LGBTIQ+ professionals 20% less likely to consider working in STEM or energy, says new research by OVO

• People who identify as LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or questioning) are 20% less likely to want to enter STEM or energy industries
• A quarter of all LGBTIQ+ professionals already in STEM feel their sexual orientation or gender identity has affected their career progression
• Green energy supplier OVO – where 1 in 13 of the workforce identify as LGBTIQ+, higher than the national average – is calling on the industry to do more to improve representation, for example petitioning to make non-binary a legally recognised third gender.

London, 15th June: As the UK celebrates Pride Month, new research from OVO shows that professionals who identify as LGBTIQ+ are 20% less likely to consider switching or entering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and energy.  74% of UK workers who were interested in starting or switching into a new industry would consider STEM or energy for their next career change. This falls to only 59% for professionals who identify as LGBTIQ+. 

New research from OVO shows LGBTIQ+ professionals are much more likely than people who identify as heterosexual to think there might be bias or discrimination in a STEM workplace (10% compared to 6%), with 1 in 4 LGBTIQ+ professionals who already work in STEM saying their sexual orientation or gender identity has held them back in the workplace. This rises to almost 1 in 3 (32%) for gay and lesbian professionals.

This Pride Month, OVO is calling on STEM organisations to join them in making the industry more attractive to people with diverse identities and to increase LGBTIQ+ representation. Around 1 in 13 staff at OVO (7.6%) identifies as LGBTIQ+ – higher than the national average where less than  1 in 15  (6.8%) identify with this group –  and specific support is set out in OVO’s People Offer – their commitment to every team member.  

OVO today sets out how the STEM industry can and must be doing more to make their workplaces more accessible – from the hiring process right through to fostering a sense of inclusion in the workplace. This includes ensuring all policies (like adoption or parental leave) are truly LGBTIQ+ inclusive, including pronouns and non-binary gender options in team member’s personal information, and offering trans healthcare cover.

Alessandro Storer, Head of Inclusion and Belonging at OVO Energy, said: 

“To break the cycle of sexual inequality, STEM workplaces can and should be doing more to make themselves more accessible. At OVO, we have around 600 people, across 8 Belonging Networks, actively helping us to advance inclusion within the workplace. Here we all have a voice which is always heard. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved so far – and there’s always further to go. We need all companies in STEM industries to make the same commitment to LGBTIQ+ inclusion.” 

OVO’s People Offer includes a number of policies that have been shown to be critical to supporting LGBTIQ+ professionals, beginning at the hiring stage to remove barriers to applying to a role in STEM. This includes using software to eliminate gendered or biased language in role descriptions that might discourage gender non-conforming individuals from applying. All managers and leaders also receive unconscious bias training, which reduces bias in interviews as well as within the wider workplace.

For its people, OVO gives clear guidelines on how to foster an inclusive workplace.  OVO has eight dedicated ‘Belonging Networks’ including one for LGBTIQ+ talent. The network, called Pride in Ourselves, brings together colleagues looking to connect with others who have similar experiences, helping to reduce feelings of isolation, but also for those who want to be allies, creating a space to affect real change. Louise Bailey, Inclusion & Diversity Accelerator at OVO, one of LGBT Awards’ Exceptional Inclusion Top 10 in 2021,  wrote and implemented a Trans Inclusion policy at OVO, of which every single one of her proposals was accepted by senior leaders. This resulted in positive feedback from trans people, which along with non-binary individuals make up 1.5% of the OVO workforce. 

Support to colleagues must extend to the wider team too. At OVO, hundreds of managers have benefitted from ‘Introduction to Trans Awareness’ and ‘Creating an LGBTIQ+ inclusive workplace’ training, which has changed the language used in internal communications and business interactions, helping to make the workplace a more open and inclusive place. And the 100+ Mental Health First Aiders at OVO have also received top-up LGBTIQ+ awareness training so they are well equipped to support LGBTIQ+ colleagues who reach out for help.

ENDS 

Notes to Editors:

For more information please contact: media@ovoenergy.com 

About OVO

OVO was founded in 2009 and redesigned the energy experience to be fair, effortless, green and simple for all customers. OVO was awarded Company of the Decade at the BusinessGreen Leaders’ Awards and has won multiple awards, including Innovation Project of the Year, for investing in the market leading technology, customer service operations and digital products to help customers cut their carbon emissions. OVO won the award for Best Place to Work for Women and came Top 10 for Very Big Organisation in The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Work 2023 for offering forward thinking policies and better flexibility for everyone to balance work with life. OVO is on a mission through its sustainability strategy Plan Zero to tackle the most important issue of our time; the climate crisis, by bringing our customers with us on the journey towards zero carbon living. OVO Energy has committed to being a net zero carbon business and achieve bold science-based carbon reduction targets, while helping customers reduce their household emissions at the same time. 

About polling:

Strand Partners’ specialist research team conducted an online survey of 2,006 nationally representative members of the public who are in employment, between 26th May 2023 until 30th May 2023. Respondents were initially selected for representativeness using quotas by age and gender (interlocked) and NUTS 1 regions UK and then only those in employment completed the study. 

Strand Partners’ online polling studies are conducted under the rules of the British Polling Council. All data gathered is of a publishable quality and is produced within Market Research Society guidelines.

For full data tables and more detail of the methodology, please e-mail: polling@strandpartners.com.