Developing female talent throughout the employee life-cycle, beginning with postgraduate education and extending through leadership development, mentoring and succession planning, remains a priority for oil and gas company bp Southern Africa (bpSA).

Responding to questions from Engineering News, bpSA people and culture senior partner Muki Maphophe says the company’s approach starts well before recruitment through its Energy Mobility Education Trust, which supports postgraduate education for talented young people from rural and historically disadvantaged communities. This includes women pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and green economy-aligned fields.

“Building a stronger pipeline of female talent requires long-term investment rather than isolated recruitment initiatives. By the time organisations begin searching for experienced engineers or technical leaders, the talent pipeline has already been shaped years earlier through education, mentorship and early career opportunities,” she says.

Internally, Maphophe says bpSA identifies employees with leadership potential each year and invests in programmes designed to accelerate their development.

It has also established a Social Mobility Business Resource Group, having recognised that social, cultural and class-related barriers can unintentionally restrict career progression.

“By identifying and addressing these barriers, we create a workplace where talent, not background, determines progression,” Maphophe says.

She describes mentoring as another important pillar of the company’s approach, stating that experienced leaders provide guidance, challenge emerging talent and help create opportunities for career advancement.

Aside from its own workforce, Maphophe believes the broader energy sector has a responsibility to encourage more girls to pursue STEM education, provide graduate work experience, strengthen partnerships with educational institutions and create workplaces that offer long-term career opportunities.

“The future energy economy will require more female engineers, scientists, technologists, supply chain specialists, artisans and digital professionals,” she says.

Maphophe adds that the company’s investment in talent development reflects its view that gender diversity delivers business value beyond representation.

“Representation matters because it creates fairness and opportunity, but the business value comes from what inclusion enables: better decision-making, stronger teams and a culture where different perspectives can shape outcomes.”

She says organisations that draw on people with different experiences and perspectives make better decisions, respond more quickly to changing customer needs and innovate with greater confidence.

Maphophe says a White Paper developed by bpSA in collaboration with GIBS and Accenture reinforces this experience, as it concludes that organisations with inclusive leadership outperform their peers.

Meanwhile, the company deliberately promotes collaboration and open dialogue because “the best ideas often emerge when employees feel able to challenge conventional thinking”, particularly in an industry characterised by technological disruption, regulatory complexity and rapid change.

Maphophe says bpSA has maintained a consistent approach to inclusion despite global debate around diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She cites South Africa’s historical inequalities stating that they continue to influence access to education, employment and leadership opportunities, making inclusion integral to accessing the widest possible talent pool.

Rather than treating inclusion as a human resources initiative, bpSA embeds it into leadership accountability. Managers’ performance indicators are linked to inclusion outcomes, while the company monitors progress through data and regularly assesses employee experience to support sustained improvement.

Maphophe says creating a culture of belonging is equally important because representation is insufficient if employees do not feel respected, heard or able to contribute. She says psychological safety strengthens collaboration, innovation and engagement.

She also points to bpSA’s appointment of two successive female CEOs, Priscillah Mabelane and Taelo Mojapelo, saying visible leadership demonstrates that senior leadership positions are attainable and strengthens the leadership pipeline for future generations.

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There are valuable lessons here for the broader energy sector. The first is that gender diversity should not be treated as a standalone initiative. It needs to be embedded into business strategy, leadership accountability and talent decisions,” she concludes.