Be a champion: Bridging the gender gap in the energy industry

In the Women in Energy seminar at the recent Enlit Africa 2022, women in the energy industry from across Africa gathered to discuss the importance of closing the gender gap in the industry.

According to EEP Africa, the renewable energy sector employs about 32% of women, compared to 22% in the energy sector overall. With the women in the energy space holding a wealth of knowledge, session facilitator Nthato Minyuku, the Group Executive for Government, Stakeholder and Regulatory Affairs at Eskom, began the session by asking, “We’re sitting on a gold mine, but what do we do with it?”

The session covered numerous topics, including how women energy professionals should leverage the benefits of the industry value chain. However, the question that kept on cropping up was how to close gaps for women in the energy industry.

Where are the gender gaps in the energy industry?

Vuyelwa Mahanyele, the Regional Sales Director for GE Gas Power Sub-Saharan Africa, said that the gender gaps in the energy market begin when women in the energy industry leave large energy corporations and become individual entrepreneurs on a micro-level.

“We don’t always have the backing in the small SMME space and that’s where the gaps are,” said Mahanyele. “The gap is when we start to break away from the system.”

Furthermore, women are considered end-users in the energy space, making customers in the energy space a women’s problem and making it imperative for women to be involved in the solution, according to Faith Chege, EEP Africa East Africa portfolio coordinator based in Kenya. “So how are we making sure that women are included in the energy transition?” asked Chege.

She noted that there are many entrepreneurial opportunities within the investor space, but more African women are needed in the investor space and that women entrepreneurs need to be a bridge between the gender investment gap.

“We’re seeing more women raise funds, but we need to come together and bridge the gap to provide access to funding and marketing,” said Chege. “We have to create a platform where we can create an awareness for all the women and what they do.”

Be a champion, say trailblazers

As Haruperi Mumbengegwi, representing the African Legal Support Facility, mentioned, the onus is therefore on women to build empowerment, encourage upskilling and “be shameless in hiring people who look like us.”

“Until decision-makers at a policy level are women, it is going to be difficult to make a meaningful impact,” said Mumbengegwi.

Elizabeth Marabwa, the Chief Director of International Cooperation at South Africa’s Department Mineral Resources and Energy, added that women executives are the ones with the power to drive change and push pro-women policies.

“Women in senior positions need to become champions. We need women who will speak for others behind closed doors. Be a champion, be a mentor and speak on behalf of others,” commented Marabwa.

This article was first published on ESI Africa.