International Women’s Day 2024

Did you know that only 22% of the workforce in the energy sector are female? This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the theme of inspiring inclusion and talking to some of the most inspirational women at the Electricity System Operator (ESO) to share their stories and encourage future generations to enter the energy industry. 

Women being represented in senior leadership

At a senior level, 21% of the top UK energy companies have no women on the board. Women make up 32% of middle management roles in the UK energy sector and 31% of leadership roles. At the ESO, women make up two thirds of our board and nearly half of our current Executive Leadership Team.

Meet our Executive Leadership Team

One recent notable appointment to our Executive Leader Team is Kayte O’Neill as our first ever Chief Operating Officer leading the delivery of transformation within the organisation and focusing on aspects of our business plan such as Key Performance Indicators, objectives, Full-Time Equivalent, and costs.

Kayte recently sat down with Utility Week to set out what needs to be achieved before we become the National Energy System Operator (NESO), including recruitment, a clean separation from National Grid and provides clarity on our roles and responsibilities.

Read Kayte’s Utility Week interview

Inspiring young female engineers

At the ESO, Emily Backhouse, Power System Engineer, has been inspiring women to pursue a career in engineering through her work as an ambassador for the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize). The QEPrize promotes excellence in engineering and celebrates engineering’s visionaries. It inspires young minds to consider engineering as a career choice and encourages engineers to push the boundaries of what is possible.

Emily co-lead our Pride Employee Resource Group between 2017-2022 and has represented the ESO at Student Pride events to share how we promote inclusion with students looking to start a career in engineering. Since 2017, she has acted as a mentor for engineering apprentices and graduates at the ESO since joining as an apprentice herself in 2016.

A journey to becoming an award winning engineer

In an exclusive interview at Enlit Europe, Faith Natukunda, Regional Energy Strategic Planning Manager with the ESO, describes her journey from Kampala, Uganda to becoming an award winning engineer in the UK. She describes the challenges associated with her career choice and the joy of following her passion.

Watch here

Faith has overcome cultural barriers to lead a team that identifies the future needs of the UK’s electricity transmission network in order to meet net zero goals. She is a founding member of the CIGRE UK Women’s Network, where she emphasises the importance of a safe and supportive work environment that embraces diversity and inclusion.

Want to join a company that encourages inclusion?

If you want to join a company at an exciting time as we become NESO, and advocate inclusion, take a look at our available roles.

View our roles