Perpetual Energy Inc.’s president and CEO Susan Riddell Rose says flexible work arrangements spurred by the pandemic have helped women advance their careers. 

Riddell Rose said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg Thursday that changing work arrangements have been the most significant driver of progress regarding career advancement opportunities for women.

“Probably the biggest progress, though, is the last three years with the whole introduction of being able to be flexible in our work lives. And that was a side-effect from COVID-19, which I think is a game changer for women staying in the game,” she said. 

“It is a good setup. Now it's up to women to decide ‘I'm going to seize this opportunity, I'm going to be part of the exciting things going on.’”

Riddell Rose is set to be recognized with a lifetime achievement award Thursday evening by the Calgary Influential Women in Business Awards.

Riddell Rose said she has seen significant change and progress over the past three decades. She said when she started her career at Shell plc, there was a concerted effort to bring more women into the oil and gas industry. 

“And that has just accelerated on so many fronts, [now] it's women on boards, all the way through senior leadership, women in the pipeline, to enhance the pipeline of females coming in through the engineering and technical sciences program,” she said.

OIL SENTIMENT 

Riddell Rose said that sentiment toward the oil and gas industry is robust, but the industry has a degree of volatility and is subject to cycles. 

“The sector's never been stronger, the last year and a half has really allowed people to transform our balance sheets, get to the work that's in front of us on the clean tech side,” she said. 

Organizations need to plan for volatility within the industry, Riddell Rose said, as the “world really does need the energy we’re providing.” 

She said the cycles of volatility are getting short. 

Amid the current business conditions in the oil and gas industry, she said Perpetual Energy is taking steps to improve its balance sheet. 

“We've really been shoring up our balance sheet, which is definitely a way of returning capital to shareholders because it's making it stronger for them. But we've done some transactions that have really allowed us to bring our debt in line,” Riddell Rose said.