The SPE International Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Standing Committee was launched after the 2020 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE). The committee upholds the legacy of the Women in Energy Standing Committee (WIN) that was established in 2016 to elevate gender diversity within the industry. The D&I Committee expanded the WIN Committee’s vision to also address D&I topics such as race, nationality, and age.
The D&I Committee’s main objective is to foster productive relationships with the SPE membership, including local sections and chapters, ensuring to uphold cultural and societal context. During the 2023–2024 term, high-quality deliverables were achieved due to teamwork, collaboration, and integration of different backgrounds, ages, and nationalities.
The 2023–2024 organization chart is shown in Fig. 1.
Organizational Structure and Achievements
The committee operates through four specialized teams. Below is a summary of their objectives and key accomplishments for the 2023–2024 term:
- ATCE Team: This team’s objective is to establish special strategic sessions for ATCE.
For 2024 ATCE, the team organized a strategic panel, “Empowering Change: Progressing Diversity and Inclusion Through Effective Leadership,” moderated by Peggy Rijken and esteemed speakers Josetta Jones from Chevron, Summer Condarco from Halliburton, Ayesha Al Marzouqi from ADNOC, and Carlos Darío Sarmiento Rivadeneira from SLB.
This dynamic panel explored the critical role of leadership in driving meaningful change in D&I, with each speaker sharing actionable insights and personal experiences.
- Internal Outreach Team: This team’s objective is to organize town hall meetings for sections and chapters around the world to showcase their D&I activities and the team also grants the SPE D&I Champion of the Year Award, which honors sections and chapters that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to D&I at the local level. Each section or chapter can only receive the award once within a 5-year period.
The 2023–2024 award recipients were:
SPE Patagonia Section
SPE MEHRAN University E&T Student Chapter
Town hall meetings not only allow sections and chapters to share their D&I activities globally but also share new ideas to launch D&I initiatives and encourage communication and collaboration between them around the world. During 2024 three meetings were hosted in January, April, and August.
- External Outreach Team: This team organizes panels or live sessions with renowned professionals. During the 2023-2024 season, two panels were organized.
Fostering Future Leaders: The Impact of Mentorship on Women in Leadership moderated by Miral S. Tawfik and with the participation of Celina Gioja from CeliGioja Consulting and Emily Firth from Halliburton.
This session delved into the transformative power of mentorship programs for women in leadership roles. We explored the motivations behind companies implementing these programs, shared invaluable insights gleaned from lessons learned, and highlighted expert recommendations for launching these initiatives, illustrated by compelling real-life success stories.
The Power of Cultural Literacy in Achieving Diversity & Inclusion moderated by Lourdes Guinazu with the participation of our speakers: Patricia E Carreras from Blue Moon Strategies, Amber Carter, MBA from GTI Energy, and Lisa Leong from Chevron.
This webinar explored the transformative potential of cultural literacy, while defining what cultural literacy is with real-world examples, in realizing company goals. Through engaging discussions among our speakers and real-world examples, attendees learned how embracing cultural diversity enhances creativity, innovation, and overall organizational performance.
- Social Media Team: This team increased the visibility of D&I social media channels by posting regularly D&I topics and promoting D&I events. In addition to the more than 4,000 followers on LinkedIn, the committee continued with its presence on Facebook, Instagram, and the SPE Connect D&I webpage.
A summary with the committee deliverables over time is presenting in a Fig. 2.
Inspiring Unity Through Diversity
Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.
This quote reflects part of committee’s mission to build diverse leadership that fosters unity through collaboration and shared progress.
How Can You Get Involved?
Ask your SPE section and/or chapter how you can become involved locally.
You can learn more about the D&I Committee here. If you wish to set up a D&I committee in your region, please contact diversityandinclusion@spe.org. On-demand access to the events organized by the committee are available at SPE.org.
