The study examined female representation in the workplace from the perspective of 3000 oil and gas professionals.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72%) believed that oil and gas was a male-dominated industry and that more needed to be done, with a majority saying the industry needed to do more to make itself attractive to women.

Female barriers and challenges uncovered by the survey suggested a need for change, with 20% of respondents strongly agreeing that gender discrimination was a problem.

Some respondents cited societal conditioning, a lack of qualified candidates and family care responsibilities as significant issues.

Respondents suggested implementing better science, technology, engineering and maths programs in schools, offering flexible work arrangements and implementing company goals as ways to address the issues.

On the subject of pay, 47% believed gender played a role in setting remuneration.

However, when asked specifically who was more highly paid, just 36% said men were better paid than women in the industry and 44% said they thought pay between the sexes was comparable.