On the sidelines of the World Petroleum Council Youth Forum in Almaty, oil and gas industry professionals discussed "The Role of Women in Energy Sector: Steps towards Gender Balance".
The discussion was attended by: Pedro Miras, President of the World Petroleum Council (WPC), Burcu Günal, WPC Vice President for Finance, Turkey, Claire Gauthier-Watson, BCG Representative, USA, Maria Dotsenko, UN Women Representative in Kazakhstan, Madina Abylkassymova, Chairman, Financial Regulation Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Lyazzat Akhmurzina, Executive Director, KAZENERGY Association, Ksenia Babushkina, Partner, E&Y Kazakhstan, Sholpan Altybayeva, HR General Manager, Chevron Eurasia, Kamshat Baizhanova, Human Resources General Manager, Tengizchevroil (TCO), Zamzagul Bekova, TCO Finance General Manager, Aisha Turebayeva, Department Director of KazMunayGas JSC.
Today, 30% of middle managers at Tengizchevroil are women. Respect for diversity and inclusion is a core value at TCO, which is why the company is a leader in the energy industry in Kazakhstan with regards to the representation of women in leadership positions.
Zamzagul Bekova, TCO Finance General Manager, in her speech noted the difficulties and biases that women leaders still face: “The industry needs more women leaders in management positions: they need to be supported, promoted, helped to become more self-confident, so that they can participate in the company's decision-making. To do this, it is important to involve both female and male mentors. It is also important that women themselves learn to take charge of their fate, look for mentors themselves, initiate projects themselves, instead of sitting and waiting for support. It is necessary to be responsible not only for the work performed, but also for building a career and achieving success. Never give up and never stop moving forward.”
It should be noted that more than half of the female employees represented at TCO and recruitment agencies, namely 58%, work at Tengiz, while the rest are from offices of Atyrau. In addition, according to statistics, women are loyal and work in the company for about 12 years on average.
Kamshat Baizhanova, TCO Human Resources General Manager, emphasized: “Physical and mental security is a fundamental condition for gender equality. Women can develop, reveal their talents, be useful only when they are confident in their own wellbeing. The second important condition is the unity and awareness of society regarding the gender issue. When society understands that gender equality benefits everyone: the economy of the country, the success of companies, and the well-being of a family - then women will aspire to leadership positions. It is necessary not only to open the way for women to the labor market, but also to give them the opportunity to make decisions.”
