Oil & gas: Women took meagre 10,400 of over 57,000 employments in three years

Despite various calls for gender parity, especially the 35 per cent affirmative action for women in leadership positions, data has shown that women are still underrepresented in key sectors, especially in the energy industry. ADETOLA BADEMOSI, in this piece, used data to reveal the level of disparity among other causal factors.

Out of  57,388 employments in the oil and gas sector between 2018 and 2020, a report by industry transparency watcher showed that women took only 10,448, representing 18 percent of total recruitments in the period. 

This brings concerns about gender inclusiveness and parity in the sector.

A three-year oil and gas audit report of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that in 2018,2019 and 2020, 19,820, 18,856 and 18712 persons were hired respectively. 

In a breakdown, in 2018, women took  3,595 of the total employment at various levels, while 16,225 went to men.

For  2019, only 3,407 women were employed compared to men with 15,449 jobs taken.

Also, in 2020, a total of 3,446 females were engaged while their male counterparts had 15,266.

 A look at the three years trend revealed that only 18 percent of employment space was given to women for each of the years under review as indicated in the NEITI report.

Again, findings showed that out of 10,448 female recruitments in the years being reviewed, only 2,276 women clinched top-level positions.

This speaks to the persistently low representation of women in the oil and gas sector, a situation experts blame on factors such as bias, social norms and expectations that influence the quality of education they receive, and the disparity between men and women in STEM education, among others.

With women constantly struggling to achieve ample representation in the densely male-dominated industry, making headway in the especially technical aspect of the industry despite their (women); potential has remained a herculean task.

FG appointments fail the gender parity test

Like Malala Yousafzai would say;”…we cannot succeed when half of us are held back,” data independently gathered, showed that women hardly take up top positions in the sector fueling pay gaps among their male counterparts.

Apart from the private sector, findings showed that even in the public sector, scarcely are women appointed as head of the sector’s ministry, departments and agencies in over two decades.

For instance, since its inception, only one female – Mrs Deziani Alison-Maduke – has ever been a minister for petroleum resources. 

Madueke served between 2010 and 2015 under Former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Other key agencies such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) formerly DPR, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB)  were only headed by men, except for the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) now Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) that once had Mrs Sotonye Oyoyo as its Acting Executive Secretary between 2016-2018.

A look at Group Managing Director (GMD) appointments in NNPCL showed that from 1999 till date, a total of 11 persons have headed the Corporation now Company. They were all male. 

Jackson Gaius Obaseki headed the agency between 1999 and 2003 after which he was succeeded by Funsho Kupolokun who also led the Corporation for another four years-2003 to 2007. 

Mr Abubakar Yar’adua took over from Kupolokun in 2007 and served till 2009 when he was succeeded by Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo (Late OPEC’s Secretary General) who only headed the agency for about one year.

Also, Shehu Ladan took over the mantle of leadership and served shortly as the Corporation’s Group Managing Director (GMD) between April 2010 and May 2010, when Austine Oniwon took over from 2010 to 2012. 

Andrew Yakubu and Joseph Dawha served between 2012-2014 and 2014-2015 respectively and in 2015, Ibe Kachikwu took over and led the NNPC until 2016. 

Kachikwu was succeeded by Maikanti Baru who served between 2016-2019 until Mele Kyari, the current GMD, now GCEO took over.

That said, a similar look at the DPR’s Directors now NUPRC, also revealed that since the tenure of Ben Osuno, in the 80s, no woman has ever headed the commission. 

Looking at the appointments in the last 30 years,  Osuno, Jibril Oyekan, Dublin Green, Peter Achebe, Mac Ofurhie, Tony Chukwueke, Aliyu Sanbonbimi, Billy Agha, Andrew Obaje, Osten Olorunshola, George Osahon, Mordecai Ladan, Ahmad Shakur, Sarki Auwalu had led the agency in the past, while Engr. Gbenga Komolafe is now the Chief Executive. 

These findings, however, cast shadows on the prerequisites used by successive governments in appointments into top positions in the industry. 

Even at the management level, the representation of women is most times within the ratio 2:10 as the case may be. 

A typical example was the NNPCL board inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2022, although Margret Chuba Okadigbo is appointed Board Chairman, she is joined by Constance Harry Marshal a member to make just two females on the board.

This, however, is commendable but like always, the appointment showed that women were given only 25 percent representation on the board.

Women seek flexible work policies

“There is an incorrect perspective that women can’t play in those areas, but they can and do”, says Tengi George-Okoli, Senior Officer, Natural Resource Governance Institute(NRGI).

Apart from the need to ramp up women’s skills in the technical aspects of jobs in the sector, she also called for flexible work policies to allow them to contribute meaningfully to work.

“Society penalises women for the reproductive roles they play in the home. Instead of penalising women, flexible work policies should be put in place to allow women to contribute meaningfully in those periods. 

“Covid introduced flexible ways of working that can be adopted,” she added

On her part, Mrs Faith Nwadishi, Convener, Women in Extractives blamed the menace on culture and tradition which has affected the choice of study for women.

“Society has categorized some sectors as hard sectors while others are soft sectors. Those who did the categorisation feel that it Is not a vocation women should go into. 

“That is not to say we don’t have women who are qualified, but when it comes to the employment market, you go out for an interview for those courses but they want to choose men over women,” she noted.

However, she  said to ensure adequate representation of women in the extractive sector,  women should be encouraged to take up the  “hard courses”.

“Give women the challenge,  give them the responsibility and see if we would not deliver” she stressed.

This story was produced under Dataphyte Data and Development Reporting Fellowship 2022

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