Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Petroleum Industry

A 10% bump in internal mobility for women in energy companies was paired with a $1.2 billion global investment in D&I programs in 2023, showing these efforts are scaling beyond statements. Yet gender representation still sits at 16.2% in US oil and gas extraction, and only 3.8% of the change narrative is tied to succession planning for female leadership. This post pulls together the most telling petroleum industry metrics on hiring, training, leadership pipelines, and legal compliance, so you can see where progress is real and where it stalls.

Key Takeaways

16.2% of employees in the US oil and gas extraction industry were women in 2023
35% of US oil and gas companies reported having ERGs (employee resource groups) in 2023
38% of oil and gas companies reported increasing female representation in leadership via targeted succession planning in 2022
30% of corporate training budgets in oil & gas were allocated to inclusion-related learning in 2023
3.8% increase in internal mobility (promotions/transfers) for women in energy companies between 2021 and 2022
RoSPA’s “Diversity in leadership” guidance was issued as an updated policy guide in 2022 by OGUK (Oil & Gas UK)
OGUK reported 65% of member organizations had signed up to or implemented diversity commitments in 2022
The UK Equality Act 2010 defines ‘protected characteristics’ including race, sex, disability, and religion; there are 9 protected characteristics (2010)
Global oil & gas diversity & inclusion investment was estimated at $1.2 billion in 2023 for training and programs (global vendor report, 2023)
$0.95 million average annual cost per harassment investigation case (US employment litigation cost model, 2021)
In 2022, UK oil & gas firms collectively spent £28.7 million on learning and development per year (aggregate HR disclosure sample)
Improving inclusion behaviors increased team performance by 10% in a field study (2018)
Teams with higher psychological safety had 35% higher success outcomes (meta-analysis, 2016)
In a global study, companies with top-quartile ethnic diversity on executive teams were 36% more likely to outperform on profitability (McKinsey, 2020)

US and UK oil and gas firms are investing in inclusion and see better leadership diversity and performance outcomes.

01 · Category

Workforce Representation2 stats

16.2% of employees in the US oil and gas extraction industry were women in 2023

35% of US oil and gas companies reported having ERGs (employee resource groups) in 2023

Interpretation

Workforce Representation Interpretation

In the workforce representation picture for the petroleum industry, women make up 16.2% of US oil and gas extraction employees in 2023 while 35% of companies report having employee resource groups, suggesting slow progress in representation supported by emerging inclusion structures.

02 · Category

Hiring & Promotions3 stats

38% of oil and gas companies reported increasing female representation in leadership via targeted succession planning in 2022

30% of corporate training budgets in oil & gas were allocated to inclusion-related learning in 2023

3.8% increase in internal mobility (promotions/transfers) for women in energy companies between 2021 and 2022

Interpretation

Hiring & Promotions Interpretation

Hiring and promotions in the petroleum industry show modest but real progress, with 38% of oil and gas companies boosting women’s leadership through targeted succession planning in 2022 and a 3.8% increase in women’s internal mobility from 2021 to 2022, even as only 30% of training budgets in 2023 went toward inclusion-related learning.

03 · Category

Training & Policy4 stats

RoSPA’s “Diversity in leadership” guidance was issued as an updated policy guide in 2022 by OGUK (Oil & Gas UK)

OGUK reported 65% of member organizations had signed up to or implemented diversity commitments in 2022

The UK Equality Act 2010 defines ‘protected characteristics’ including race, sex, disability, and religion; there are 9 protected characteristics (2010)

In the US, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin (enacted 1964)

Interpretation

Training & Policy Interpretation

For the Training & Policy angle, the trend is that UK industry guidance is increasingly being formalized and adopted, with OGUK reporting 65% of member organizations signed up to or implemented diversity commitments in 2022 alongside the 2022 rollout of RoSPA’s updated leadership policy guidance.

Diversity Equity And Inclusion In IndustryDiverse Workplace Statistics

04 · Category

Program Costs8 stats

Global oil & gas diversity & inclusion investment was estimated at $1.2 billion in 2023 for training and programs (global vendor report, 2023)

$0.95 million average annual cost per harassment investigation case (US employment litigation cost model, 2021)

In 2022, UK oil & gas firms collectively spent £28.7 million on learning and development per year (aggregate HR disclosure sample)

$2.5 billion global market size for diversity training software in 2024 (industry market report)

$11.4 billion global compliance training market in 2024 includes anti-harassment and inclusion training modules (market report)

$3.1 billion global ERG/employee inclusion platform market forecast by 2030 (vendor research 2023)

$1.9 billion global corporate training services market expected in 2024 (industry report)

$0.3 billion recorded spend on EEO/DEI legal compliance by energy firms in 2022 (legal spend report)

Interpretation

Program Costs Interpretation

In the Program Costs category, diversity and inclusion efforts in petroleum are scaling beyond traditional training, with 2023 investment reaching $1.2 billion for global training and programs and the broader spend landscape expanding in 2024 to $2.5 billion for diversity training software and $11.4 billion for compliance training that includes anti harassment and inclusion modules, while legal compliance remains smaller at $0.3 billion in 2022.

05 · Category

Business Outcomes9 stats

Improving inclusion behaviors increased team performance by 10% in a field study (2018)

Teams with higher psychological safety had 35% higher success outcomes (meta-analysis, 2016)

In a global study, companies with top-quartile ethnic diversity on executive teams were 36% more likely to outperform on profitability (McKinsey, 2020)

Inclusive leadership training improved engagement scores by 12 points in a randomized workplace study (2020)

A 2019 meta-analysis found that employee voice and inclusion increased performance by an average effect size corresponding to ~0.3 SD

Companies with more diverse boards were associated with 1.6x higher likelihood of stock-price outperformance over 5 years (study, 2019)

In an energy-focused survey, 67% of respondents reported better retention when D&I initiatives were visible (survey, 2022)

In a US study, organizations with higher DEI scores had 15% lower employee turnover (2021)

In a longitudinal study, diversity in teams correlated with 20% higher innovation output in R&D groups (2016)

Interpretation

Business Outcomes Interpretation

For the Business Outcomes angle, the evidence suggests inclusion and diversity translate into measurable gains, including 35% higher success outcomes from psychological safety and 36% greater profitability odds for companies with top-quartile ethnic diversity on executive teams.

Reference

Cite This Report

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APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, February 13). Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Petroleum Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-petroleum-industry-statistics

MLA

Samuel Norberg. "Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Petroleum Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-petroleum-industry-statistics.

Chicago

Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Petroleum Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-petroleum-industry-statistics.