The proportion of women in the oil industry is sinking towards the top

ConocoPhilips, Ekofisk oil explorationEkofisk Aerial. Photo: ConocoPhilips

The proportion of women in the oil industry is sinking towards the top

 

The proportion of women from middle to senior level falls from 25 to 17 per cent in the oil industry. Not good enough, half of the men think in a new survey.

 

 

A new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The World Petroleum Council shows that one in five employees in the oil and gas industry is women, skriver Dagens Næringsliv. And every third woman disappears on the road from middle to senior roles.

In the report, 57 percent of women say that they receive less support for career progression than men do, and only 24 percent of male employees agree.

48 percent of men believe the reason is too few qualified women. 27 percent of women think the same.

“One of the factors that creates imbalance is the tendency we all have to have greater confidence in people who are similar to ourselves. Thus, white men are favored in the oil and gas industry, says Elisabeth Heggelund Tørstad, Executive Vice President of DNV GL-Oil & Gas.

BCG believes that oil demand may flatten out and may decline in 15-20 years. Thus, the competition on the supply side must be tougher. BCG boss Odd Arne Sjåtil therefore believes the industry must attract women.

– The companies are getting a larger resource pool to recruit from, giving access to the best heads, says Sjåtil.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today