For Int’l Women’s Day, Pink Petro Launches Careers Site For Women In Energy
We like to celebrate female-focused companies every day - but today, on International Women’s Day, we’re particularly pumped to be profiling our friends over at Pink Petro. Run by CEO and Founder Katie Mehnert, Pink Petro is a community for women who are interested in (or are working in) the energy community.
And today, since they’ve launched Experience Energy -- the first and only careers site focused exclusively on women in energy -- we’re going to fill you in on a recent chat we had with Mehnert. She shares with us how Pink Petro evolved and how the community is changing the energy conversation.
Fairygodboss: When and why was Pink Petro founded?
Katie Mehnert: The Pink Petro story started in 2013, aboard a Boeing 777 from London to Houston when I laid down my ideas on three cocktail napkins. With encouragements from Cindy Patman, who, at the time, was senior director of diversity and corporate affairs at Halliburton, and support from Shell, I launched an online platform using Jive Software in 2015 as the oil markets took a sharp decline.
Today we're pleased to launch the first and only careers site for women in energy called Experience Energy. www.experience.energy is a step in the growth of our company in helping women find the careers they love, attracting the next generation of talent and helping the energy sector share the human stories of why our industry is so important to the economy and man (and womankind) at large.
FGB: Can you tell us more about your mission?
KM: We believe women bring a unique perspective to the world and we want to harness it.
We believe in diversity. Not just in gender, but in generations, ethnicities, cultures and ways to power our world.
We believe by connecting our community to high-quality resources and learning, we can create an energy workforce that is engaged, empowered, and inspired for this generation and beyond.
We aspire to put a human face on an industry that has quietly powered some of the most amazing technologies and innovations of our time. We unite, connect, develop and grow women.
FGB: What's one of the biggest challenges Pink Petro has faced in achieving its mission? How have you gone about overcoming this obstacle?
KM: We launched amidst the worst economic downturn and bootstrapped our way through and grew tremendously. With great guidance from our executive advisory board, we've been able to weather the market and leverage learnings to build better services for our members and clients as we scale the business globally.
FGB: How has the company grown and developed?
KM: Organic. Fresh...and Fast!
FGB: Why do you think women should know about your company/how can women benefit from what you do?
KM: We're trying to change the energy conversation. All you hear about today is the environmental side. All you hear about is when things go wrong.
It's time to talk about the benefits that energy brings to our daily lives and how women can chart a great career in a rewarding industry. We power the planet -- what's there not to love about that? Women are developing new technologies and innovation that will lower carbon emissions and deliver cleaner ways to fuel our future.
FGB: What other companies do you admire?
KM: We love female startups like Fairygodboss, Power to Fly, BeVisible and Ellevate Network...companies who are about busting the gender gap in every corner of the earth. It's sure going to take a village, so we love being a part of this movement women have co-created.
Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.
Join us by reviewing your employer!
Why women love us:
- Daily articles on career topics
- Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
- Advice and support from an authentic community
- Events that help you level up in your career
- Free membership, always