Post by Josh Oxby

The problem with sugar-coating structural exclusion: If systemic inequality could be fixed with simple tweaks, why hasn’t it been? I was incredibly honoured to be invited by the UNECE EGRM Women in Resource Management Working Group and the Resource Management Young Members Group (shoutout to Johanne Hobel & Bianca Derya Neumann) to share my frank views in their powerful conversation on gender, leadership and intergenerational equity in the energy transition. The truth: solutions exist and challenges are well known. But if that were enough, we wouldn’t still be holding webinars explaining why women and youth remain underrepresented in energy and climate leadership…. Here’s what’s not adding up: ⚡ Women’s participation remains unequal Women make up 40% of the global workforce yet account for only ~20% of the energy sector and 33% of the AI workforce; often earning 15% less than men in similar roles. Women are also at a 2.5x higher risk of automation-driven job loss. 
📉 Youth are being left behind Global youth unemployment stands at 13% - that’s 65 million young people. +160 million young women and girls are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) - a population the size Germany, France, & Belgium COMBINED. 
🌐 Skills gaps are systemic Digital exclusion threatens future readiness, with 67% of youth currently lacking the technical skill needed for the digital economy and 1 in 3 people globally still don’t have internet access. The energy sector alone faces an 81% digital skills gap. So why are we stuck? From my experience, we’re often aiming in the wrong direction and involving the wrong stakeholders. 
We don’t need more pilot projects or glossy frameworks. We need to restructure the power dynamics behind decision-making. That means raising these issues with mayors, chieftains, provosts, and parliamentarians - those people ACTUALLY shaping our everyday realities. It means involving young people and women not just as participants, but as co-creators and co-leaders. It’s time to move beyond performative optimism. We need to start listening, aligning, and acting where it truly counts. #EnergyKiltMan #UNECE #GenderEquality #YouthLeadership #SDG7 #JustTransition #DigitalInclusion #FutureOfWork