Disclaimer – Since it’s International Women’s Day on March 8, this article shines a light on women—but the reality is that the work we do on gender equality benefits everyone.

For decades, businesses like ours have focused on creating development programmes and strategies designed to improve the pipeline of women into leadership roles.

In 2025, it feels like they’re now beginning to waken up to the reality that addressing these barriers requires more than focusing on women and their skills. It requires a broader cultural and organisational shift.

At Kent, we’ve already banished the belief that women aren’t showing up in leadership because they’re not ready, and we’re dealing with the ways in which our systems could be holding women – and, let’s be honest, many of us – back.

This doesn’t mean we’ve cracked it. Right now, our leadership (defined as M4+) is 15% women. Our global professional workforce is 16% women, against a backdrop of 16.5% women in STEM globally (reference). Our global labour workforce is 7% women, against an equivalent backdrop of 9-12% women globally (reference).

Of course, women aren’t a rarity, and it’s kind of weird that there aren’t more women out there solving the energy transition alongside us? , The good news: We can change this. Here’s how.

Ten Ways to Drive Gender Equality—Every Day

1. Get strategic

We all love a big gender diversity announcement. But let’s be honest—unless it comes with a real plan, it’s just a nice headline. You need an actual strategy, not just a warm feeling in your heart. That means setting clear targets, tracking progress, and making leadership accountable.

At Kent, we rolled out our Inclusion Blueprint to take gender equality from ‘good intentions’ to ‘what are we actually doing about it?’ Every location follows a roadmap—starting with the basics (hello, female-fit PPE and flexible work policies) and moving towards bigger commitments, like gender pay transparency and career sponsorship.

2. Create a culture of inclusivity

You don’t get an inclusive workplace by launching one workshop a year. It has to be built into the way we work, just like safety. Not a bolt-on. Not a box to tick. Just… how things are.

Diversity and inclusion isn’t other, it’s a core part of a sustainable, competitive business.

If you’re not sure how to be a little more inclusive every day, just start with the basics. Say hi. Be curious. Don’t make assumptions. You don’t need to be an expert on all aspects of someone’s identity to see them as a human, worthy of all the same things as you.

At Kent, we want inclusion to be woven into the way we do things. We’d say it should be like breathing, but that might be overdoing it! We want it become part of our conscience, much like safety has become over the years. It’s now woven into what our Leadership Hub talk focus on, it’s an integral part of our Citizen Behaviours, and it’s in our leadership development tools and processes.

3. Be tough on workplace harassment

Let’s not sugarcoat it—harassment still happens. And it’s not just the dramatic, lawsuit-worthy cases. It’s the casual sexism, the everyday exclusion, the "harmless" jokes that aren’t harmless at all.

At Kent, our stance is clear: zero tolerance. If someone speaks up, they’ll be heard. No one should have to wonder if they’ll be taken seriously. No one should be left to deal with it alone. That’s why we have reporting systems in place—and why we keep working on making them stronger.

4. Supporting girls into STEM

Let’s be honest, our work is pretty cool. We think women belong here as much as anyone, and many diverse minds make light work (or something). Get involved in supporting your location’s outreach and STEM activity, talk to children about how cool your job is, and don’t project gender stereotypes on to your kids.

Another facet of this is the fact that women leave STEM careers at a pretty alarming rate. That’s why all of our work on inclusion is essential – if we attract girls in, and don’t stay focussed on fixing the environment, data shows they won’t hang about.

This is further compounded by women who leave to care for others, and encounter bias when they’re ready to re-enter the workforce. Supporting Returnships – like internships for those with career breaks – is another way we can support this, and it’s part of the actions at Blueprint Gold level.

5. Balance the equal and opposite force – equality at home!

If we want equality in the workplace, we’ll need to be pretty quick at balancing it with equality in our homes! Studies show that working women around the world still do more housework than working men. We told you equality was good for everyone, didn’t we? Gender equality is a great opportunity for men to break the stigma associated with homemaking and childcaring.

At Kent, as part of our Blueprint activity we’re looking at how we support working parents—mothers, and fathers. . Progress takes time, but we’re committed to the journey.

6. Revisit inflexible working arrangements

With #5 in mind, it’s important for us all to consider that flexible ways of working (that is, how and when we work, in addition to where we work) are more likely to become the norm. Many families now are dual career, and this means work might need to work differently. If you’re a hiring manager and have the power to do so, we encourage you to consider how embracing work share, flexible hours, balanced remote options might encourage more great people to join us.

7. Double down on fairness, transparency and equality in our promotion processes

Lack of transparency in how people get opportunities, hurts more than just minorities. As we move forwards on our inclusion journey, we’re encouraging fairness, transparency and equality in the way we do things. How are opportunities assigned? Who do we create stretch for? Is the way we’ve identified talent in the past still the best way? We thrive on emotional agility, and that means questioning the status quo, and staying curious.

Because when people know what’s expected of them—and see fairness in action—they stay, they thrive, and they help build a better workplace for everyone.

8. Commit to closing any gender pay gaps

If you’re not actively working to identify and fix pay gaps, they’re not going anywhere. Simple as that.

Pay disparities don’t usually come from one big mistake but from small, everyday decisions—who gets the biggest raises, who’s encouraged to negotiate, and how salaries are set in the first place. Research shows women don’t negotiate less, but they’re often penalised when they do, so leaving pay decisions to chance just reinforces inequality.

At Kent, we’re making sure pay isn’t a mystery. For instance, we’ve introduced pay ladders and structured salary bands to prevent arbitrary decisions. In 2025, we’re conducting a global pay equity study to find and fix any unexplained disparities across gender, nationality, and age groups.

If your company isn’t checking for pay gaps, assume they exist. The only way to fix them is to look, commit, and act—because fairness isn’t a buzzword; it’s something you prove.

9. Recognise yourself as an ally

It’s not women’s work to fix gender inequality, we’re all in this together. We challenge you to step up and call out gender inequality or sexism when you see it. Advocate for inclusive practices – like making sure all roles are advertised, people aren’t overlooked based on assumptions, and supporting modern ways of working. If your team is hybrid and you’re a team leader, learn how to be great at leading hybrid teams. If your team looks a bit different to you (here’s hoping!) invest in developing yourself as a leader who can nurture brilliant minds who might bring a different world view to your own. We promise it’s rewarding work.

10. Support human rights beyond the workplace

Women’s rights are human rights, and they’re under threat around the world. The stuff we’re dealing with related to gender equality in our workplaces is important, but truly, the UN’s International Women’s Day is about the rights of girls and women around the world. If you can get involved in a little bit of activism to fight for the rights of girls and women without a voice, then you can help make a difference.

Find out more here.

No single company or person has all the answers, but change starts with asking the right questions. What’s yours?

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