Numerous studies reaffirm the contribution of women to the workplace across all industries. But in the oil and gas sector — an industry with a lingering reputation of an "old boys' club" — it somehow still seems more of an uphill struggle to achieve meaningful participation by women.

Times are changing across the industry, and some sort of board-level representation of women is clearly becoming the norm, but the independents leading the U.S. oil boom are lagging behind the pack.

At the dirty end of the industry, women still make up only 3.7 percent of the global offshore workforce for oil and gas companies. This is largely, and understandably, down to the challenges of juggling rig work with a family life.

But at the corporate level, women have long been excluded from the decision-making process. It has often been said that business is discussed on the golf course, and golf is discussed at the office. And those of us who work in London's Mayfair will know that the important decisions aren't hammered out around a board table, but informally over boozy lunches and gentleman's clubs, which remain male-heavy social circles.

Measures are being taken, just as in other industries, to help women fully contribute to the industry. Key progress has been made on maternity provisions, flexible working and a definite shift in the working environment . They are having some impact, including progress in the stubborn corporate culture associated with the oil and gas industry.

Women I have spoken to in the industry assure me that the days are over where you would turn up at an oil rig to discover your accommodation is home to the rig's library of dirty magazines or, at worst, one of your colleagues awaiting you unclothed in your dormitory.

But more worryingly, one female interviewed in a 2006 study on retaining women in the industry by the Society of Petroleum Engineers pointed out that offhand, inappropriate remarks still flung around back on dry land, and that there has been a change "since overt hostility back in 1991 in the field to a much more subtle and covert hostility here in the office."

Similarly, while the "gender equality" box is often ticked in the makeup of boards, these women are too often found in nonexecutive or peripheral administrative and legal roles. They are largely employed in a support or advisory capacity, rather than in the meaty roles at the heart of big decisions; the the "so where should we drill this hole, and how?" decisions.

Even predictably-progressive Scandinavian companies such as Swedish Statoil, have a high proportion of female representation on their board, but mostly in nontechnical roles.

We must be wary of tokenist measures. While encouraging high-profile initiatives to promote female participation in the workforce, women can easily be pushed into a corner.

I can't help but recall a friend's reaction to attending a specially scheduled women's forum at the annual World Petroleum Congress bonanza in Qatar some years ago. She was surprised to find herself on the receiving end of advice such as "if there’s one thing I would tell you all to do, it would be to find yourselves a loving husband," leaving her unsure whether to laugh or cry.

While we have to appreciate progress where due, we must be on guard for window dressing. There are several problems that lie at the heart of the imbalance.

However generous the maternity provisions, half the battle is finding women with the right skills and qualifications in an industry whose bedrock is engineering and geological expertise. Particularly since BP's disaster in the Gulf of Mexico at Deepwater Horizon, many have been keen to put engineers back in charge of our global energy companies, rather than spin doctors, bankers and corporate gurus used to taking risks on trading floors.

But the fact remains that engineering remains a man's world, particularly in the U.S. it would seem, where the male-female ratio is something like 4.61. And even when qualified female engineers have been trained up, there is a concern that these women will be penalized for slowing down their careers to start families and may fall off the career track.

Strong role models are key, and there are some spectacular examples. None more so than Maria das Graças Silva Foster, the terrifyingly successful head of Brazil's national oil company Petrobras and the first female CEO of a major global oil company. She was a chemical engineer by training, and her case is an important one.

Things are doubtless changing for the better at national oil companies and at the global majors, which are subject to increasing scrutiny on this point. However, when it comes to the army of independents leading the way in the U.S. shale boom, we find a different picture.

When I looked closer at the companies features in a business magazine's top stock picks for the U.S. shale boom, a quick head count revealed that just under 12 percent of the total directors and corporate officers listed were female. More tellingly, those women who did appear were overwhelmingly in legal, accountancy, HR or other administrative roles. Women in technical roles were few and far between.

Why the poor showing? Perhaps because many of these companies are pioneers working at the frontiers looking for the next play. As a result, there are fewer roles based at central corporate headquarters near to schools and stable communities.

Instead they are more likely to be chancing it in the outback of North Dakota, a routine less amenable to a family life. Perhaps it is also because of the nimble nature of these companies, which contract and expand more dramatically with industry trends more so than their more globally-diversified counterparts.

Initiatives to get more women involved in America's new fling with oil and gas need to begin with getting young women excited in pursuing engineering and geology as careers. It needs to finish with strong role models of women with meaningful impact in board rooms.

In essence, more examples like Silva Foster are needed. It may take some time, but progress has been made and companies need to wake up to the new lie of the land.