By Khushboo Goyal, Associate Director, REGlobal
The traditional energy sector, with its heavy machines and engineering, has always been perceived as a male-dominated sector, and women have been grossly under represented in this space. The “in-trend” solar power segment, with newer and more automated projects as well as higher penetration of distributed assets, is much better placed than the conventional energy sector and even the older wind power segment in terms of women participation. According to statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) released in 2023, women account for 40 per cent of the full-time positions available in the solar power segment. This is almost double those in the oil and gas and the wind power industries. In fact, even the entire renewable energy sector has 32 per cent women employees, significantly lower than that in the solar power space.
Another key statistic highlighted by the IRENA study is that a major share of women employed in the renewable energy sector are limited to administrative roles and there is much lower participation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs. Even in the case of the “more gender equitable” solar power segment, 32 per cent of the STEM jobs are held by women compared to 58 per cent on the administration side. Women representation in leadership is still lower, with just 17 per cent of the solar segment’s senior management roles being held by women. The situation is worse in wind power. Clearly, this trend needs to change, more in some segments than others.
Challenges and potential in India
In India specifically, the expanding renewable energy sector has emerged as an important employer, providing jobs to a million people in 2022. However, representation of women in the sector is quite low, similar to the global trend. While more women are employed in the pre-construction and design phases of renewable energy projects, the number decreases significantly at the actual implementation and operations stages. More women are employed at office locations rather than project sites, with tasks at project locations almost completely being taken up by men. Moreover, women have greater representation in distributed renewable energy projects closer to home, compared to utility-scale projects.
There are several reasons for this trend of under representation of women in the sector, some societal and others perceptual.F or many, there is a lack of suitable opportunities closer to home that offer flexibility and security, while for others, there is hesitation in taking jobs at power plant sites. The lack of inclusive training and skill development programmes adds to the challenges.
Clearly, there is significant scope for increasing female participation in India’s energy transition, especially given that the country has among the highest number of female STEM graduates in the world. A joint study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW); and the Skill Council for Green Jobs estimates that the country’s renewable energy sector could generate more than 3 million jobs if it achieves its goal of 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity by 2030. This creates tremendous opportunities for women keen on working in the renewable energy sector.
Leadership and empowerment
In order to encourage and empower more women, it is important that they have greater presence at the leadership level. Only with more women representation at the top levels – be it in policymaking, project development, financing or manufacturing – will inclusive growth be possible. It is heartening to see positive change at the top levels of some organisations, including ministries and public sector entities. Some of the top women leaders in the sector are Mini Prasannakumar, deputy director general in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE); Dr Sangita Mahesh Kasture, director general at the National Institute of Solar Energy; Vartika Shukla, managing director at Engineers India Limited; and Parminder Chopra, chairman and managing director at the Power Finance Corporation.
In the private sector, some encouraging examples of women leadership and entrepreneurship in recent years include Mansi Tripathy, chairman of the Shell Group of companies; Shilpa Urhekar, national head of the India renewable EPC business at Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited; Monika Rathi, country (India) head at Vena Energy; Sulajja Firodia Motwani, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions Limited; Preeti Bajaj, managing director and CEO of Luminous Power Technologies; and Dr Rashi Gupta, managing director at Vision Mechatronics Private Limited.
These instances of successful women in top leadership positions in the renewable energy sector can serve as an inspiration to many others to shed deep-rooted gender-based biases. Further, women leaders can help in creating more inclusive environments in their organisations, thereby paving the way for more women to foray into the renewable energy space.
In order for the renewable energy sector to evolve towards more inclusive growth, certain steps need to be taken by both private and public organisations. Companies in this sector must cultivate a culture that prioritises gender responsiveness in the workplace. Further, they can set minimum quotas for women employees based on merit, and public sector companies can take the lead here in setting examples. Government agencies and renewable energy companies should conduct more training workshops for upskilling women in STEM fields. Further, to empower more women entrepreneurs in a predominantly male sector, access to finance for women-led start-ups can significantly help improve women representation in the sector.
Outlook
Recognising the need for gender equity and women leadership in the renewable energy sector, the government is working on conducting a nationwide survey to assess female participation in the sector, followed by a plan to skill women. This primary survey is being led by the MNRE in association with CEEW and NRDC.
Further, the MNRE organised the event “Women in Renewable Energy: Inspiring Gender Inclusion through Skill Development and Targeted Policies for Green Jobs” on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2024. This conference was organised with the support of NRDC India, and focused on important enablers such as skill enhancement, capacity building and knowledge sharing.
Speaking on bridging policy gaps for greater inclusivity in renewables, Dr Kasture remarked, “Leadership has the potential to effect significant positive change by increasing the participation of women in these areas. That is why we need to broaden the scope of green careers to advance Viksit Bharat by promoting more women in leadership roles.” In the session on women leaders in renewables, Bajaj noted: “Many women in India aspire to be highly educated but may not necessarily aspire to lead. Therefore, building the aspiration to lead is crucial. Leading involves being present and taking advantage of opportunities for the benefit of not only oneself but also others.”
Such dialogue, knowledge sharing and collaboration are essential to generate awareness and transform perceptions about what women can do in India’s energy transition journey. There are many networking platforms working on spreading the word, providing training and upskilling women at the grassroots level to narrow the gender gap in the sector. For instance, the Women in Renewables Alliance is a platform that conducts training programmes, provides scholarships and advocates for greater gender equality. Similarly, the Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition is aimed at empowering women at different career levels in both the public and private sectors.
Another example is Solar Energy International’s “Women in Solar Power” programme, which provides training to women for jobs in the solar industry. Success stories also include the United Nations Environment Programme’s initiative, along with ReNew and the Self-Employed Women’s Association, to train 1,000 women, predominantly salt farmers in Gujarat, to become solar panel and solar pump technicians. The “Solar Mamas” programme of Barefoot College in Rajasthan is another example of how renewable energy can uplift women at the grassroots level. This programme trains rural women for six months in assembling, installing, operating and maintaining solar-powered products, giving them an additional vocation.
In conclusion, such collaborative actions and promising stories will go a long way in helping create a more inclusive renewable energy sector with equal participation from all sectors of society. Women are essential to India’s energy transition journey and can make important contributions to financing, policy and overall development strategies, from the top level to the grassroots level. Positive change is already evident in India’s transforming renewable energy sector, with increasing women participation, and there is tremendous scope for much more.
