A group, Women In Energy Network (WIEN), has called for the implementation of 35% affirmative action in respect of appointments of women in Governing Boards in the energy sector.
WIEN is an association established in 2020 to provide a platform for women that work across the energy industry value chain to network and build confidence and links to progress their careers or businesses.
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President of WIEN and Managing Director of Zigma Limited, Mrs Funmi Ogbue, made the call on Saturday against the backdrop of the public hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) 2020, organised by Senate’s joint Committee on Petroleum Downstream, Upstream and Gas.
She indicated that from research, Boards of Directors with at least three women, usually demonstrate improved
communications, greater adherence to codes of conduct, and better criteria for managing strategy and monitoring its
implementation.
“WIEN would like to see the deliberate inclusion of policies that will ensure that at least 35% of each Governing Board is constituted by women.
“WIEN suggests that the PIB mandates the inclusion of minimum indigenous women from the host community on the Board of Trustees, ” she said.
She kicked against the use of gender-biased pronouns/terms such as the PIB’s use of masculine terms of “him, his or he” to refer to the position of ministers, commissioners, CEOs and executive commissioners, amongst others.
According to her, such gender terms should be changed to gender-neutral terms such as “they, their, its, a person.”
“This is to avoid legal issues and confusion as in some other positions gender-neutral terms are used,” she said.
