Given the pandemic situation of COVID-19, the question arises whether D&I initiatives will remain a top priority, or will they fall to the bottom of corporate agendas as companies juggle to manage the shifting of the working environment? Is there an opportunity with the pandemic to actually enhance existing D&I efforts? This questions has encouraged MyWiE to organised a closed-door CEO Roundtable discussion with 9 energy leaders from supporting companies who previously received MyWiE Strategies & Best Practices for Attracting, Developing & Retaining Women in the Energy Sector Report at FOWiE event in 2018.

MyWi Best Practices Report is designed to alleviate the challenges faced by women in the workspace, increasing their participation in the energy sector and institutionalising the Diversity & Inclusion recommendation within their companies. Started with an opening remarks by Zahid Osman, the Chairman of MyWiE Advisory Panel, the Roundtable was also attended by MyWiE Advisory panels and other work stream leaders.

Moderated by MyWiE Work Stream Leaders, Raj Kumar Paramanathan, from CnetG Asia and Dr Marcella Lucas, Leadership Consultant, the CEO Roundtable that successfully held on 28 September 2021 was participated by the following Energy Leaders:

The 2 hours discussion ended with closing remarks delivered by Seah Suying, MGA Vice President, where she concludes that the Roundtable was successfully held with full of commitment shown by these leaders. This Roundtable shows that the D&I agenda remain significant at the forefront of their businesses and were established with Passion, Accountability & Progress as its fundamental pillars.

These companies are imperatively progressing and acknowledged the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to distinguish their D&I efforts better with policies and D&I key metrics setting in place. This Roundtable shall continue to serve as a bridging platform for Energy companies to express their interest in improving the D&I agenda to a greater level.

Prior to the Roundtable, MyWiE distributed a Scorecard survey with 29 questions made based on the Strategies & Best Practices Report to find out the progress of initiatives that has been implemented by these Companies. The discussion had successfully addressed the current state of D&I initiatives and progress after 3 years the report is released. The conversation continues with insightful initiatives sharing between the Energy leaders including the following key discussion points addressed by the Energy leaders:

• Current state of D&I initiatives and offered each leader an opportunity to share the concerns and challenges they were experiencing
• Identifying solutions and evolving best practices MyWiE can continue to support members of companies