UEA launches new project to get more women into careers in offshore energy
Only 1 in 5 people working in the renewables sector are women
The UEA is taking part in a new project to encourage more women to seek careers in the offshore wind industry.
It's teaming up with the Offshore Wind Industry Council to look into the reasons why there is such a gender imbalance in the industry.
Currently only 18% of staff in the offshore wind energy industry are women.
The government wants at least a third of people working in the sector to be women by 2030.
For the first stage of the project researchers will interview staff at all levels withn the industry, to work out ways to boost diversity in the sector.
Offshore wind is an important industry in the East, with around 50% of UK offshore windfarms being based off of the East Coast.
Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Harwich and Wells are all key bases for assembling new turbines and maintaining the existing windfarms.
RenewableUK’s Melanie Onn said: “Boosting diversity throughout the offshore wind sector is vital if we want to attract as wide a range of talented people as possible to enable us to scale up fast to tackle climate change and increase the UK’s energy security.
"Understanding the challenges and concerns of women in this ground-breaking study will help us to remove barriers and find solutions. We’re particularly keen to see more women taking up engineering and technical roles, as they’re currently under-represented in these fields”.
Dr Jade Stalker, who is leading the project for the UEA, said: “We aim to shed light on a topic that has been thoroughly investigated, yet still a pressing issue throughout the energy sector, by using the analytical perspective of intersectionality.
"An intersectional lens towards the offshore wind workforce is crucial in unpicking the lived experiences of women. We must learn from the personal experiences of privilege/oppression, advantage/disadvantage and inclusion/exclusion.
“Together with a cross examination of the best practice and improvement practice cases, the end goal is to create something practical for the industry. We firmly believe opportunities exist for the offshore wind sector to lead gender balance across the energy divisions.”