Section head
National Grid Plc
Overview
National Grid is one of the world’s largest utilities, focused on delivering energy safely, reliably, efficiently and responsibly. Its principal interests are in the transmission and distribution of electricity and gas in the UK and US. It owns the high-voltage electricity system in England and Wales and operate the system across Britain. The company also owns and operates the high pressure gas transmission system in Britian and the largest gas distribution business in England. In the US it owns and operates electricity transmission and distribution systems serving over 3.3 million customers in New England and New York State. It also owns gas distribution networks in upstate New York and Rhode Island.
Motivation
A key focus for the business since 2004 has been inclusion and diversity and with strong support from the CEO and Board, the business has set up a number of I&D groups that are working towards a vision of inclusion and diversity becoming part of everyday life. Of particular challenge for women entering and remaining with the company is the traditional Engineering culture and in addition the new global element. The company has good employment policies for women and can demonstrate encouraging progress in attracting more women to work for the company but women managers are not evenly dispersed around the organisation, (33% at administrative level, 21% at management level), women are not progressing upwards in sufficient numbers and the company struggles to increase the number of women in its operational roles. With an existing aging, male workforce we must appeal to a wider talent pool to compete for the scarce resources in the market place.
Likewise the company needs to better utilise the potential of women at lower management levels; to encourage the diversity of teams and appointments, to ensure a balanced perspective in decision making and initiatives being developed. It also needs to ensure that all managers are trained in gender diversity issues and that this is actively considered in all appointment/ development processes.
Success in action
The company's ultimate goal is to reflect the composition of the communities in which it operates and to be seen as an “employer of choice”. It needs to attract from the broadest population if it is to find and develop the necessary skills. In particular it wants to “create a place where women want to work” so they choose to work for the company. It also identifies the need to retain females by offering a better work/life package and accessibility to the relevant employee welfare policies.
The key elements of its gender programme include:
• Changes to its attraction strategy to improve external recruitment, particularly women into engineering: refocused on female imagery and media and heightened involvement with science, engineering and technology in schools.Non-traditional female jobs are marketed via women’s media; in schools and colleges, and various web sites that promote females into SET. Female imagery is fully utilised and current female operatives provide an initial point of contact at job fairs to challenge the preconceived ideas of a traditional engineer
• Improved retention and promotion of female managers by developing a different environment and encouraging the use of the excellent flexible working policies
• Executive business led sponsorship of gender projects (work-life balance, operational diversity, training) to ensure full engagement
• A global women’s network (WiN) with the aim of identifying and removing barriers to female progression, offering support and role models
• Women’s development programmes – for staff and lower manager grades – aimed primarily at improving confidence and career planning
• I&D Training for all managers: (inclusive behaviours, valuing diversity, fair selection). 1000 trained in 2006, target to complete the remaining 40% by September 2007
Impact
There has been an 11% increase in female graduate recruits (to 36%) since 2004 and of the graduate engineering hire 25% were female for 2006.
From a zero start point we recruited 5% female apprentices, 9% Foundation Engineers and 25% Power Academy candidates. (All above industry benchmarks). Its Year in industry programme (which provides the feeder to the graduate programme) was 42% female in 2006.
34% of females (9% at manager level) work flexibly, an increase of 12% as a result of targeted publicity and role modelling. This has also resulted in a 98.6% maternity returnee rate. Of those attending the first of the women’s development programmes 32% have successfully changed roles with an additional 9% having had an interview. The employee survey recorded a more positive response by females than their male colleagues