Shortlist and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) have released a report titled “Empowering Women in Clean Energy: Advancing and Retaining an Equitable Workforce.” The report focuses on new data gathered from more than 150 professionals in the clean energy sector in Africa, shedding light on the reasons behind gender inequity in this traditionally male-dominated industry. It also includes the sector’s first pay equity analysis, revealing the unequal impact of job training and placement programs on salaries in the industry. This report is a follow-up to the September 2023 publication, “Bottlenecks and Breakthroughs: Advancing Gender Equity in African Clean Energy,” which looked into recruitment barriers for women and now shifts focus to workplace challenges hindering women’s advancement and retention in the industry.
Women continue to be under-represented in management positions within clean energy companies, with only a quarter of leadership and manager roles held by women in renewable energy companies in sub-Saharan Africa. “Empowering Women in Clean Energy” presents insights from women in the sector and offers recommendations for improvement, such as structured training programs, mentorship opportunities, transparent paths to promotion, flexible maternity leave policies, and access to female role models.
Ciara Remerscheid, Director of Shortlist Futures and author of the report, emphasized the importance of addressing female labor force participation in green jobs as investments in climate and clean energy increase in Africa. The report provides guidance for clean energy companies on leveraging the talent of women across their organizations.
The reports were funded by GEAPP as part of the “Women for Green Jobs” (W4GJ) program led by Shortlist with support from Value for Women. W4GJ aims to facilitate more women entering and succeeding in clean energy careers in Africa, specifically in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. By working with over forty clean energy companies, including Husk Power, Nuru, Sistema.bio, and Sun King, the program addresses hiring challenges to support the growth of these companies.
Makena Ireri, Director of Demand Jobs and Livelihoods at GEAPP, highlighted the impact of climate change on women and the ongoing efforts in the African clean energy sector to hire and retain women at all levels. As the sector works towards a fair green energy transition, there is an opportunity to create more job and economic opportunities for women, youth, and low-income communities.
“Empowering Women in Clean Energy: Advancing and Retaining an Equitable Workforce” includes a gender pay equity analysis of clean energy professionals placed through the W4GJ program in the last five years. The analysis shows that third-party training and placement programs like W4GJ are crucial in narrowing the compensation gap between male and female employees. While the program led to increased incomes for female candidates, the analysis revealed that male hourly earnings grew at a faster rate than female earnings, particularly after program intervention.