The Global Female Influencer 275 list is an attempt to capture those senior female executives that have a significant role in shaping the industry.  The list celebrates individuals from across 42 countries and is the largest and most diverse of its kind ever created. 

The ranking of the list is based on months of extensive research across our network, spanning six continents and encompassing the feedback of council members globally.  It is an attempt to create a true global representation of the female trailblazers that are shaping the industry and as part of our ‘Celebrating Equal’ initiative, we champion those individuals who are already tackling the diversity imbalance in energy. 

Statistics show that whilst 35% of engineering and geology University students are women, they only account for 27% of the annual graduate intake into oil and gas.  Furthermore, only 10% of VP roles are currently occupied by females (with as little as 2% of c-suite executives being women). These statistics demonstrate that much work is still to be done if the gender imbalances in our industry, from graduate to management board level, are to be overcome.

The Global Female Influencer 275 list is unique in that covers the whole oil and gas sector and includes individuals that lend their significant influence to the industry, even if they do not directly work for an oil and gas organisation.  The list is also distinctive as it based on/uses data sets from around the world, rather than one single continent, making it truly global.

Inclusion on the list is based on meeting certain criteria which has been set out by the Oil and Gas Council and Energy Council.  Eligibility is not by request.  Inspiration and influence of leadership are considered more significantly than an arbitrage ranking.  Simply, this list looks recognise the accomplishments of women in the oil and gas industry who have broken down the barriers and encourage and inspire more women to enter the energy sector and do the same.

The list firstly comprises nominees for our Females Executive of the Year Award over a number of years.   In addition, the list includes our Regional Chapter winners and nominees from the Women’s Energy Council’s events around the world.   

We have striven to include executives in senior positions in some of the largest public traded companies globally. Where possible, we have used audited consolidated revenue and where available, have used revenue and net income figures.  For both public and privately held companies we have also considered boe/d and refining capacity in establishing the ranking.    

The list has been compromised/created by the Council which is energy agnostic, thus recognising that energy transition is having a significant effect on the oil and gas industry.  It therefore highlights women in the industry who are “demonstrating outstanding personal contribution to the advancement of a low carbon future”, as well as those directly working in hydrocarbons.

Some of the executive activities include non-oil and gas industries but have been judged to play a key role in oil and gas. Additionally, we have looked extensively at non-executive directors who play active roles on boards around the world and those individuals who are true influencers regardless of size of business or current role. 

The Global Female Influencer 275 university lists are attributed by collecting data from publicly available sources on individuals, corporate websites and through our own research.  It measures the academic institutions that represent the academic backgrounds of leaders in the list, but makes no scaling allowance for quality of education. This approach is taken for undergraduate and postgraduate degree of the influencers.   

We have tried to ensure that executives are categorised based on the region in which they are currently operating.  An IOC country head will be recognised where they are headquartered, rather than the region in which the IOC generates the most revenues.   

We have listed the name of the executive and current English translation title of the individual at the time of going to press, rather than at the time of publication online or in print.