Editorial: New round of Female Future

”In our industry, women account for 20 per cent of the work force. The 2006  report «Kvinner og menns representasjon og innflytelse i olje- og energisektoren» (The numbers and influence of women and men in the oil and energy sector) shows that there are also very few women in the management, boards and decision-making processes in this industry.  The contents and recommendations in this report were in line with the philosophy and contents of NHO’s Female Future programme.

“The first Female Future group was started one year ago under the auspices of  OLF. During 2008 around 20 women from various member companies have attended sessions on topics like network building, leadership development and boardroom competence. As a result of this year’s sessions and due to strong interest from the member companies, a new group of  21 women will join the project in 2009.

“The long-term goal is to bring more well-qualified women into the senior management and boards of member companies. Experience from Female Future shows that the work to bring more women into senior management and boardrooms in the companies, is a long-term effort. It is not just about making capable women available to the industry. It also has to do with changing entrenched attitudes, leadership and boardroom cultures, network structures and frequently work structures as well. And it is necessary to learn more about the reasons for the low proportion of women in the managements and boards of Norwegian companies.

“Women do not find a workplace with a clear majority of men very attractive, any more than men are attracted to professions dominated by women.

“There has been a majority of women in many university and university college courses for some years now. Very few choose a career in the oil and gas industry, however, and consequently our industry risks missing out on many highly capable employees.

“In that regard it might be helpful to look at developments in the legal profession. Although the majority of law students are women, women still tend to choose traditional careers. This is changing, however. In 2008, Norway’s Supreme Court consists of twelve men and eight women – i.e. forty per cent women. This near-equal gender balance has not been achieved just because the authorities want women per se, but because one wants the Supreme Court to consist of our country’s best lawyers. When the majority of law students are women, it follows logically that there are women among our best lawyers. 

“This underlines the point that we should keep working to recruit more women not just in order to improve the gender balance, but because women will provide the industry with professional knowledge and new ways of assessing professional problems.

“A diverse  working environment will also show off the industry as an open, inclusive and modern workplace,” writes OLF’s Director General Per Terje Vold in his editorial.