Energy Transition is a Unique Opportunity to Close Gender Gaps in Energy Access and Harness Women's Capabilities

The energy transition being promoted in Latin America and the Caribbean is a unique opportunity to close gender gaps in access to energy and harness women's capabilities, as well as to promote professional development in this arena and in energy policy decision-making, agreed authorities and experts at the opening of the First Latin American Conference on Women and Energy: Capacities for Change, Empowerment, Gender and Energy (CEGEN 2023) being held at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

The unprecedented event is organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Chilean Ministry of Energy and the German Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) through the Energy Partnership Chile - Germany, together with the German Cooperation Agency Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Its main objective is to contribute to the development of actions to advance gender equality and women's empowerment in the energy sectors in order to reduce gender gaps and ensure inclusive and sustainable access.

It was inaugurated on Wednesday, May 10 by ECLAC's Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs; the Minister of Energy of Chile, Diego Pardow; the Minister of Women and Gender Equality of Chile, Antonia Orellana; the German Ambassador to Chile, Irmgard Maria Fellner; and the Head of Energy Partnerships with Latin America of the German Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK), Georg Maue.

In his welcoming remarks, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC pointed out that women play an important role in energy use, access and exploitation, and it is therefore urgent to advance towards gender equality and ensure women's autonomy.

"According to ECLAC data, 16.1 million people do not have access to electricity and 77 million do not have access to clean cooking systems but instead use firewood and charcoal, with women, boys and girls being the people most affected by this situation. This is due to the over-representation of women in lower-income households, the unequal burden of unpaid domestic work and the care-giving roles traditionally assigned to women," said José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs.

He added that women face barriers in access to employment and training in the energy sector, which is related to their limited representation in areas such as engineering, technology, research and development in renewable energies. "To close these gender gaps requires strengthening women's autonomy in decision-making and enhancing their participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as in the planning and design of energy policies. Their contribution is essential to promote development processes at the national and regional levels," he said.

"At ECLAC and other organizations and institutions in the region, we are working hard to promote gender equality in general, and in particular with regard to energy access and use. There is still much work ahead to be done by governments, civil society and the private sector," emphasized ECLAC's top representative.

Chile's Minister of Energy, Diego Pardow, stated that renewable energies not only generate cleaner cities, but also fairer and more inclusive economies and societies. "Currently, in Chile's energy sector, only 23% of jobs are held by women, but this average is misleading, as the figure can be as low as 10% in the case of operations and company boards," he said.

Meanwhile, Chile's Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Antonia Orellana, said that Chile is working to ensure that relatively new industries, such as green hydrogen and lithium, incorporate women from the start "so  we don't have to be running after an exclusionary corporate culture," she said.

The German Ambassador to Chile, Irmgard Maria Fellner, stressed that in the fight against current crises, such as climate change and hunger, half of the population, i.e. women, cannot be excluded. "We need the knowledge and skills of the entire society," she insisted.

Georg Maue, Head of Energy Partnerships with Latin America at the German Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK), reaffirmed Germany's commitment to gender equality and detailed his country's initiatives to promote the incorporation of more women in the energy sector.

Following the opening session, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria and Brigitte Baptiste, President of Universidad EAN in Colombia and a leader in gender diversity in the region, gave keynote speeches on the conference themes.

In her presentation, former President Michelle Bachelet emphasized the relationship between gender equality, the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which call in general for respect for the environment and put people's equality and dignity at the center, as well as the implications in the face of humanity's greatest threat: the triple planetary crisis (climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss).

"We must confront gender inequality and identify the structural constraints that need to be solved. We have to show that guaranteeing women's rights is not only fair, but also smart and fundamental," she said.

The President of EAN University of Colombia, Brigitte Baptiste, spoke about the importance of the energy transition in the region, although she warned that there has been a strong focus on decarbonization in Latin America and the Caribbean, despite the fact that it is not one of the regions that contributes most to the emission of greenhouse gases.

"We have to think about how the changing energy matrixes respond to social priorities, rather than to the priorities of competition or international global commitments. .... The urgency of the transition cannot erase what we have been building in terms of gender equality. The 'great diversity of gender diversities' in Latin American and Caribbean countries must be reflected in the energy transition processes underway," she warned.

The CEGEN 2023 Conference will continue with panels addressing gender mainstreaming in energy matters, education and curriculum gaps for girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, gender barriers in the labor market in the energy innovation sector, and capacity building for change and experiences in several countries in the region.