The answer lives in this podcast
Why is diversity of backgrounds and perspectives important for utilities companies?
A utilities workforce must reflect the diverse customer base it serves — if everyone in a team looks, thinks, and acts the same, the organisation simply fails the people it is there for. People from different backgrounds bring unique voices and stories that allow teams to draw on each other's strengths. And at a macro level, diversity of people directly drives diversity of ideas — exactly what is needed to tackle urgent industry challenges like climate change and water scarcity.
When the workforce mirrors the customers it serves
Karen Anderson, Executive Director of the Women's Utilities Network, puts the argument plainly: a utilities company exists to serve a broad, varied public. If the team behind it is uniform in background and outlook, that organisation is already misaligned with its mission.
This is the founding logic of the Women's Utilities Network itself, created in 2018 by five women who frequently found themselves the only female in the room. Over the eight years since, as explored in The Future of Utilities Podcast, the network has grown into a visible and active force for change across the sector — with the Future Utilities conference event alone growing from a handful of attendees to well over 100 women and allies gathering to network and support one another.
The trajectory of that event is itself evidence of what happens when diversity is treated as a structural priority rather than a side agenda.
Different stories, different strengths — and bigger ideas for bigger problems
Naz Khanon, Head of People at Lane's Group and 2025 Mentor of the Year winner on the One Mentoring Programme, frames the case around team dynamics: people from different backgrounds bring genuinely different voices, opinions, and experiences. Teams that harness that difference can tap into each other's strengths in ways that homogeneous groups simply cannot.
Sophia Goring, Head of Sustainability at Business Stream and 2024 Mentor of the Year winner, extends the argument to industry scale. The utilities sector faces defining challenges — climate change, water pressures, infrastructure transformation. Goring's position, discussed in detail in this episode of The Future of Utilities Podcast, is direct: diversity of people drives diversity of ideas, and the scale of today's problems demands the full range of those ideas.
These are not abstract values. They translate into how problems are framed, which solutions get considered, and which risks go unseen — a point that The Future of Utilities Podcast returns to throughout its conversations on the people agenda in utilities.
"Mentoring, for me, has given me a purpose. Seeing people build confidence, overcoming obstacles, they've set goals that they thought were impossible. Seeing them achieve those goals has been rewarding."
Karen Anderson — Executive Director, Women's Utilities Network.
Anderson has led the Women's Utilities Network for just over two years, steering an organisation founded in 2018 by five women who recognised how rarely they saw other women in senior utilities roles. She is a regular speaker at industry events including Future Utilities, where she engages directly with large audiences on gender diversity, inclusion, and the structural changes the sector still needs to make. Her work sits at the intersection of professional networks, mentoring culture, and systemic advocacy for a more representative utilities workforce.
Anderson's reflection on mentoring connects directly to the diversity question: building confidence in people who have historically been underrepresented is inseparable from building a workforce that actually reflects the communities utilities serve. The full conversation is available on The Future of Utilities Podcast.
See also
What is the One Mentoring Programme and how does it help people find mentors?
The One Mentoring Programme is a portal that connects mentors and mentees across the utilities industry, including beyond one's own organisation — making it possible to find guidance from someone with a genuinely different vantage point. This cross-organisational reach is central to what makes the programme distinct, as discussed in The Future of Utilities Podcast.
How does mentoring help with imposter syndrome in the workplace?
Naz Khanon acknowledges that imposter syndrome is something many people suffer with, and that mentoring helps by constantly checking, improving and rebuilding confidence — giving individuals a structured space to challenge the doubts that hold them back.
What do mentors gain from mentoring relationships, beyond what mentees receive?
Both Naz Khanon and Sophia Goring emphasise that mentoring is a two-way relationship: mentors develop coaching skills, broaden their understanding through exposure to different perspectives, and find renewed purpose in seeing others grow.
Key takeaways
- A utilities workforce that doesn't reflect its customer base is structurally misaligned with its own mission.
- People from different backgrounds bring distinct voices and experiences that strengthen the whole team's ability to problem-solve.
- Diversity of people produces diversity of ideas — a direct requirement for addressing sector-defining challenges like climate change and water pressures.
- The Women's Utilities Network, founded in 2018, demonstrates that intentional, sustained inclusion efforts produce measurable change over time.
This answer comes directly from a real episode. Hear the full conversation between Karen Anderson, Naz Khanon, and Sophia Goring on inclusion and the people agenda in utilities.
Listen to the episode on Listenly