Pillar 1: Enhance Hiring More Women: Creating awareness among engineering students and professionals about the job opportunities available in the power sector, including internships, will be essential. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to form a partnership between the private sector companies, academic institutions, existing local networks (if any), and power sector organizations (such as utilities). The partnership will organize job fairs and networking events to connect job seekers with potential employers.
Pillar 2: Increase Women’s Professional Development and Retention: Providing personal and professional development opportunities are crucial for women's continued career growth and success, particularly in technical fields. These opportunities may include technical training, mentorship programs, attending national and international conferences, and leadership training/coaching. In addition, ensuring a gender-friendly work environment and providing support for increased household responsibilities after marriage is essential for retaining women in the workforce. Reintegrating services for returning mothers, and providing access to facilities such as daycare services, separate toilets, and safe transportation services can help address these issues and support women's career development and retention in the workplace.
Pillar 3: Strengthen STEM Education for Girls: Raising interest in STEM subjects among girls, increasing female enrollment in engineering programs, and providing access to power sector/energy coursework and study tours will be critical to ensuring a pipeline of qualified female candidates.
Pillar 4: Policy and Institutional Change: This forms the foundation for the other pillars that are necessary to bring about change in the African energy sector. It is crucial to institutionalize and enforce gender considerations at both the national and institutional levels. This entails implementing policies that encourage more women to study STEM subjects, instituting family-friendly HR policies setting quotas/targets for female enrollment, promotion, and hiring in the academic and power sectors, retaining more women in the energy sector by offering paid maternity leave policies, as well as advocating for more women in senior roles and on company boards.
Pillar 5: Promotes Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion: Empowering women entrepreneurs—specifically women-owned and women-led enterprises—in the energy sector requires comprehensive support through training, mentorship, access to information, and access to finance. This support enables them to navigate the energy sector business ecosystem effectively and thrive as entrepreneurs and key contributors in the energy value chain. This initiative focuses on helping women entrepreneurs start or scale their businesses in areas such as off-grid energy solutions, clean cooking technologies, distribution networks, and consultancy services. Financial inclusion efforts emphasize providing up-to-date information on financing options, grants, and investment platforms, with a particular focus on opportunities tailored for women. Additionally, partnerships with financial institutions and the development of innovative lending models aim to address and overcome traditional financing barriers. These combined efforts promote a more inclusive and competitive energy sector across Africa, fostering growth and innovation.
