Inclusive culture isn’t one-size-fits-all: Gender diversity isn’t just a numbers game

I’m a woman in renewables. Recently a comment by a colleague of mine prompted me to take a much closer look at some of the assumptions we make about “fixing” the problem of low woman representation and culture in our industry. My colleague shared an anecdote from a woman leader they knew who had recently increased the number of women on the board of her organisation to 50%. To be honest, I found myself uncertain whether that was a good or a bad thing. The reason is because it’s the opposite of how we have built our team.

Solar has a reputation for not being “women-friendly” and judging from one journalist’s recent observation of an industry conference, it also struggles with the perception that it can miss the environmental and social good renewables companies can do. 

But here’s the thing, my experience has been very different and I’d like to offer it as another way of tackling this issue.

First, what if diversity and inclusion aren’t about the numbers of difference but a culture where people feel respected and valued day after day? We’ve tried to do that in our business, taking the focus off of filling a quota and putting it on finding a fit. We do this by moving beyond the idea that all jobs should be done equally by all genders. What should be normal is women in our field to do fantastic work and drive clear contributions to our industry’s success. Here’s the thing, by focusing on finding the best person for the job, regardless of gender, we’ve arrived at a solar energy company with a mix of men and women (34%) well above the industry standard.

The “awareness wave” around diversity and inclusion makes sense, but we’ve got to ride it to a place of normalcy. A place where we don’t just celebrate women once a year. A place where women in solar, or not, is okay. A place where women can excel how and when they want to.

To do this we obviously have to double down on our commitment to STEM for our girls (but even here there’s some positive news with women enrolling in STEM courses increasing by 24% between 2015 and 2020), but we also have to double down on our commitment to girls being free to become what they want to become. We have to cut our worries in half when we don’t have perfect evenness in gender numbers. The media contributes to this pressure because it is easier to report on numbers and metrics than on what a truly inclusive culture looks and feels like. Quotas and metrics can serve a purpose, but they are too blunt as instruments once you are focused on building and nurturing a custom-built culture for your organisation and your people.

This is because truly inclusive culture isn’t one-size-fits-all, it’s going to be different for every business. In our business, it reflects the fast pace of our industry and our values of integrity and transparency mixed with fun and a spirit of independence. We want people to feel free to be themselves, take chances, make and own their mistakes, and push themselves and the business  — none of this has anything to do with gender.

And when we say we see ourselves as a family, we really mean it. We have women and men who don’t have kids and women and men whose kids come into work and crawl all over the desks. We make room for the lives that people are living, and respect that even when it’s commercially inconvenient. Again, it’s about accommodating differences but not hiring for it.

But this is just my take. We need voices other than just mine in this conversation. Women finding their niche and our companies and industry reaching normal is too important to rely on crude metrics and quotas.

Kathryn Hoogesteger is a principal in Smart Commercial Solar.