Western Power is forging a path towards equity and diversity.
With an aim to foster gender diversity representative of the community of which it serves, Western Power is progressing significant initiatives resulting in women now occupying 10 per cent of all engineering roles and 20 per cent of engineering leadership roles in the organisation – surpassing the national average.
Western Power CEO Sam Barbaro said the organisation was committed to advancing women in the energy sector and while improvement had been made there was still significant work to do in achieving gender parity within its traditionally male dominated workforce.
“Western Power is working towards the goal of ensuring that everyone at work has the right to feel safe, valued and respected and that includes equal opportunities in the workplace,” he said.
“And while we’re making significant headway, the reality is, regardless of gender, we all need to advocate to ensure we have the right culture and opportunities to enable our people to achieve their full potential in the work environment.
“To embed this in our culture we have six Employee Network Groups that advocate for equity and inclusion. These groups support the business in providing education and, most importantly, championing the way we work to ensure equal opportunities in our workplace.”
Mr Barbaro said Western Power had increased the number of women in leadership roles to 31 per cent and senior leadership roles to 46 per cent; while seven out of 31 of its recently recruited electrical and line worker apprentices were women. Additionally, four of the six board members are women, including Board Chair, Denise Goldsworthy AO.
“I’m proud to say that seven per cent of our electricians are women – exceeding the two per cent national average, and we are working to improve this further,” he said.
“Our drive for gender balance and a culture of diversity, equity and inclusivity is aimed at ensuring our workforce better reflects the community we serve and live in.”
“We’re driving actions and outcomes that develop, advocate and celebrate women and are actively working to encourage more young women into the electrical engineering and STEM space through scholarships and mentoring programs.”
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, “Embrace Equity”, recognises that equity is not just a nice-to-have, it is a must-have and vital to the success of any business and society, both now and in the future.
To mark the day, the organisation will be hosting sessions throughout the week to encourage meaningful discussions about equitable experience for women in workplace; including the sharing of personal journeys.