Confidence counts: Why representation matters in energy infrastructure

International Women's Day is a fitting time to reflect on what it truly means to belong in an industry that wasn't built with you in mind. For me, that industry is energy and power generation. It's one of the most essential sectors in the world, and yet for much of my career, walking into a room full of engineers, executives, and operators meant being the only woman there. That reality is changing, but the work is far from finished.

The Internship That Became a Career

I didn't plan a career in energy. I graduated from the University of North Florida with a focus on international business, motivated by one goal: to work somewhere that operated beyond domestic borders. When I came across an opening for a marketing internship at a power generation company, the global scope of the work caught my attention. I applied, sat in front of a three-person panel, and was selected from a pool of 30 candidates. What was meant to be a two-month internship became my career.

From the very beginning, I was given real responsibility and real autonomy. I led a Community Development Program on my first work trip abroad, and I embraced every opportunity that came with it. Those early years reinforced something I have carried with me ever since: that meaningful work, genuine challenge, and real accountability are not things you wait to be offered. You have to go after them.

The Question That Changed Everything

That lesson came into sharper focus in 2013. The company had one female board member, a UK parliamentarian, who asked a pointed question during a board meeting: where are your female salespeople? That single question changed the direction of my career. My name came up as someone who could move into a commercial role, and shortly after, I was asked to relocate to Singapore to open the Southeast Asia business. I said yes immediately.

The work was demanding, the markets were complex, and I have never worked harder in my life. But it was recognized from afar, and that recognition mattered. One question, asked by one woman with the authority and the courage to ask it, created a ripple effect that extended well beyond a single conversation.

Ask for What You Have Earned

That Singapore chapter set the tone for everything that followed. I returned home and continued building out commercial roles across different regions and projects, from Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria to ongoing deployments in emerging markets worldwide. Each assignment brought new challenges, and each one reinforced the same principle: show up fully, do the work, and don't wait for someone else to define your ceiling.

One moment from that stretch stands out. I was working toward a director-level promotion that was directly tied to my compensation structure. I was told I was getting close, that the details still needed to be worked out. I decided that close wasn't good enough, and I said so directly. The promotion happened. What I took from that experience is the simplest, most transferable lesson I know: nobody is going to hand you anything unless you ask for it. You are worth it. Ask for it.

Building the Industry That Comes Next

That advice applies across industries, but in energy and infrastructure, where women remain significantly underrepresented in senior commercial and operational roles, it carries particular weight. Visibility matters. Mentorship and sponsorship matter. But the willingness to claim your seat at the table, and to stay there even when you're tested, matters most of all.

What gives me genuine optimism today is that I'm no longer the only woman in the room. More women are entering energy and power generation, and more are advancing into leadership. That shift doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of board members who ask hard questions, founders who fight for talent, and individuals at every level who choose to advocate for themselves and for others.

Representation in infrastructure isn't a soft goal. It's a structural necessity. The people who build, manage, and power the world should reflect the full range of human potential. We aren't there yet, but the momentum is real, and it's building.