone, what are our next steps?
The GPG analysis showed that AXIS Pledge companies are making better progress than non-pledge companies. Leaders can learn more about the AXIS Pledge and its commitments here and sign their companies up to AXIS Pledge by emailing us at: info@axisnetwork.co.uk It also gives leadership access to AXIS facilitated Pledge Round Tables, working alongside other pledge companies to drive better balance within the industry.
AXIS also welcome every individual as an AXIS member, you can sign up by subscribing to our newsletter via our homepage. It's free and gives you first access to events and new content, including the upcoming Vision 2030 series. We believe that great inclusive leadership is a continuous learning and improvement process and AXIS aims to support our members with this.
Gender pay gap reporting is an important data point on our understanding of how diverse the industry is. It’s also a key indicator of our potential future performance as an industry. It’s great that balance is moving ever closer but the rate of change is too slow. To meet our full potential as an industry and secure all our futures in these challenging times, we need to work together to deliver an inclusive work place where diverse teams can thrive.