Leveraging HR Metrics to Close the Gender Gap in South Asia’s Energy Sector

In South Asia, the gap between men and women in the workforce is still one of the widest in the world, with only 32% of women of working age present in the labor force. The situation is even worse in the energy sector, where women constitute just 1- 25% of the workforce in energy utilities across the region. Even fewer women hold technical roles such as Engineer and IT professional, ranging from 0.1% to 21%. This shows a clear gender imbalance, especially when compared to other sectors.

The gender inequalities in South Asia’s energy sector are complex and arise from several systemic challenges. These include limited access to education and skill development, cultural biases, and deeply rooted social norms.

At the institutional level, organizations can help to close these gender gaps and clear the path for more women to work in the sector, particularly through their human resources (HR) policies which inform their recruitment, professional development, and retention of women. For example, through targeted hiring, internships, mentorship opportunities, reorientation for returning workers and flex work policies supporting parents returning from maternity or paternity leaves, organizations create a culture of inclusion that is equally supportive of men and women.

WePOWER’s Role in Improving Gender Balance

The South Asia Women in Power Sector Professional Network (WePOWER) is a coalition of over 50 Energy sector utilities and stakeholders promoting women’s participation in South Asia’s Energy sector. The WePOWER Partners came together in 2024 to establish an inter-regional HR Management Best Practices Working Group. Senior HR officials from South Asia, East Asia and the Middle East,  worked together to develop a standardized HR Metrics Framework that can be used by WePOWER Partners to inform  their initiatives to improve gender balance in their organizations.

The Role of HR Metrics in Reducing the Gender Gap

One way for  organizations to promote gender diversity is by using HR metrics to track and improve gender equality in the workforce. HR metrics frameworks can help measure the success of gender diversity initiatives, just like other major HR programs. Data shows that gender diversity is key to a fair and inclusive energy transition. The same data shows that inclusive energy transition  requires upskilling and reskilling efforts. The good news is that organizations focused on gender diversity improve conditions for all employees, not just women.By tracking progress with these metrics, HR can reinforce successful initiatives and revise or eliminate those that are ineffective. This data is crucial in understanding how to close the gender gap.

Analysis of gender diversity metrics, specifically organizational gender ratio, gender pay gap, and gender representation in leadership roles, has enabled K_Electric a WePOWER partner in Pakistan to a set clear organizational goals and develop targeted strategies for hiring and retaining women and achieving gender pay parity at all levels.

Ms.Saadia Fahad, who is General Manager DEI, Culture & Employee Experience at K-Electric, Pakistan, notes:

“For the last 2 years we have achieved a 1:1 pay ratio between genders by ensuring that we promote gender neutral choices at all stages in decision making regarding hiring and promotions along with all other aspects at work. We removed barriers that prevent women from obtaining equity-based pay and ensure that all jobs at K Elecric are based on merit and ability.”

How HR Metrics Help Change Attitudes and Practices

HR metrics help shift attitudes towards gender diversity, both among management and employees. They can identify unconscious biases in recruitment, retention, and workplace culture. This data allows organizations to develop more focused strategies to address these biases and create better gender equity in the workplace. HR metrics help shift attitudes towards gender diversity, both among management and employees. They can identify unconscious biases in recruitment, retention, and workplace culture. This data allows organizations to develop more focused strategies to address these biases and create better gender equity in the workplace.

Ehi Obaseki HR expert, and former Chief Human Resouces Officer at Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in Nigeria, , shares a metrics informed success story.  “The baseline data showed that the gender and age demographics of our interns were heavily skewed, with 65% male and 35% female interns across all departments. Knowing the baseline, we set a goal of increasing female representation among interns to achieve a more balanced gender distribution in the internship program. In just three years, we achieved gender parity through Career Fairs, Revised Job Descriptions and partnerships with universities.”

HR metrics provide clear data that can inform policy changes. For example, if recruiters tend to visit schools with low female enrollment, HR metrics can help organizations identify this and take action—such as visiting additional schools or educating recruiters and schools about the importance of gender equality in hiring. Additionally, employee surveys might reveal that men want paternity leave, leading to more inclusive policies.

HR metrics also encourage discussions on hidden biases. By making these biases visible, organizations can take ownership of bias mitigation initiatives, reducing resistance and fostering an inclusive workplace culture.

Implementation of the HR Metrics Framework will help organizations and utilities to:

1. Highlight gaps in recruitment of women and the number and types of jobs women fill in comparison to their men colleagues.
2.  Identify the disparate role gender can play in career development and talent retention.
3. Identify and rectify pay disparities.
4.  Help organizations see whether women are recognized and rewarded proportionally to their men colleagues.
5. Illustrate the level of inclusion in a work environment and show the level of comfort women and men feel in their roles.

The Way Ahead

The WePOWER HR Metrics Framework is designed to be practical and adaptable. Recognizing that organizations may have limited resources, the framework allows for phased implementation, with small but steady improvements. By engaging with WePOWER, organizations can adopt HR metrics in an ongoing process of learning and improvement.

Utilities and energy sector stakeholders can actively contribute to the success of HR metrics through participation in regional discussions and workshops led by WePOWER’s Best Practices Working Group. This collaborative process will help ensure continuous improvement, contributing to the closing of the gender gap in the energy sector.

By leveraging HR metrics, utilities, governments, and private sector stakeholders can clear the path for more women to work in the energy sector, and promote gender balance, diversity, and create more inclusive workplaces.