Wednesday 24 October 2012

Get girls studying science for senior jobs, says Good Energy boss

The boss of Good Energy says girls need to study science and maths to get senior roles in the energy sector.

Juliet Davenport, chief executive and founder of the green energy supplier believes the industry needs to encourage more girls to study key subjects at an earlier age.

Her comments come as yesterday the European Union pushed back plans to bring in a 40% quota of women on the boards of corporate firms.

While there are a few powerful right-hand women kicking around in the UK’s energy Premiership, every one of the Big Six suppliers has a man in the top spot.

This would change if girls took more suitable subjects at an earlier age, suggests Juliet Davenport: “There are roles women can play without STEM but if you want to be heading up a company you do need to understand all that. We need to start earlier than the industry, by encouraging women into interesting subjects at a school and university level. The industry can help with that.”

To solve the yawning gender gap, getting a grasp on how the industry ticks is pivotal.

She added: “It goes back a stage before industry – for the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects I think about 15% of the graduates are female. That’s where it really starts. You do need to be relatively numerate to be in this industry and you need to understand the engineering side and the physics side.”

Juliet Davenport will be speaking at the Energy Live 2012 conference next Thursday on November 1.