Utility People Continues To Push The D&I Agenda

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Our financial year has just come to an end, and I was keen to review our own internal D&I statistics and compare them to our previous years’ performance.

We all know the energy and utilities industry employs more men than women. And it is really important to us that we continue to do our bit to push the D&I agenda for a level playing field. Especially when it comes to the recruitment process.

So, I am delighted to report that yet again, we have continued to improve our own gender statistics relating to our placement numbers!

What progress have we made?

  • In 2019 our % placement of women to men was only 28%
  • In 2020 the % of women placed increased to 39%
  • And last year, our % of women placed increased to a fabulous 48%. A fantastic achievement!

I was also pleased with the number of roles we filled with candidates from minority backgrounds. This increased from 16% in 2020 to 18% last year.

There is still a long way to go in ensuring the right balance of the D&I agenda within the energy and utilities industry. But Utility People will make sure our clients are seeing the best possible range of candidates for their roles. This includes candidates from all genders and backgrounds.

Where can I look for advice?

We thought the CIPD had some helpful advice on promoting greater ethnicity mix within the workplace on their website which you can view here.

They explain the importance of collecting ethnicity data across an organisation. This can be used to set realistic targets and monitor the impact on diversity initiatives.

Most employees are happy to provide this information. In fact, one third believes the information will be used to make positive change.

They report that 22% of BAME respondents felt their career progression had failed to progress due to discrimination. This is compared to only 15% of white British ethnicity respondents. So, this highlights that employers need to do more to reduce the risk of discrimination in the work environment.

Our Resources

If you would like some tips and advice on improving your own recruitment processes to make them more D&I friendly, check out some of our previous blogs here:

5 Ways to Reduce Bias When Screening Candidates And Find More Talent

How to push the gender diversity agenda in your business

How to change job descriptions to hire more women

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