event details - Women in Energy: Perspective on Clean Energy Transition

Women form only 16% of the global workforce in the energy sector with the numbers being even lower for the managerial or administrative positions. Moreover, this meager female workforce is paid 20% lower wages than men. This represents an employment gap that is twice as large as the gap in the non-energy sector. Therefore, till date, energy sector and climate change has been an overwhelmingly male-dominated business, with energy sector being regarded as the least gender diverse sector of the economy according to the International Energy Programme (IEP). For long, energy management and climate mitigation has been dealt as a uniform, one-size-fits-all process without realizing the diverse needs and priorities of the different societal sections. A just, equal and an inclusive energy transition and climate action, thus, requires viewing energy and climate from the ‘gender lens’ to address the distinct roles that men and women play, and to differentiate the needs and challenges they face. In Pakistan, where the energy landscape is already challenged the energy disparity towards women is further enhanced. Women remain underrepresented at national energy forums due to lack of gender-disaggregated data, clarified intervention targets, and gaps in SDG National Framework. Certain religious, cultural, and social constructs in the country also hamper females’ participation in economic sectors including climate and energy. Energy transformation and achievement of climate targets will not be possible without the active participation of women as women form almost half of the total population. Through integration of energy targets and gender goals, women’s participation in the energy sector can speed up the achievement of SDG 5(Gender Equality) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). In this backdrop, SDPI is organizing a seminar to analyze the challenges hindering women’s involvement in climate and energy sector in Pakistan, provide a potential roadmap for a more inclusive climate and energy sector through policy, regulatory and technical measures avenues for technological and digital empowerment of women in climate and energy sector.