Africa’s leading gender equity advocate in the energy sector, the Women in Energy Network (WEN) has struck partnership with KPMG Advisory Services to institute the first ever industry benchmark and standards on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), a process that is conceived to accelerate gender diversification across agencies and institutions in Nigeria’s oil, gas and electric power industries.

The collaboration is designed to primarily advance DEI benchmarking, confer credibility on industry DEI awards, recognize board-ready and women-owned businesses in the full energy industry sphere.

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The collaboration between WIEN and KPMG centers on developing three key initiatives; including the DEI Benchmark Report, due diligence for WIEN’s Industry Awards, and establishment of directories for female board-ready candidates, and women owned businesses.

In furtherance of the collaboration, WIEN and KPMG entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tuesday to establish credible systems and processes for measuring process in diversity, equity and inclusion in the sector; strengthening the credibility of industry awards; expanding access to board and business opportunities for women; and advancing a more inclusive energy industry.

President of WIEN, Mrs Eyono Fatai-Williams, declared at the MOU signing event that the initiative is intended to lay policy propositions that support informed decision making, encourage accountability and provide basis for tracking progress in advancing diversity, and inclusion across the energy sector. The benchmark and standards, according to her, would also provide basis for periodic industry reporting on gender equity and inclusion.

Besides, she said, the benchmark report will provide evidence-based assessment of industry performance, identify gaps and highlight opportunities for improvement.  

On WIEN Industry Awards, she stated that KPMG would support the due diligence and vetting of nominees in a process that involves relevant background, integrity, and reputational assessment to support the evaluation of nominees and strengthen confidence in the award process.

Key goals of the process, according to him, is to recognize individuals and organizations whose achievements, professional standing and contributions have made meaningful on the energy industry.

Another focus of the MOU, according to Mrs Fatai-Williams, is to expand access to board, and business opportunities for women through two complimentary initiatives, including the WIEN Board-Ready Candidates Directory and the WIEN Business Owners Directory.

Mrs Fatai Williams explained that whereas the WIEN Board-Ready Candidates Directory improves the visibility and accessibility of qualified women for board appointments; the WIEN Business-Owners Directory would focus on the assessment of eligible women-owned businesses against agreed qualification criteria and relevant industry requirements.

The two initiatives, she noted, seek to make qualified women and capable women-owned businesses more visible to organizations seeking board talent, business partners and opportunities across the energy valuechain.

The overarching objective, she stressed, is for KPMG to support WIEN in promoting evidence-based decision making, strengthen confidence in industry recognition and support greater access to leadership and business opportunities for women.  

“The collaboration reflects a commitment to building a more inclusive and accountable energy industry in which women’s capabilities, leadership, potential and business contributions are recognized and their participation is strengthened,” Mrs Fatai-Williams declared.

Speaking on the partnership, Associate Director at KPMG, Chukwuemeke Igabari, said the initiative would help ensure that women’s contributions to the energy sector are recognised and supported.

He noted that although the sector has traditionally been male-dominated, women have continued to make significant contributions across areas including logistics, upstream and downstream operations, power and renewable energy.

Igabari said the benchmark report would help organisations assess whether their policies, processes and governance structures provide women with equal opportunities to participate and advance.

He added that KPMG would continue working with WEN to gather and validate data for the report, which is expected to provide a baseline for measuring progress in subsequent editions.

It was also declared at the event that the WIEN DEI Report would be released at a gala night scheduled for November 11 at the Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island, Lagos, to provide players with data for assessing gender representation and participation in the sector and help organisations measure their progress towards inclusive workplace practices.

The report’s unveiling, WIEN stated, is expected to provide an initial benchmark against which progress in women’s representation and inclusion in the energy sector can be assessed over time.