Lean In Energy, a worldwide nonprofit mentoring community for women in energy, is taking the initiative to shift conversations, drive women to achieve their energy ambitions and confront workplace bias. Founded in 2015 by Katie Mehnert, CEO of Pink Petro, as part of LeanIn.org, Lean In Energy was established as a nonprofit in 2017, publicly launching in 2018. The organization provides tools for mentorship, small group discussions and education.
Evelyn MacLean-Quick, chief procurement officer and head of supply chain at Hess Corp., is a participant of Lean In Energy and applauds its efforts in educating women and creating a space for them to teach and learn from one another. She said Hess, a supporter of Lean In Energy, has started to address workplace bias and use tools similar to the ones Lean In offers to internally shift conversations.
"At Hess, I'm really confident to say we are shifting the conversation around inclusion and diversity," MacLean-Quick said recently at HERWorld 2019. "Greater levels of inclusivity create pathways for new ideas that lead to better results."
MacLean-Quick explained Hess has implemented a program where everyone in the company -- from leadership down -- is scheduled to attend "unconscious bias" training. She encouraged other companies to introduce similar training programs for education and change.
According to Lean In's philosophy, there are a number of ways to fight bias in the workplace. To be able to fight bias, one must learn that bias isn't limited to gender and recognize everyone has fallen into the trap of being biased. One should also recognize that acknowledging the existence of bias at work is not enough; actions must be taken to create change. Learning to recognize the types of bias is also important, and common areas of bias that women in particular face include likeability, performance, maternal, attribution, affinity, and double discrimination and intersectionality.
Amanda Accardo, Shell external relations manager and communications and advocacy chair for Lean In Energy, helped lead HERWorld 2019 attendees in an activity to help combat workplace gender bias. Using Lean In's "50 Ways to Fight Bias," Accardo walked participants through a handful of workplace scenarios and how to respond to those situations. Allowing conference participants to engage and discuss the scenarios, Accardo and Colleen Scholl, senior vice president of HDR, then provided research regarding the particular situations and how best to address these common occurrences.
At the end of the activity, Accardo and Scholl asked all those in attendance to think about how they could take action. The women asked participants to consider the one action they could take to address gender bias in their personal workplace, using the information they had gathered.
Continuing efforts to create change
MacLean-Quick further applauded Lean In's efforts to reach women through the Lean In circles, "flash conversations," and a new online platform that matches mentors with mentees across the industry both locally and globally. The purpose of each initiative is to help women share insights to benefit one another in the issues they face. "The content truly works for anyone anywhere within your organization," MacLean- Quick said. "The power of having open and honest conversation, creating a nonjudgmental space where people can express their challenges and interests and where they can share their experiences, allows everyone to benefit: individuals, organizations, families and beyond."
Accardo also participates in the mentoring community that kicked off in February. "I'm in a small group with someone here in Houston and someone in Qatar. It's pretty cool," she explained.
MacLean-Quick encouraged each listener to take action in sparking change. "I encourage everybody to help shift the conversations within your organization, to increase the movement toward a more balanced world," she said. "The more we talk openly and honestly, the more inclusive and diverse this industry will become, allowing us to attract and maintain the best of talent."
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