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Women on the verge of bridging gender gap in energy

Abu Dhabi - The oil and gas industry has witnessed great strides in attracting and retaining more women into engineering positions.

Women who exude confidence both in the office and on the field are more likely to shatter the glass ceiling and accelerate their career progression, say the region's women oil and gas professionals.
The oil and gas industry has witnessed great strides in attracting and retaining more women into engineering positions. Women comprise a larger proportion of the global energy workforce today.
Figures from Shell Global show that 29 per cent of its employees in supervisory/professional positions are women, and the proportion of women in its senior leadership positions have nearly doubled over the last decade - from 9.9 per cent in 2005 to 18 per cent in 2014.
About 28 per cent of ExxonMobil's global workforce is women, and in 2014, 40 per cent of management and professional new hires were women.
However, there are still challenges to be met. According to a 2015 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, only five per cent of executive board seats in the top UK-headquartered energy firms are currently held by women, while 61 per cent of leadership boards have no women present at all.
The AdipecC 2015 Oil & Gas Woman of the Year Award will recognise a woman whose career has progressed at a rapid pace. The Adipec Awards are part of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (Adipec) 2015, a global meeting place for oil and gas professionals.
Hosnia Hashim, vice-president of operations at the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, one of Forbes Most Powerful Arab Women in 2014, said: "Recognising women achievers in energy is more important than ever to challenge the perception that the oil and gas industry is a male domain. The journey to success is not an easy one, but can be achieved with commitment, determination and the support of corporate policy."
Maria A. Capello, consultant - South and East Kuwait Directorate at the Kuwait Oil Company, said: "The 'Oil & Gas Woman of the Year' category is an outstanding opportunity to recognise the many achievements of the extraordinary women who work in our industry."
- business@khaleejtimes.com