The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the energy sector remains one of the least gender-diverse sectors and that closing this gender gap is vital as women are the key drivers of innovation and inclusive solutions. However, one of IEA’s key findings is that women hold more senior executive positions in the utility industry than elsewhere in the energy sector, with women in senior roles better represented in the industry at 17.1%.
When one looks at the UAE, it is ranked 24th among 170 countries in terms of progress in women’s inclusion, justice and security, and the highest regionally in terms of gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap report.
However, this does not mean that the work is done and that women have achieved equality in all sectors since, globally and regionally, women still occupy less than 15% of the construction workforce, for instance. Moreover, the situation is even bleaker regarding women occupying leadership positions in these sectors and industries.
Notably, the UAE has been pushing for and actively initiating the investment in its women, from promoting advancement in STEM fields to equal rights to education for every girl and encouraging them to aim for new frontiers. On the side-lines of such progressive drives, Utilities Middle East regards the achievements of Khawla Al Mehairi, the executive vice president (EVP) of Strategy & Government Communications at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).
She has over 23 years of experience in the public and private sectors, is a management strategy expert, and the first female among DEWA’s top management positions, as well as the first chairperson of DEWA’s Women’s Committee. Her career includes oil and gas, public policy, government relations, utilities, women’s empowerment, diplomacy, humanitarian programmes, and sustainability.
Commenting on her first foray into a male-dominated industry, Al Mehairi says, “I chose my first job in the oil and gas sector and was fortunate to have made the most of every opportunity presented. When given the window [of opportunity], I selected the best options, and as a result of my hard work and commitment, I was able to impact people’s lives and the places where I work.”
Transforming DEWA
Explaining her role at DEWA, she says that she was fortunate to have been mentored by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and CEO of DEWA, during the initial stages of her career.
Al Mehairi is the first female EVP at DEWA.
Over the course of her career, she set up DEWA’s Marketing & Corporate Communications (M&CC) division and began growing its brand identity and reputation management, winning multiple awards and recognition. Since the establishment of the function in 2011, brand perception has been transformed from 80% to 91% in 2020. This is a significant increase, where DEWA has changed from a typical utility into a well-established brand. This has been supported by robust marketing & corporate communication frameworks to ensure sustainable results.
She states that one of her most cherished moments after becoming the first female EVP of DEWA was when a woman approached her, saying that all the other ladies were talking about her being an inspiration to them and that her path has encouraged them to also progress in their respective careers within the energy sector which at first seemed to be a daunting task for many.
“I have learnt that women should not underestimate themselves and that a shift in mindset is fundamental if we are to keep moving forward,” she affirms.
Al Mehairi joined DEWA in 2009 as a senior manager of Corporate Strategy and has led the division according to international standards and best practices in strategy management and execution – ultimately leading DEWA to become a strategy-focused organisation.
She also pioneered Strategy Communications as a key step within DEWA’s existing framework, which became an innovative model for the planning and execution of strategy, transforming DEWA’s culture into a performance-based one. Al Mehairi also successfully pioneered the inclusion of sustainability in DEWA’s corporate vision.
A year and a half later, in 2011, she was promoted to vice president for Marketing & Corporate Communications. Spearheading the creation of the Marketing & Corporate Communications division, she was able to streamline all its branding, marketing, and corporate communication functions. Meanwhile, she also introduced the corporate brand strategy and brand guidelines, policies and processes.
Taking it a step further, Al Mehairi signed service-level agreements with all DEWA’s divisions to ensure its alignment and commitment towards all marketing and communication critical interaction. Additionally, all other initiatives, such as promotional campaigns, public relations activities and media plans of events, projects and launches of new subsidiaries, as well as social media campaigns, and the revamped DEWA Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework and activities were led by her.
In 2018, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, honoured DEWA with the Dubai Al Khair Award at the 21st Dubai Government Excellence Program in recognition of its CSR efforts.
Al Mehairi states that she was also involved with developing the branding for many companies and projects launched by DEWA, including Mai Dubai (bottled water), the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and its projects including the Innovation Centre, DEWA’s new headquarters – Al Shera’a, the DEWA Customer Happiness Centres, and the Sustainable Building.
Since July 2017, Al Mehairi has taken on the position of EVP for Strategy & Government Communications (S&GC) at DEWA. Underscoring her commitments, she led the management and implementation of DEWA’s corporate strategy, performance management, and marketing and corporate communications.
“I also managed corporate risk and resilience, partnerships, benchmarking, and stakeholders’ happiness and led the interdivisional management processes using service level agreements.”
“Since 2000, the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame for Executing Strategy® award has recognised organisations with a well-designed strategy and sustained excellence,” notes Al Mehairi, adding that DEWA achieved significant progress in 2015 compared to 2008.
“We scored 3.6 in 2015 compared to 2.84 in 2008, thanks to strategic planning and the qualitative improvement initiatives implemented throughout the previous years. In 2020, a third execution premium assessment was conducted to evaluate DEWA’s performance since the last XPA cycle, and we scored 4.3. Not only that, based on the Aon Risk maturity assessment, DEWA improved its maturity level to become one of the top 15% companies, included among Fortune 500 companies globally,” she confirms.
Additionally, due to her Division’s success with DEWA’s CSR framework, from 2013 to 2020, DEWA has developed 22 effective and impactful initiatives. Its staff has contributed to more than 137,520 volunteer hours, elevating DEWA’s society happiness percentage from 82% in 2013 to 93.77% in 2020.
“We also conduct various campaigns to encourage customers to use electricity and water sensibly, which are programmes and initiatives that I have spearheaded, between 2011 and 2020. This achieved cumulative savings within target groups amounting to 2.44 terawatt-hour of electricity and 6.7bn gallons of water, equivalent to $350mn (AED 1.35bn), and a reduction of 1.22mn tonnes of carbon dioxide,” reveals Al Mehairi.
As a female advocate and a member of the Dubai Women’s Establishment Board, Al Mehairi has played a crucial role in women’s empowerment at the utility provider by establishing, leading and managing the Women’s Committee for eight years from 2010 to 2018. She raised DEWA’s profile as a female-friendly environment, locally and globally, while empowering women and society at large, thus, contributing to the growing numbers of female employees in DEWA.
There are 1,943 female employees across DEWA’s divisions. This includes 720 women in the engineering and technical sectors and 311 employees in managerial positions. Meanwhile, Emirati women form 81.5% of the total female workforce and 34.2% of its R&D Centre staff, highly educated in science and engineering areas.
Elaborating on how she sees women in the region today, Al Mehairi notes that they are rising to higher positions and retaining these positions in senior roles.
“There are many inspiring stories about how women in the region are doing bigger and better things. The UAE is driving this momentum, as it attaches great importance to women’s empowerment. Over the last fifty years, the UAE has created a motivating environment that develops women’s capabilities and has been successful in its strategy. The UAE was ranked 18th globally and 1st regionally in the Gender Inequality Index (GII) of the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2020,” she asserts.
Al Mehairi points out that she has also successfully brought forward several initiatives outside the scope of work that benefits Dubai and the UAE.
For instance, she successfully proposed the Caring for the Bereaved initiative to the Executive Council of Dubai to simplify procedures and services benefitting the families of the deceased. As a result, the City Makers – a subsidiary of the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai launched and approved this initiative in 2018.
Sustainable development initiatives by women
In 2020, DEWA was the Strategic Sustainability Partner of the Global Women’s Forum Dubai, organised by the Dubai Women Establishment (DWE).
Commenting on this strategic partnership, Al Mehairi says, “DEWA is one of the largest government organisations to employ women in technical positions within the energy sector.”
“Not only that, DEWA’s female staff participate in numerous voluntary activities inside and outside of the UAE. In 2019, they spent over 13,300 volunteering hours in 40 humanitarian and social initiatives. Female staff also actively participate in conservation and community awareness programmes. Over the past ten years, these initiatives have achieved significant savings in electricity and water use within various stakeholder groups,” she adds.
Al Mehairi maintains that the success of sustainable development programmes is closely linked to women’s active participation.
Elaborating on how forums such as this are an essential platform in highlighting women’s influence in different development sectors, she says, “Environmental awareness helps women make right decisions, such as buying eco-friendly products, recycling, and other decisions that protect the environment and natural resources. Furthermore, providing women with good environmental information enables them to promote those practices among their children and engage them in environmental awareness and education.”
When asked about her goals for 2022, Al Mehairi states, “I still want to learn and grow, both personally and professionally, and I’m very passionate about this. I hope that I can continue to inspire everyone, carry out more humanitarian work, and help shape global policies for the betterment of humanity.”
“As the Vice-Chairperson of the Global Councils on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-17), I have a much stronger appreciation of how we can achieve the UN’s SDGs, both in the region and globally. My main goal is to achieve better results through partnerships, by all of us working together.”
“I also hope to see more women in the energy sector and take advantage of the great opportunities available,” Al Mehairi concludes.