Dylan Green has announced it will commit to sending at least 50% female candidates for every job they are working on. One of the challenges facing diversity and inclusion in the energy industry is the continued disadvantage women experience in regard to being provided adequate access to employment and industry trends.
Having clear access to training and other information networks is vital in recruitment and career progression. A gender report by the International Renewable Energy Agency explained that perceptions of gender roles are one of the most important barriers to entering the energy industry.
Despite the clearly documented benefits of having a diverse workforce, there are significant improvements that need to happen within the energy industry. A 2020 LinkedIn study clearly shows the existing disparity between men and women working in the energy industry.
Source: LinkedIn Business Insider
The LinkedIn study also highlights industry changes based on new hires over the last five years. For the clean energy market, the findings showed that new hires had increased from approximately 30% in 2014 to 33% in 2019.
Catherine McLean, Founding Director of Dylan Green, explains her main reason for launching the initiative, “The reason we are doing this is that there is a systematic problem in our industry of females being underrepresented in candidate pools.” The added focus on diversity has proven successful for Dylan Green, with 60% of their placements last year being female.
“My colleagues and I are constantly getting asked for additional female candidates. Some of these roles that are advertised and worked by other recruitment agencies have zero candidates being represented that are female,” explains Catherine. “Therefore, we are looking to become the go-to recruitment agency that will help companies diversify their candidate pools and ultimately, their talent within these teams and culture.”