Powering Equality: Addressing Gender Inequality in the Renewable Energy Sector

In the EU, the production and use of energy accounts for more than 75% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions, making the transition to renewable energy (RE) “critical” to achieve the EU’s target of climate neutrality by 2050.¹European Commission, Energy and the Green Deal. Stated in the European Green Deal, the EU aims for a “just and inclusive” transition that “leaves no one behind”.²European Commission (2019), The European Green Deal, 2.2.1.Pursuing green finance and investment and ensuring a just transition. And in fact, the RE sector “offers great potential” for such a just transition that is gender inclusive:³BMZ, Feminist Climate Policy, 1. Barriers to equal participation of women in the traditional energy sector, such as the need for heavy manual labour, have been diminished or even eliminated in the RE sector due to automation and digitalisation.⁴Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2023), Europe’s Energy Transition: Women’s Power in Solving the Labour Bottleneck, 7. However, despite offering great potential for gender equality in theory, women only make up 32% of all employees in the RE sector in practice.⁵UN (2022), Dimensions and Examples of the Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Climate Change, the Role of Women as Agents of Change and Opportunities for Women, 58. While the RE sector is indeed more gender inclusive than the traditional energy sector, where women make up only 22% of the workforce, the majority of women are still employed in lower-paid jobs with limited decision-making power, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality.⁶European Institute for Gender Equality (2012), Review of the Implementation in the EU of area K of the Beijing Platform for Action: Women and the Environment Gender Equality and Climate Change, 39.

The gender gap in the RE sector is something Apostolina Tsaltampasi witnesses firsthand in her work as President of the Greek Association of Women Entrepreneurs (SEGE). SEGE founded WEnCoop in 2020 – Europe’s first women-run energy cooperative in Greece and Europe – to support women entrepreneurs in the Greek energy sector and a more inclusive energy transition. Talking to Apostolina at the EUKI Academy Networking Conference 2024, she recalls the beginning stages of WEnCoop and her initial surprise at realising the extent of gender inequality in the RE sector: “The renewable energy sector is a newer sector, so we expected there to be more women since women are generally more interested in sustainable choices. But it was like women were invisible in the energy sector.” Having initially thought WEnCoop was only needed in Greece, the model of WEnCoop has been scaled up in 2023 and is also being implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia as part of EUKI project Women In eNergy.

Causes of Gender Inequality in the Renewable Energy Sector

Gender inequality in the RE sector is the result of different barriers women face when trying to enter the workforce in the RE sector:

First, women often lack the necessary skills for better-paid jobs in the technological areas of the RE sector. As part of their socialisations, girls are often told that STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are “masculine” topics and thus women are less likely to go for STEM qualifications.⁷UNESCO (2017), Cracking the Code: Girls’ and Women’s Education in Science, Technology, 43. The gender stereotypes making it more difficult for women to enter the RE sector also continue once they become part of the workforce: A study commissioned by the European Parliament on Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU in 2019 found that women working in engineering experienced a range of forms of harassment intended to denigrate and create a feeling of exclusion.⁸European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 24.

Apostolina has and is experiencing similar gender stereotypes during her work supporting women in the RE sector: „When we first started reaching out to organisations for green energy projects, they treated us like we had no place in the field. They only interacted with men and so they looked at us as if we were aliens. They laughed in our faces and told us our aspirations were too big. “Girls, try implementing smaller projects, those are better suited for women”, they told us. Even now, after all the success we have had, they still ask about the man behind the idea because they cannot believe all of this has been initiated by „just some women”.”

„They treated us like we had no place in the field. They only interacted with men and so they looked at us as if we were aliens. They laughed in our faces and told us our aspirations were too big.“

These barriers also exist since women are oftentimes not represented in discussions about energy plans and policies. Research has indicated that including women’s experiences and perspectives in energy decisions on all levels could not only minimise the obstacles for women in the workforce of the RE but also benefit women as energy consumers.⁹UN (2022), Dimensions and Examples of the Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Climate Change, the Role of Women as Agents of Change and Opportunities for Women, 59. However, women continue to be underrepresented in parliaments around the world: In the EU, only four Member States have a female Minister of Energy and women are underrepresented at all decision-making levels within the EU.¹⁰European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 21. As a result of women underrepresentation, a study by the European Parliament found that energy policies throughout EU Member States “appear to be gender blind” and energy services do not take the gender difference of energy consumption and demand into consideration.¹¹European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 31; 46.

For Apostolina, this is also because people who are already part of these discussions refuse to include women in decision-making processes. In her experience, “even now, when we have been in the spotlight for quite a long time, EU-wide but especially in Greece where the media was all over us, there are still important stakeholders that are not open for a dialogue with us to discuss national strategies on a gender-inclusive energy transition.” As a result, according to Apostolina, “we are currently walking toward gender equality when we should be running. If we do not start running soon, projects like ours will be needed for a long time.”

„We are currently walking toward gender equality when we should be running. If we do not start running soon, projects like ours will be needed for a long time.”

This is especially concerning since the benefits of gender equality in the RE sector make it a race worth running.

Benefits of Gender Equality in the Renewable Energy Sector

The RE sector is considered the fastest growing branch of the energy sector: The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects the creation of 2.5. million new jobs in the EU by 2030 as a result of the European Green Deal.¹²International Energy Agency (2017), Skills Development and Inclusivity for Clean Energy Transitions, 17. Shortages in the labour force are viewed as a “bottleneck in the development of the sector” and “one of the most serious concerns” of the industry.¹³Clean Energy Industrial Forum, Joint Declaration on Skills in the Clean Energy, 2. According to a study for the European Parliament, “the industry cannot afford to miss drawing on a pool of under-utilised talent” and thus integrating more women in the RE sector is essential to address these shortages.¹⁴European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 23. Moreover, studies have shown that companies with more women on their board of directors generate greater profit, are more likely to invest in renewable power and proactively address environmental concerns.¹⁵Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2023), Europe’s Energy Transition: Women’s Power in Solving the Labour Bottleneck, 7. Thus, empowering women is not only beneficial for the sake of empowerment itself but could also be key in reducing emissions.

These benefits of breaking down gender barriers for women within the workforce of the RE sector could also benefit women as energy consumers who are disproportionally affected by not having access to clean energy. Indoor air pollution from cooking with unclean energy resources is responsible for 4.3 million deaths – mainly women and children – equivalent to 7.7% of global mortality, which is more than the toll from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined.¹⁶World Health Organization (2016), Burning Opportunity: Clean Household Energy for Health, Sustainable Development, and Wellbeing of Women and Children,16. These effects of indoor air pollution especially affect women and girls, not just in the Global South but also in the EU, especially in Eastern Europe.¹⁷European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 31. With women being predominantly responsible for unpaid household work, they are subjected to these poor housework conditions more often and over a longer period of time.¹⁸UNDP (2016), Gender and Sustainable Energy, 2. This is also related to the fact that women are more often subjected to poverty and thus also energy poverty, due to societal gender norms: For example, in the EU, 85% of all single parent households, which are at a higher risk of poverty, are headed by women.¹⁹European Institute for Gender Equality (2016), Poverty, Gender and Lone Parents in the EU, 1. These conditions also worsen some of the many different effects of climate-related disasters on women and play a part in the gendered effects of climate change on men and women: Since women are more likely to live in housing without air-conditioning, mortality rates during climate-related disasters, such as heatwaves in the Mediterranean region, were observed to be considerably higher among women than men.²⁰European Greens (2022), On Women’s Rights, Gender and Climate Change in Europe.

Working towards women empowerment in the RE sector could thus trigger a chain-reaction of benefits: Empowering women who are already part of the workforce of the RE sector and those trying to enter into the sector would lessen the problem of shortages in the labour force, while also making it more profitable and sustainable thus driving forward a green transition which in turn benefits not only women as energy consumers but the whole planet. That means everyone everywhere would benefit from more gender equality in the RE sector.

Looking Ahead – Pathways to Powering Equality

Both the EU and UN have identified strategies to further a gender-inclusive approach to climate mitigation measures.²¹European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 40ff.; UN (2022), Dimensions and Examples of the Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Climate Change, the Role of Women as Agents of Change and Opportunities for Women,13ff. These include:

An example of what this can look like in practice is EUKI project Women In eNergy: Women In eNergy aims to empower women in the RE sector in several European countries by addressing the gender barriers mentioned above, lack of necessary skills, existing gender stereotypes and representation of women in decision-making bodies in the EU, in three ways:

First, the project team offers mentoring and training programmes for women to expand their skillset, to help them develop, operate, and sustain an energy community. But, “it is not only about knowledge, it is also about inspiring and supporting on a deeper level.” That is why Women In eNergy, secondly, breaks up gender stereotypes in the RE sector and empower other women to follow through leading by example: “We feel a responsibility to show women that the renewable energy sector is not a no-go sector. We want to show women that they can pursue a career in the renewable energy sector; that this is a women-friendly sector. We want to convince women to just go after it.“ Third, they will set up a focus group with RE relevant stakeholders to help develop national strategies to energy transition and participation of women in the green sector. After their initial success in Greece, the project now aims to put women on the map of the green energy sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia as well.

“We want to show women that they can pursue a career in the renewable energy sector; that this is a women-friendly sector. We want to convince women to just go after it.“

Projects like this highlight and inspire how empowering women in the RE sector can drive a just transition. The RE sector offers great potential for a just transition – let’s use it.

• 1
  European Commission, Energy and the Green Deal.
• 2
  European Commission (2019), The European Green Deal, 2.2.1.Pursuing green finance and investment and ensuring a just transition.
• 3
  BMZ, Feminist Climate Policy, 1.
• 4
  Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2023), Europe’s Energy Transition: Women’s Power in Solving the Labour Bottleneck, 7.
• 5
  UN (2022), Dimensions and Examples of the Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Climate Change, the Role of Women as Agents of Change and Opportunities for Women, 58.
• 6
  European Institute for Gender Equality (2012), Review of the Implementation in the EU of area K of the Beijing Platform for Action: Women and the Environment Gender Equality and Climate Change, 39.
• 7
  UNESCO (2017), Cracking the Code: Girls’ and Women’s Education in Science, Technology, 43.
• 8
  European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 24.
• 9
  UN (2022), Dimensions and Examples of the Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Climate Change, the Role of Women as Agents of Change and Opportunities for Women, 59.
• 10
  European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 21.
• 11
  European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 31; 46.
• 12
  International Energy Agency (2017), Skills Development and Inclusivity for Clean Energy Transitions, 17.
• 13
  Clean Energy Industrial Forum, Joint Declaration on Skills in the Clean Energy, 2.
• 14
  European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 23.
• 15
  Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2023), Europe’s Energy Transition: Women’s Power in Solving the Labour Bottleneck, 7.
• 16
  World Health Organization (2016), Burning Opportunity: Clean Household Energy for Health, Sustainable Development, and Wellbeing of Women and Children,16.
• 17
  European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 31.
• 18
  UNDP (2016), Gender and Sustainable Energy, 2.
• 19
  European Institute for Gender Equality (2016), Poverty, Gender and Lone Parents in the EU, 1.
• 20
  European Greens (2022), On Women’s Rights, Gender and Climate Change in Europe.
• 21
  European Parliament (2019), Women, Gender Equality and the Energy Transition in the EU, 40ff.; UN (2022), Dimensions and Examples of the Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Climate Change, the Role of Women as Agents of Change and Opportunities for Women,13ff.