Bogota, Colombia, September 6, 2021 – Oil and gas exploration and production company GeoPark has achieved the Equipares Silver Seal, the third oil and gas operator in Colombia to do so. The Company earned the Certification after Technical Standards and Certification Institute ICONTEC gave it a 91% rating in the implementation of the SGIG gender equality management system.
The Equipares program is led by Colombia’s Ministry of Labor and the Presidential Council for Women’s Equality, and taking part allowed GeoPark to evaluate how inclusive it is and make solid action plans to strengthen its commitment to promoting equality, inclusion and diversity.
“Creating the best work team is a fundamental part of our formula for success. This vision is as old as the Company and has meant that we have created a very diverse workforce with a percentage of women far higher than the industry average,” said Capacities and Culture Director Agustina Wisky, who leads Equipares implementation efforts in GeoPark. “We applaud a program as robust as Equipares, through which companies can access concrete tools to continue contributing to the construction of a more inclusive and diverse workforce and society.”
Leaders in Gender Equality
Since it was founded GeoPark has stood out for integrating women at all levels of the organization, generating suitable conditions for the professional development of women in technical areas, and granting scholarships to young women in the areas of influence of its operations to study science and technology university courses.
This work is reflected in highlights such as the following:
- 42% of the GeoPark Management Team are women, while the global hydrocarbons industry average is only 17%1.
- The Chair of the Board is Sylvia Escovar: only 2.1%2 of Boards in Latin America are headed by women.
- Marcela Vaca is the General Director of all Company assets and is Chair of the Board at the Colombian Petroleum Association: the second woman to hold this position at the ACP in almost 60 years.
- 34% of employees are women, versus the global average of 22%3.
- 43% of new hires are women, versus the global average of 27%1.
- In 2020 100% of employees entitled to parental leave took it and returned to their positions: 45% men and 55% women.
- 13 women with GeoPark scholarships study science and engineering courses at first-class universities.
GeoPark has reported its gender indicators in line with the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) evaluation framework since 2020. The GEI indicates the progress of participating companies in gender representation at all levels of the organization.
For more information about gender equality at GeoPark see the sustainability section on the website or click the following link: https://www.geo-park.com/sp/people/
