gender /gid01808gid00031gid00507gid00458gid00041gid00031gid00456/noun 1. euphemism for the sex of a human being, of_ten intended to emphasize the social and cultural, as opposed to the biological, distinctions between the ss. RENEWABLE ENERGYA GENDERPERSPECTIVEACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis report was developed under the guidance of Rabia Ferroukhi IRENA and authored by Rabia Ferroukhi, Michael Renner, Divyam Nagpal, and Celia Garca-Baos IRENA, and Bipasha Barua University of Western Ontario, with valuable contributions from Adrian Whiteman, Anindya Bhagirath IRENA, and Christine Lins GWNET.The report benefited from valuable comments and feedback provided by Elizabeth Press, Mirjam Reiner, Sadia Afreen, Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Diala Hawila, Emanuele Bianco, Abdullah Abou Ali, Saba AlDefi, Ali Yasir, Salvatore Vinci IRENA, Soma Dutta and Sheila Oparaocha ENERGIA International Network on Sustainable Energy, Eco Matser Hivos, Rana Ghoneim UNIDO, Suhela Khan UN Women, and Henning Wuester ICAT. The dissemination of the survey benefited from the support of GWNET, REN21, WiRE, ISES, GIZ, Clean Energy Council, Factor, Regions20, Deloitte Advisory S.L., EnRupt, and FSR Lights on Women Initiative.DISCLAIMERThis publication and the material herein are provided “as is”. All reasonable precautions have been taken by IRENA to verify the reliability of the material in this publication. However, neither IRENA nor any of its officials, agents, data or other third-party content providers provides a warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, and they accept no responsibility or liability for any consequence of use of the publication or material herein. The ination contained herein does not necessarily represent the views of the Members of IRENA. The mention of specific companies or certain projects or products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by IRENA in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The designations employed and the presentation of material herein do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of IRENA concerning the legal status of any region, country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries.Unless otherwise stated, material in this publication may be freely used, shared, copied, reproduced, printed and/or stored, provided that appropriate acknowledgement is given of IRENA as the source and copyright holder. Material in this publication that is attributed to third parties may be subject to separate terms of use and restrictions, and appropriate permissions from these third parties may need to be secured before any use of such material.ISBN 978-92-9260-098-3This publication should be cited as IRENA 2019, Renewable Energy A Gender Perspective. IRENA, Abu Dhabi. IRENA 2019ABOUT IRENAThe International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future and serves as the principal plat for international co-operation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all s of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity.www.irena.org Foreword The ongoing energy transation, driven by renewables, is bringing far- reaching, systemic change to our societies. This offers important opportunities for greater inclusion and equality. Accelerating the deployment of renewables can alleviate poverty, create jobs, improve welfare and strengthen gender equality. Still, to fully realise this potential, the renewables industry has to tap a wider pool of talent – notably that of women, who have been largely underrepresented, depriving the energy transition of critical capacities.Renewable Energy A Gender Perspective provides new insights on women’s role in renewable energy employment and decision-making globally. This key report by the International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA aims to help fill the knowledge gap in this field. Based on a ground-breaking, first-of-its-kind online survey combined with in-depth research, the study highlights the importance of women’s contributions in the energy transation, the barriers and challenges they face, and measures that governments and companies can take to address these. IRENA’s online survey gathered responses from around 1 500 men, women and organisations working in the renewable energy sector, from highly specialised technical roles to policy, legal and commercial functions. Their answers illuminate both facts and perceptions about gender equality, as well as solutions to overcome challenges facing it. The study finds that women represent 32 of the renewable energy workforce. This compares favourably to the broader, conventional energy sector. Still signifi-cant imbalances remain, both in highly developed markets and in communities where renewables are only now extending energy access. The decentralised nature of renewable applications, however, brings energy choices to the household and community level, where women tend to have a greater voice. As the report illustrates, gender equality, along with a wider sharing of the benefits from the global energy transation, is not only a question of fundamental fairness. It is also essential to shaping positive social and economic development outcomes. Women provide valuable perspectives on key decisions, from investment priorities to project design. The renewable energy industry needs to engage and retain more women – and promote them – to fill its growing needs for skills. Their leadership and contributions will be crucial to ensuring that the energy systems of the future address the needs of modern societies and leave no one behind. Promoting gender equality and including gender considerations on all levels should be a high priority in both the public and private sectors. Renewable Energy A Gender Perspective reflects IRENA’s commitment to advancing gender equality in the energy transition. It provides a basis for further research that can in evidence-based policy-making, and I hope it also adds to the momentum for closing the gender gap in renewable energy and beyond.Adnan Z. AminDirector-GeneralIRENA3RERenewable EnergyA Gender PerspectiveContents Foreword 3Message from IRENA Gender Focal Point 7cutive summary .81Renewable energy and gender .161.1. Background .171.2. Rationale .191.3. Narrowing the knowledge gap on gender and renewable energy IRENA’s survey .212 Women in renewable energy Modern energy context .262.1. Status and trends .272.1.1. Employment in renewable energy, gender- related findings in the literature and IRENA’s work on the issue .282.1.2. Gender composition of the workforce in the conventional energy sector 292.1.3. Gender composition of the workforce in the renewable energy sector .292.2. Barriers and challenges 322.2.1. Barriers to entry 322.2.2. Retention and career advancement challenges 372.3. Policies and solutions 432.3.1. Mainstreaming gender perspectives . 442.3.2. Creating networks and supporting mentorship 442.3.3. Access to education and training 482.3.4. Gender targets and quotas .492.3.5. Workplace practices, policies and regulations . 502.3.6. Work-life balance 522.4. Conclusions 55Annex 82References .86Photo Credits 913 Women in renewable energy Access context .563.1. Background 573.2. Barriers and challenges .593.2.1. Cultural and social norms 603.2.2. Lack of gender-sensitive programmes and policies .623.2.3. Lack of skills and gender-specific training opportunities 623.3. Policies and solutions .633.3.1. Improving access to training and skills-development programmes . 643.3.2. Integrating gender in energy access programmes .673.3.3. Fostering women entrepreneurs and improving access to finance .703.3.4. Improving the collection of gender- disaggregated data 743.4. Conclusions .754Conclusions and way forward 764.1. Way forward to improve gender diversity in the renewables sector .784.2. Future work .815List of Figures, Tables and BoxesList of FiguresFigure ES.1 Shares of women in STEM, non-STEM and administrative jobs in renewable energy 10Figure ES.2 Barriers to entry for women in the renewable energy sector .11Figure ES.3 Barriers to retention and advancement for women in the renewable energy sector 12Figure ES.4 Measures to improve women’s engagement in deploying renewables for energy access 14Figure 1.1 Geographical distribution of survey respondents .22Figure 1.2 Distribution of survey respondents by region .22Figure 1.3 Distribution of survey respondents by sex and family status .23Figure 1.4 Distribution of survey respondents by educational achievement .23Figure 1.5 Distribution of survey respondents by type of organisation 23Figure 1.6 Distribution of survey respondents by size of organisation .24Figure 1.7 Distribution of survey respondents by main area of work 24Figure 1.8 Types of renewable energy technology relevant to organisations responding to the survey 25Figure 1.9 Types of renewable energy technology relevant to the work of individuals responding to the survey 25Figure 2.1 Female board members at 200 of the world’s largest utilities, 2016 29Figure 2.2 Share of female full-time workforce in renewable energy and oil and gas 31Figure 2.3 Perceptions of gender barriers in the modern renewable energy sector .32Figure 2.4 Barriers to entry for women in modern renewable energy, ranked by respondents in order of importance .33Figure 2.5 Shares of women in STEM, non-STEM and administrative jobs in renewable energy .35Figure 2.6 Barriers to career advancement for women in modern renewable energy 38Figure 2.7 Gender composition of board of directors in the renewable energy sector .40Figure 2.8 Beliefs about pay equity among men and women .42Figure 2.9 Suggested measures in support of women in modern renewable energy, by respondents region .43Figure 2.10 Comparison of benefits among full- and part-time employees .53Figure 2.11 Paid maternal leave, in weeks .54Figure 2.12 Availability of paid maternity and paternity leave for full-time and part- time employees in renewable energy 55Figure 3.1 Organisational size reported by respondents to the energy access survey 58Figure 3.2 Area of work of organisations responding to the energy access survey .58Figure 3.3 Barriers to women’s participation in deploying renewables to expand energy access 59Figure 3.4 Regional distribution of responses on barriers to women’s participation in the energy access context . 60Figure 3.5 Measures to improve women’s engagement in deploying renewables for energy access . 64Figure 3.6 Illustrating gender entry points in the development of renewable energy mini-grids 69List of TablesTable 2.1 Share of women in the US solar workforce, 2013–2017 . 30Table 2.2 Selected occupations in segments of the solar PV power value chain .36Table 2.3 Selected organisations advocating for gender equity in renewable energy .45Table A.1 Main barriers to women’s entry and advancement in the modern renewables context 83Table A.2 Main barriers and solutions to women’s participation in the renewable energy sector in the access context 846RENEWABLE ENERGY A GENDER PERSPECTIVEList of BoxesBox 1.1 Key definitions .18Box 1.2 Gender equality and gender equity .19 Box 2.1 Female participation in the US solar sector .30Box 2.2 GWNET Offering online mentoring 46Box 2.3 The Pink to Green Toolkit Wider Opportunities for Women .46Box 2.4 C3E and WiRE Women of Distinction Awards .47Box 2.5 Definitions of part-time work, flexi-time, and job-sharing .52Box 3.1 Training solar grandmothers The case of Barefoot College .65Box 3.2 Empowering women through training The case of Wonder Women in Indonesia .66Box 3.3 Policy on gender mainstreaming in energy access The case of ECOWAS .67Box 3.4 Gender mainstreaming at the programme level The case of Hivos’ domestic biogas programme and Sumba Island Initiative .68Box 3.5 Empowering women brewers in Burkina Faso through energy- efficient cookstoves 70Box 3.6 Empowering women entrepreneurs to deliver off-grid renewable energy solutions The case of Solar Sister .71Box 3.7 Establishing women’s cooperatives to deliver stand-alone solar systems .72Box 3.8 Regional Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship Support Facility .73Box 3.9 Gathering gender-disaggregated data through household surveys .74Box 3.10 Gender considerations in grid-based rural electrification programmes .75Rabia FerroukhiActing DirectorKnowledge, Policy and FinanceIRENAMessage from the IRENA Gender Focal PointThe idea for this report dates back more than five years, to the publication of IRENA’s first Renewable Energy and Jobs study. The report included a full chapter dedicated to gender to contextualise this vital dimension of renew-able energy employment. Since, IRENA’s annual reviews on jobs have featured updates on gender data, providing a glimpse into the promising interplay between renew-able energy and gender.To bring a greater understanding of this interplay, the present report introduces a comprehensive gender perspective into the analysis of the renewable energy sector and the ongoing energy transation. Support-ed by a global survey and literature review, the study explores the role of women, their opportunities for employment in the sector and the challenges they face. Across the globe, the findings confirm, women are increasingly attracted to renewables. This multi- disciplinary sector employs a larger share of women compared to the conventional energy field. But like in other fields of work, women still encounter numerous obstacles, from the lack of equal access to education, training, mentoring, professional networks and finance, to the glass-ceiling in companies or institutions. When I first began my career in the energy sector, very few of my fellow researchers or analysts were women. At the time, this seemed to be the norm in energy-related jobs. Some two decades later, this pattern has started to change, in part thanks to the emergence of renewables and the more holistic, democratised energy future they represent. If the global energy transation is to drive sustainable growth and development, it needs to be inclusive in every sense. And women have to be part of it. 7EScutive Summary inclusiveness gid01181gid00472gid00041gid01808gid00038gid00039gid00048gid01686gid00046gid00472gid00049gid00041gid00456gid00046gid01181gid00001 noun 1. the practice or policyof including many dif_ferent typesof people, all of whom who aretreated fairly and equally. gender mainstreaming gid01181gid00031gid00507gid00458gid00041gid00031gid00456gid00001gid01808gid00040gid00032gid00472gid00041gid00046