As the world experience continuous push to combat climate change, the energy sector is currently experiencing transformation. Part of which is the imperative need to include more women in the energy work force, not just for meeting diversity quotas, but for the multiple benefits that come with a balanced and inclusive workforce.
“Advancing equality and diversity in the energy sector is a compelling proposition. Establishing gender as a pillar of energy strategies will produce a swifter and more inclusive transition while accelerating the attainment of multiple Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr Rabia Ferroukhi, Director of the Knowledge, Policy and Finance division at IRENA.
Research has shown that women currently make up approximately 39% of the global workforce, yet they account for just 22% of the traditional energy sector and 32% of Women in the renewable energy workforce.
A study that assessed the percentage of women in ten African countries, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo and Zambia, showed the percentage of women in full time positions in renewable energy technology dropped from 37% to 22%, due to some challenges that that made the work difficult for women. The distance from home to work, the challenging physical environment and the need for high level technical specialization were some of the factors that led to the drop in the percentage.
In leadership roles, women comprised 27% of Board of Directors, 30% Chief Executive Officers, 16% Vice Presidents and Directors and 26% middle and lower management. While in technical and non technical positions, 38% of people in administration are women, 34% in communications, 30% finance, 31% sales, 13% STEM and 16% non technical STEM.
The persistent barriers women face in the energy sector are due to lack of gender-responsivepolicies and practices in the work place, social norms and gender stereotypes and sometimes legal barriers that can restrict women’s access to jobs in the energy sector.
The GCEO of Nigerian National Petroleum Commission NNPC, Malama Mele Kyari, in a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, highlighted the under representation of women in the energy sector, saying that empowering women in the sector, will help unlock new potentials and improve the energy landscape. As at the last quarter of 2023, women represented only 18.6% of the sector’s total workforce and 23.1% of it’s leadership.
Kyari attributed the low figures to “low level of participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields which are the major channels for the workforce.”
Hence the need for better inclusion of women in the energy sector, by ensuring that women gain ownership of energy assets and benefit from the productive use of energy.
In order to address women’s inclusion in the workforce, solutions and strategies must be applied at every level from the individual, to the working and home environment and through to the structures where national policy and governments converge.
Opportunities should be created for women in private and public firms across the energy value chain. Also, promotion of women inclusion in energy governance, supporting energy investments that reduce time, poverty, especially pursuing strategies to ensure energy access and technology consider the needs and preferences of women, particularly in vulnerable households, as a tool to save women’s time and obviate the need for additional chores.
The key importance of gender equality in the energy sector is that it gives room for diverse perspectives, experiences and thoughts in the process of decision making.
“What’s the key driver of the renewable energy sector? Innovation. Innovation requires diversity…[Women’s] thought process, ideas, and feelings may be different from those of men. That is exactly what a workplace needs: a wide range of views,” said Yisha He, Chairwoman of UNISUN Energy Group.
Gender diversity improves the image of any sector, it proves that a sector is socially responsible and forward thinking. It also attracts more talents, with a bigger market reach.
Hence, the importance of gender diversity in the energy sector cannot be overemphasised.
