Gender

In 1997, when we set our first global diversity goals, just 4% of our senior leadership were women. As at 1 April 2025, our Executive Committee has 44% women and 56% men, and we have an ambition to achieve 40% women in our senior leadership globally by 2030. We are proud of our progress and have an ongoing focus on removing barriers for women across our global organisation. You can read more about our Ambitions around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Gender equality encompasses so much more than metrics and data; it’s about our inclusive culture and fairness in opportunity for everyone. It requires us to acknowledge real and perceived barriers, from multiple angles. Here are some of the things we’re doing at Shell, subject to local laws and context:

Recognising the importance of senior executive sponsorship to drive progress, all our Executive Committee who report directly into our CEO, sponsor progress.

By creating safe spaces to share and listen to each other’s experiences, we can learn more about what each of us can do differently to make someone else’s experience better. By doing so, we can all contribute to a more inclusive world. Many Shell colleagues around the world continue to courageously share their inspiring stories, which has created a deeper level of empathy among staff to reflect on and become stronger active allies.

Whilst countries may be at different places in their DE&I journeys, no-one has grown up in a world free from bias. Shell employees and contractors are required to complete training courses that reinforce expected behaviours for a respectful, inclusive workplace, and build our stance against discrimination and harassment, including bullying and sexual harassment. Employees and contractors are required to take these courses every two years.

The training helps ensure colleagues know what’s expected of them, it gives them tools to use every day and guidance on being an ally and intervening in the moment. Whilst it’s only one part of building an inclusive culture, it is an essential one when combined with our other actions to drive meaningful change. We continue to focus on building individual accountability and have launched internal staff modules that focus on Equity and Allyship.

We seek to build a sense of community and collaboration within Shell's sites where we want employees to feel welcome and valued. By enabling people to balance their work and personal lives, we can help them perform at their best. Our Future of Work guide advises employees and team leaders on hybrid working options.

Pay is an important part of working life. Our Fair Pay Principles are designed to manage pay at Shell and help us ensure that employees are valued, respected and recognised for the work they do. Shell's pay is designed to be market competitive and free from bias. The basis for paying fairly is equal pay for equal work, taking into account factors such as performance and experience. Through regular benchmarking, Shell's compensation is typically higher than the minimum wage level observed locally, including in countries without legislation on minimum wage. Pay adjustment at Shell is linked to performance and we share this information with employees to help them understand how their pay adjustments are made. We continue to engage employees transparently and openly about our pay policies to help build understanding, trust and confidence in our approach.

Shell provides a range of benefits, such as global minimum standards for life, accident and disability cover, as well as maternity and parental leave, except in certain cases where we are precluded from offering this. Our benefits packages are tailored to each country to meet the requirements of local laws and regulations.

By better understanding who we are, we can work towards where we want to be. We currently collect gender data globally. At the end of 2024, 93% of our employees had access to voluntary self-ID in our HR system, which includes an option to voluntarily declare gender identity where relevant and legal. This will allow us to better track our progress with increased data insights, better understand different groups’ experiences, identify strengths that we can continue to build on, and identify opportunities for improvement.

Shell is active in external organisations and activities that advance gender equality. We pledge our support to external commitments and ambitions because it increases transparency on what we stand for; we benefit from access to good practice with fellow advocates to inform where we can do more; and because our support, as a large and visible global company, can act as a catalyst for others to follow.

We participate in the FTSE Women Leaders Review which aims to improve the representation of women on the Boards and Leadership teams in FTSE 350 companies. Our CEO, Wael Sawan, re-endorsed the Catalyst CEO Champions for change initiative

Engineering is critical to Shell’s success. Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers have struggled for decades to attract more women. We continue to focus on attracting and developing women, including in STEM and leadership roles, and removing barriers to participation and progression.

Working with others

Shell participates in the UK FTSE Women Leaders Review which aims to improve the representation of women on the Boards and Leadership teams in FTSE 350 companies.

Visit FTSE Women Leaders Review