A recent report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reveals persistent gender disparities within the global renewable energy workforce. Women now comprise close to a third of the sector’s workforce—with 16.2 million jobs on that score. Leadership and technical role gaps still remain. This should make us deeply concerned about equity and inclusion within our fast-maturing industry.
The report highlights a huge gender divide within the renewable energy workplace. Women only make up 26% of middle management roles and just 19% of senior management and board roles. This is significantly less than the global average of women’s participation in the labor force, at 43.4%. This gap demonstrates how women are breaking into the renewable energy workforce. At the same time, they are not progressing into leadership positions at an equitable pace.
Workforce Composition and Roles
Women make up 32% of full-time occupations within the renewable energy industry. Their underrepresentation is even wider in administrative roles, where they make up only 45% of positions. When we look at just technical roles, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, representation decreases drastically. Women fill 36% of these non-STEM technical roles but just 28% of STEM technical jobs. The challenge is especially acute in the case of medium-skilled technical occupations such as installation and construction. When it comes to women’s participation in these fields, we’re still at a mere 22%.
Geographically, the report indicates that Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions have seen an average female participation rate of 33% in the renewable energy sector. By comparison, Europe and North America have the lowest relative numbers, at just 27% of their totals. These regional differences highlight a greater need for more localized approaches and targeted strategies to bridge gender equity across markets.
Challenges and Discrimination
Yet even with these advancements, almost 45% of female respondents to the IRENA survey indicated that they have faced gender-based discrimination on the job. This statistic should be a major wake up call concerning the systematic barriers women have to climb to further their careers in the ever-growing renewable energy industry. Survey respondents rated their employers’ gender equity efforts a 69 out of 100. While 85 percent is certainly an impressive score, it indicates there’s still lots of opportunity to improve workplace inclusivity.
The upside in the renewable energy workforce is huge. Projections suggest that the number of jobs could increase to around 30 million by 2030 if aligned with pathways outlined in the Paris Agreement. As this growth occurs, addressing gender disparities will be crucial to ensuring that women can fully participate and benefit from new opportunities.