“From fighting to control burning fields in a war devastated Kuwait to establishing industrial safety practices worldwide, who would have thought that women were key to these fundamental achievements? Ponton makes a significant contribution, as she gives voice to these outstanding professionals and gives credit where it is due. Too often still, the contributions and achievements of women professionals in the oil and gas sector go unaccounted. Breaking the Gas Ceiling gets the record straight, with elegance and substance.
Lourdes Melgar, Ph.D,
Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow, Center of International Studies (MIT)
Former Deputy Secretary of Energy of Mexico for Hydrocarbons and Electricity
As a CEO, I believe it is imperative for today’s generation of young women to realize there is a seat for them in the boards of oil & gas companies as the “gas ceiling” can be broken quicker and easier than before. Reading this book, they will think about these women who have gone before them and broken down those barriers in order to give them new opportunities.
Maria Moræus Hanssen, CEO, DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG
Everyone needs role models – and role models that look like you are even better. For women, the oil and gas industry has historically been pretty thin on role models for young women to look up to. Rebecca Ponton has provided an outstanding compilation of role models for all women who aspire to success in one of the most important industries of modern times.
Dave Payne, Chevron VP Drilling & Completions
Stories of successful women provide essential role models for an industry with so few in executive leadership. My advice is to be inspired and aim high.
Melody Meyer, President Melody Meyer Energy LLC,
Women With Energy LLC, and NED
My belief is that diversity is key to both creativity and solid long-term business results. Even in a country like Norway, where professional gender diversity is greater than in any other country I have had interactions with, we have an underrepresentation of women in top management positions. I would therefore like to express my appreciation to Rebecca Ponton for keeping this important subject on the agenda by presenting to us positive, impressive and, at the same time, obtainable role models.
Grethe K. Moen, CEO & President, Petoro AS
Rebecca Ponton has captured the compelling stories of many women, both the early pathfinders in the oil and gas industry and new entrants. Through these stories, it is very satisfying to now see that the industry has matured to be a place where anyone – man or woman – who commits themselves to high performance can succeed. No doubt we are all the beneficiaries of these intrepid women who have defined themselves by their work ethic and commitment.
Greta Lydecker, Managing Director, Chevron Upstream Europe
I applaud Rebecca Ponton’s interest in increasing involvement and recognition of women as petroleum professionals.
Bruce Wells, Founder, American Oil & Gas Historical Society
As the industry now is more complex and faces more uncertainty, women will be more important contributors, especially in management and communication. Women could be just what is needed!
Karen Sund, Founder, Sund Energy AS
Women are essential in a high-technology environment such as the oil and gas sector. The complexity of this industry needs the diversity and parity of gender in order to be well-comprehended and managed. As one of the pioneers, I would very much encourage everyone who works in or wants to join this industry to read this book!
Anne-Christine Dreue, Vice President Business Development EMEA/Fokker Aerostructures B.V.
The women featured in Rebecca Ponton’s book have started to leave a trail where there was no real path and have found their place in the men’s world of oil and gas. I encourage young women who want to join them to read this excellent book and follow the steps on the way to cracking the glass ceiling of the highly technical and complex oil and gas industry.
Mireille Toulekima, Founder and Managing Partner,
MT Energy Resources
This book is going to help create synergy among women in energy. Thanks, Rebecca Ponton, for being an agent of change.
Kimberly Smith, Radio Host, Ask the Permian Landgirl, FM107.1
In an industry with so few female role models, it’s exciting to finally get to read a book about inspiring women who have carved out extraordinary careers in the oil and gas industry. None of these women’s careers “just happened” – they were all borne of an untiring will to succeed and break the mold of traditional female roles. Every story tells of the incredible effort required to persevere through adversity and the personal and lifestyle sacrifices this has usually placed on them. This is a must-read for young women who have a passion to succeed in a male-dominated industry.
Amanda Barlow, Author An Inconvenient Life: My Unconventional Career as a Wellsite Geologist
This book is certainly well timed and will tell a story that needs to be out there.
Rebecca Winkel, Economic Analyst, American Petroleum Institute
Each woman’s fight illustrated in this inspiring book is a fight on behalf of others to continue breaking barriers and ceilings. Rebecca Ponton has crafted role models for young women to be inspired by and to learn from. Each story is a story of passion, hard work, excellence and success, which makes this book a necessity, and a roadmap for women aspiring for a career in oil and gas.
Laury Haytayan, MENA Senior Officer, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) – based in Beirut
Inspirational! A must-read for anyone, woman or man, in the industry. From chapter to chapter, you will be amazed at the courage and grit displayed in each story.
Ally Cedeno, Founder WOMEN OFFSHORE, LLC
This is an important book, relevant for our times. It shows that despite all sorts of challenges these women have succeeded in their professions of choice – in the offshore oil and gas industry. All of them have shown that through their belief in themselves, their competence and being strong enough to face a sometimes unwelcoming culture they have added valuable diversity of thinking, experience and leadership to our worldwide industry. I thank them all and hope this book will lead to many other women choosing to bring their own and unique character to this rewarding and important workplace.
Ms. Erica Smyth AC FAICD FTSE, Chair, National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority (NOPSEMA) – Australia. Co-author Red Dust in Her Veins: Women of the Pilbara
Rebecca Ponton’s book serves as a great mentoring tool to inform women within the energy sector not only of opportunities to grow their careers, but also how to seek out and create those opportunities for themselves.
Joan Eischen, Director Markets at KPMG, Author Energy and the City: Career Advice from Houston’s Energy Executives
Rebecca Ponton vividly captures the triumphs and ordeals of a globally diverse group of highly accomplished senior women who have worked offshore. She combines those cameos with interviews with an equally varied set of entry and mid-career women, who have demonstrated great determination and have positioned themselves to be future stars. Together these vignettes provide valuable insights on how to achieve your own version of success.
Eve Sprunt, 2006 President of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Author A Guide for Dual-Career Couples
Rebecca Ponton has reached a new level of sharing about what is the inner core of women’s leadership, by masterfully compiling stories of (very!) successful women in oil and gas, which are told in their own voice. The center of their achievements or challenges comes to light in a rich storytelling that is inspiring and worth reading!
Maria A. Capello, Awarded Energy Advisor Lead Author of Learned in the Trenches
While I have waded through the 100 years of data and stories of female geologists in petroleum, I became aware of the paucity of women particularly in engineering. This book excites me about the future of women in this role and it is a delightful read.
Robbie Rice Gries, President, Priority Oil & Gas LLC
President of the Geological Society of America,
Author Anomalies: Pioneering Women in Petroleum Geology
The time for this book is now! We need to memorialize women’s stories and make sure they’re told.
Katie Mehnert, Founder/CEO Pink Petro,
Author Growing With the Flow