Bridget McDowell – Download: Website Cheditha Energy
The planet is in desperate need of caregivers, and women are natural caregivers – we approach projects with empathy. Therefore we need to encourage and support women’s participation in this sector.
Ms. Bridget McDowell (CEO and Co-Founder of Cheditha Energy)
Here, speakers shared the idea that the global energy transition is an opportunity to not only transform the energy sector but also help expand economic opportunities for women.
According to recent data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) of about 2,500 companies and more than 38,000 employees working in the energy sector globally, women hold only 13.9% of management positions. senior managers, while the rate is 15.5% in other non-energy industries.
Having more women in leadership positions as well as technical roles in the energy industry is considered essential to meet the resources needed for the approximately 14 million new jobs that will be created with the growth of the clean energy sector by 2030. For calculations by the World Bank (WB).
women need energy change
Surena Ho Photo: Osaka Gas – LinkedIn
Globally, women currently make up only about 32% of the renewable energy workforce, compared to 22% in the oil and gas industries.
Along with the significant growth of renewable energy, the representation of women in various roles in the sector is also rapidly increasing: entrepreneurs, researchers, workers, investors, policy makers and industry leaders.
According to the IEA, investments in clean energy will exceed $1,400 billion by 2022.
In India alone, to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality (net zero) by 2070, the World Bank estimates that the world’s most populous country will have to invest $190 billion per year in the energy economy by 2015.
The energy transition requires corresponding changes in the workforce. It is no coincidence that Ms. Mandakini Kaul, the World Bank’s South Asia Regional Coordinator, recently emphasized this at a conference: “Women must be strong voices in that energy transition!”.
Although women still make up only a small percentage of business and organizational leaders in renewable energy, their influence and inspiration is significant.
inspirational faces
Stephanie Unwin – Photo: HorizonPower
Recently, the website of international law firm HFW has shared information about those figures who, according to them, have made inspirational contributions in this field.
These include Ms Stephanie Unwin, a former lawyer who moved into clean energy research and development, and is currently the CEO of Australia’s Horizon Power.
This woman shared, “Deep in my heart, I’m passionate about energy transformation, so I want to work in a position that brings me joy every day.”
She is proud of the many projects she has participated in, but one milestone she will never forget is the implementation of the first solar power project in the Southern Hemisphere almost 10 years ago.
“It has a capacity of 10 MW – a number that seems very small right now – but it marked a turning point and opened a new phase for the development of the energy industry,” Ms Stephanie Unwin shared more details about the exploitation plans. Said while doing. Hydrogen as a potential source of renewable energy in the future.
The other face is Ms Surena Ho, Senior Commercial Manager of Osaka Gas – one of Japan’s largest natural gas supply companies.
As the person in charge of corporate development initiatives, implementing strategic plans and pursuing future fuel opportunities, Ms. Surena Ho is particularly interested in the role of e-methane in the transitional sustainable energy translation.
E-methane is synthetic methane and combines existing methane or recycled CO2 with hydrogen.
The country’s current energy infrastructure is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, so it is very difficult to immediately switch to clean energy, so Osaka Gas treats e-methane as a transition step. Before the energy infrastructure completely switches to hydrogen.
“We don’t say e-methane is the solution, but it is a part of it,” Ms Surena Ho said.
Ms Bridget McDowell, who has decades of experience in renewable energy before founding Cheditha Energy Company in 2018 in the Pilbara region of the state of Western Australia (Australia), home to a large number of indigenous people, admits she has learned a lot. From local knowledge, their approach that existed thousands of years ago to implementing solar energy projects as well as energy saving programs here.
This woman confirms that today’s generation can learn from that approach, especially in the energy transition process.
“We can already see the negative impacts of not adopting this approach – such as the erasure of biodiversity to build infrastructure for renewable energy,” he shared.
stay positive
According to the IEA, the proportion of women working in the energy sector is, on average, 76% lower than that of men.
The countries with the highest percentage of women’s participation in energy companies are Russia (23.1%), Australia (15.5%) and the lowest are Japan (3.1%).
Although this proportion is not large, as assessed by the World Bank, women’s leadership role in the region is “associated with more positive points in resource management, conservation achievements and readiness to respond to disasters”.
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