Welcome to the WePOWER Network website!

WePOWER is a vibrant voluntary women’s professional network in Energy and Power Sector in South Asia that supports women's participation in energy projects and institutions and promotes normative change regarding women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.

WePOWER enters its fourth year! February 2022 marks three years since WePOWER was officially launched. Thanks in part to the diligent commitment of our Partners, we are proud to report that WePOWER continues to be a leading champion of promoting gender diversity and women’s empowerment in the energy sector. Since its launch, our Partners have completed over 1,400 gender activities that benefitted over 28,000 females.

NEW Publication: WePOWER Progress Report 2021

We are really pleased to anounce the launch of the WePOWER Progress Report 2021. This report showcases the exceptional results of our 28 Partners in 2021 and the commitments of our 29 Partners for 2022. WePOWER has continued to make a substantive and meaningful impact, despite the constant disruptions caused by COVID-19. In 2021, the 28 WePOWER Partners across South Asia implemented 628 activities for 13,431 female students and professionals. We look forward to another excellent year of WePOWER partnerships to achieve our mission of more and better jobs for women.

WePOWER anounces 2021 WePOWER Awards Winners!

 

NEW PARTNERS

Institute of Engineering (IOE)

We are pleased to welcome the Institute of Engineering (IOE) at Tribhuvan University as the 3rd Partner from Nepal. IOE was founded in 1930 as Nepal’s first technical school and is producing outstanding  engineering technicians and engineers for more than 80 years. With WePOWER, IOE plans to conduct STEM Outreach and Jobs Outreach to more than 200 students and provide capacity building technical trainings to more than 50 female professionals. Please access IOE's gender activities (LoAs) here. 

BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL)

We are excited to welcome BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) as our new partner from India. BRPL is a joint venture of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. and the Government of Delhi. Since taking over distribution, BSES' singular mission has been to provide reliable and quality electricity supply and today it has one of the most advanced distribution networks in the county. BRPL supplies energy to over 2.7million customers spread across 22 divisions across South and West areas of Delhi. Moving forward with its partnership with WePOWER, BRPL plans to conduct STEM outreach programs for 300 female students, recruit 34 female interns and 24 female employees, provide job-oriented courses to more than 600 female candidates and implement various policies to promote gender equality and diversity and inclusion. Please access BRPL’s List of Activities (LoAs) here.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)

We are thrilled to welcome Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) as our second Nepalese Partner. Founded on 16 August 1985, NEA is the parent generator and distributor of electric power under the supervision of the Government of Nepal. The primary objective of NEA is to generate, transmit and distribute adequate, reliable and affordable power by planning, constructing, operating and maintaining all generation, transmission and distribution facilities in Nepal's power system both interconnected and isolated. With WePOWER's collaboration, NEA is planning to hire 50 women professionals and 100 female interns in 2022. NEA also intends to pilot-test, implement and provide operational guidelines on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) strategy. Please access NEA's List of Activities (LoA) here.

National Association of Community Electricity Users-Nepal (NACEUN)

We are pleased to welcome our first Nepalese Partner: National Association of Community Electricity Users-Nepal (NACEUN). Since its establishment in 2005 , NACEUN has grown into a strong network comprising  over 300+ Community Rural Electricity Entities (CREEs) from 54 districts. Currently, 5,35,000 households have been electrified by these CREEs. NACEUN is committed to ensuring a future where every Nepali, irrespective of caste, gender, or position in the community, has access to clean, affordable, and reliable electricity and benefit from its productive end-use. They are planning to hire 100 women as meter readers, accountants and office managers by the end of 2023 and train 200 female entrepreneurs by 2024.  NACEUN  officially became the WePOWER Partner on January 14, 2022 and  Mahendra Prasad Chudal, Program Manager, would be the WePOWER focal point. Please access NACEUN's List of Activities (LoA) here.

MoU between IEEE WIE and WePOWER

An MoU was signed between WePOWER and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Women in Engineering (IEEE WIE). This agreement underscores IEEE WIE’s strong commitment to WePOWER. IEEE WIE is a crucial partner in reaching academic institutions, female engineering students, and professionals as our network continues to grow. 

The National Chapters of WePOWER

The National Chapters of WePOWER are key to institutionalizing the network at the national level, fostering exchange of ideas, facilitating lateral learning, opening communications, and encouraging collaborative partnerships among national, institutional and strategic partners.  We will be implementing the National Chapters in several South Asia countries in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), following the Agreement.