Energy & Utility Skills has released the 2023 Inclusion Measurement Framework results. This fourth annual report highlights progress in equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within the energy and utilities sector. The Inclusion Measurement Framework evaluates diversity characteristics across leadership, recruitment, retention, and progression.
Louise Parry, Director of People and Organisational Development at Energy & Utility Skills said:
“While the results demonstrate some progress, the sector is still significantly behind being reflective of the UK workforce across many diversity characteristics. With recommendations that include increased accountability for leaders and leadership engagement in EDI, the report offers key insights on where to focus our efforts as individual organisations and as a sector.”
Background
The Inclusion Measurement Framework captures the sector’s progress in attracting, recruiting, retaining and developing a diverse workforce, with some encouraging areas of improvement. The report provides recommendations and an overview of areas requiring focused attention. This also allows organisations to assess their own progress towards creating a diverse workforce that reflects the diversity of the customers and communities it serves.
Sector Improvements
The data demonstrates positive improvements within the sector as a whole. Women now comprise 30% of the sector, a rise from 26% in 2022, with a corresponding 30% representation of women in leadership positions. The water industry has the highest levels of female representation at 35%, an increase of 7% on 2022. Representation of employees from ethnic minority backgrounds in the sector workforce has increased to 12%, up from 7% in 2022. The development of employees from ethnic minority backgrounds has increased alongside a significant increase in promotion, at 10%, up from 3% in 2022. Additionally, this year’s data shows an increase in LGBTQ+ representation from 1% in 2022 to 3% in 2023, nearing parity with the UK workforce representation.
The Ongoing Challenge
Although progress has been made in addressing the issue of ethnically diverse candidates being screened out during recruitment, this still requires improvement. Disabled people remain significantly underrepresented across the energy and utilities sector, making up 4% of the workforce, compared to 23% across the UK. Women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented compared to the UK as a whole and both women and employees from ethnic minorities are leaving at increasing levels.
The report provides five recommendations for action and highlights the inclusion priorities for individual organisations and the sector overall. You can read the report here.
Take Part in 2024
The Inclusion Measurement Framework serves as a vital tool by highlighting areas requiring concentrated efforts to effect tangible change in equality, diversity, and inclusion within individual organisations and the broader sector.
The Inclusion Measurement Framework is developed by working with our data partners, The Equal Group, with data supplied from organisations across the energy and utilities sector. Participation is free of charge and open to all companies in the sector and its supply chain. Register your interest to participate in the 2024 Inclusion Measurement Framework here.
