Kathryn on Gender Inclusivity and Awareness Wave in the Solar Industry

Thanks to SmartCompany for publishing our very own Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Hoogesteger's commentary on the 'awareness wave' and gender in the workplace. She takes a nuanced perspective on the issue and draws upon her personal experience working at Smart Commercial Solar.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

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 number of differences 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 for women in our field...

Continue reading the article here