Electrical Business

Articles Features Articles Blog Podcast

“Leadershift” report a “wake-up call” for gender equity in the electricity sector • Direct & Current

July 8, 2020 | By Anthony Capkun


“But I do think it’s going to be a little bit of a wake-up call for some leaders in the sector.”


July 8, 2020 – Almost 1 in every 5 men (18%) in a new report believes that it is easier for women to succeed in their workplace than it is for them, while 3 of every 4 women (75%) believe they have a harder time.

This is just one of the insights from “Leadershift: Pathways to Gender Equity”, a new report published by Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC), which explores the status of women’s representation in companies across Canada’s electricity sector, with a specific focus on the leadership level.

“I do think that some of the findings in the Leadershift report will be a big surprise to those reading it,” admits Michelle Branigan, EHRC’s CEO, “But I do think it’s going to be a little bit of a wake-up call for some leaders in the sector.”

To help me unpack all the information contained within this report, Michelle joined me for an episode of Direct & Current—the Electrical Business Magazine audio broadcast (which requires no special app for listening).

Some of the report’s findings—in this day and age—are confounding.


Here are some of my discussion points with Michelle…

According to Leadershift, among the 61 industry organizations researched, 12% have no women on their board and an additional 11% have only one. You conclude that one woman alone on a board is insufficient to glean any benefits of diversity. Are these organizations comfortable in their status quo? Are they suffering from a lack of talent from which to draw? What do you think is going on here?

Almost 1 in every 5 men (18%) in our survey believes that it is actually easier for women to succeed in their workplace than it is for men, yet 3 of every 4 women (75%) believe women have a harder time. There is clearly a profound disconnect between the two. How does this occur? Do men and women read the question differently? Are they answering the same thing? How do their beliefs stack up against fact?

One of the recommendations that came out during the report’s launch was the need to communicate and educate on the benefits of gender diversity. What does that messaging look like, sound like? How is the messaging customized for the audience?

So CLICK PLAY and listen while we get into “Leadershift: Pathways to Gender Equity”.

EHRC is a source of HR labour market research, information and tools to help inform Canada’s electricity sector.

CLICK HERE to read our news item about the report’s release.

 


Print this page

Advertisement

Stories continue below