ESO celebrates International Women’s Day by beating industry targets and sharing what equity means to women in a variety of roles

This year we're celebrating International Women's Day with the theme of ‘Embracing Equity’. Equity recognises that everyone has different circumstances, and this means that we need different resources and opportunities to reach the same outcome.

In the UK, women are still under-represented in the energy sector, especially in senior leadership positions. The industry has set a target for 30% of executive seats across our sector to be held by women by 2030. 

We are already exceeding this target at the ESO, but we know there is still more to do. Having diverse role models gives people from different backgrounds more confidence in their own ideas, abilities and potential. We invited some of the fantastic women from the ESO to share what equity means to them. 

Celebrating women’s achievements at the ESO

This year, women at the ESO have been at the forefront of delivering innovative, world first initiatives and representing the ESO at parliament and other industry events.

In February, Amy Weltevreden, Market Requirements Senior Manager, discussed her exciting career in the energy industry with Womanthology. Amy started her career by enrolling onto National Grid’s Graduate Development Programme, undertaking various analytical roles during her first few years with the company. Amy is now responsible for the team that helps the organisation safely and voluntarily flex the electricity supply in real-time, and played a key role in delivering our innovative, world first Demand Flexibility Service (DFS).

Amy is passionate about more women pursuing a career in the sector, which is detailed in her deep dive into DFS.

Read Amy's article on Womanthology

Women representing the ESO in the news and in parliament

On 7 March 2023, Kayte O’Neill, Director of Transformation, and Claire Dykta, Head of Markets, represented the ESO at the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. During their appearance, Kayte and Claire discussed the strong progress the ESO is making towards achieving its 2025 zero carbon ambition and the importance of a diverse energy mix. Kayte and Claire’s appearance was noted by Committee staff and external stakeholders as a fantastic change to the stereotypical energy sector representative normally put forward for these events.

You can view some clips of Kayte and Claire representing the ESO at the select committee on our Twitter.

Watch the select committee videos

Representing the ESO externally is something Claire has become familiar with as she was recently interviewed by Sky News, appearing on national TV outlining how we took prudent action to prepare for winter, the importance of demand flexibility and how the way we use energy is likely to change in the future. Claire has also been interviewed by Utility Week, establishing herself as an expert in the energy industry.

Recognising women’s achievements all year

At the ESO, celebrating International Women’s Day is extremely important, allowing us to showcase the achievements of women in our industry. However, we believe that celebrating the achievements of our women should be something we do all year round.

In November 2022, several women from the ESO attended Regen's 'ReWire: Women in Energy Innovation Reception' at the House of Commons. This was a great opportunity to celebrate the fantastic women we have working to deliver a zero-carbon electricity system.

Want to join a company that values diversity, equity and celebrates the achievements of women?

You may have seen the ESO featured recently in Guy Martin’s Great British Power Trip on Channel 4. During this series Guy was left in awe after seeing the work that goes into running GB’s electricity system second by second, 365 days a year, by both men and women at the ESO.

If you want to join a company that plays a pivotal role in keeping the lights on while developing a net zero electricity system and empowers women to achieve great things in the energy system, take a look at our available roles on our website.

Current available jobs at ESO