International Women’s Day 2023 – Meet Jo Thomas

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I’m Jo Thomas, the Salesforce Manager for eEnergy which means I’m a ‘woman in tech’, managing our key Sales and Customer relationship system for the business.  When I’m not being creative, creating solutions to business process problems, I’m enjoying being married to my lovely supportive husband, mother of two grown men (!) and Nana to my 6-year-old granddaughter (even though I don’t look old enough).

Which women inspire you and why?

Katherine G. Johnson, a black female mathematician who worked for Nasa as a ‘Computer’ from 1953. She calculated trajectories for numerous space missions, including the first human spaceflight by an American. Her work played a crucial role in the success of the US space program. Despite facing gender and racial discrimination, Johnson persevered and became a trailblazer for women and women of colour in science and engineering.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #EmbraceEquity, what does that mean to you?

Equity is all about fairness and equality.  For me personally, it’s about changing the narrative on what’s perceived as ‘typical’ women’s roles and giving young girls the positive role models (like Katherine!) so they can believe they can strive towards the careers they want. Energy and Technology is ‘typically’ male dominated yet there are some key women smashing the glass ceiling and owning and directing energy and tech companies now.

What do you think men can do to help achieve equality?

We need men to be allies. This isn’t just about appreciating that women want careers instead of, or as well as, raising families or doing housework (!), it’s about realising and accepting that there are barriers set by historic perceptions. We need men involved in the conversations about women’s equity, the factors that make a women’s experiences different from men’s when doing the same role. They need to be open to the whole picture and positively work towards changing theirs and other’s mindsets.

What do you think the energy industry can do to attract more women into it?

I think taking the steps I’ve mentioned already will be a start. Recognise women’s talent and what they contribute and ensure they have the opportunities, sponsorship and support to take their talents right to the top of the industry. The industry will then benefit from a balanced, representative perspective, diversity in skills and experience and create those positive role models for the future.

What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

Be brave. Nothing is out of reach if you really want it but don’t delay… grab it before it’s too late!