Championing women in energy efficiency

6 FEATURE

www.elmhurstenergy.co.uk

Fiona Wilson, Business Development Manager

It will come as no surprise to learn that women are underrepresented in the energy efficiency industry. Only 13% of Elmhurst members in England and Wales are women, with the percentage falling to 11.5% for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

I regularly attend industry events and training courses and know from my own experience there are often very few other women in attendance and we all seem to gravitate towards each other. Elmhurst Energy has always prided itself on being industry leaders in all areas and being the best scheme to support our members. With this in mind, we have been looking into: n Why there are so few women n How we can support our female members

n How we can encourage new female entrants into the industry. To better understand the experiences of our female members we sent out a questionnaire to get their take on the industry, what brought them into it, and the hurdles they've faced. We received an overwhelming number of responses to the questionnaire, and this has helped us shape our next steps. Our respondents highlighted that the flexible nature of the job suited them and it was a good role to move into when changing careers. They also highlighted a desire for networking and social media forums for women to discuss any concerns or suggestions to make the job easier, in particular around the safety aspect of lone working or

entering homes/businesses by themselves.

The final point raised was around advertising and imagery, how we present to members, and how we advertise as an industry. We will be looking at this going forward and promoting more inclusive language and images. We have now held our first Forum event for women, giving us a chance to talk through some of these ideas with our members and we will be looking to hold more of these going forward, as well as looking at social media forums for assessors.

Having a more balanced industry, whether it be around gender, race, religion or age (the latter of which is another factor we need to consider as an industry), will help us all develop and grow to provide a more varied outlook, and will of course benefit customers. We look forward to continuing our work with all of our existing members, and we greatly appreciate the feedback we have had, and the feedback that we will get in the future. This all helps shape the scheme for our members, to provide the best support and a more equal working environment.

Member profile Daisy Drake

15 years ago Daisy Drake left her job in London to try something new. She’s now a qualified NDEA, DEA and OCDEA and received the Energy Advisor/Assessor award for the South East in 2016. Here’s how she got involved in the industry and founded her own business DaisEPC Ltd.

Why did you join the industry?

I joined by chance really. I used to live in London where I worked as a print designer but my husband and I moved to Worthing and there wasn’t really the same market there. It was at a time when printers were closing at a rapid number each week and I thought that after 13 years, it was time for a change.

Although at first it was just a job, over the years my attitude has changed, I find the more I learn, the more interesting the job has become and consequently the more passionate I feel about doing it.

What’s your favourite part of the job?

I really like the variety of people I get to meet. I have found it has restored my faith in human nature as the vast electric meters, or just their electric tariff.

majority of people are very kind.

I’ve learnt a lot, both about my own job from people who have extensively researched new technologies for their homes, or work in the industry and about life in general from just taking time to sit and chat to someone. In the early days I would have plenty of time, so would take a cup of tea if offered and quite happily listen to someone’s stories, especially if it meant I could play with their dog. When I can, I still find time to listen.

I also like the fact that I can sometimes help people, by explaining the report, informing them about new schemes to improve their homes - even small things like changing bulbs or Do you think being a woman is an advantage?

Yes I do; the area where I live has a high elderly population and I feel that the majority of older people are more comfortable with a lady they don’t know, rather than a man, especially as it is generally older ladies.

You can read the full interview with Daisy online.