The need for sex-disaggregated data, targeted funding and STEM education has come across loud and clear in the “Empowering Women in Leadership: Innovations, Finance, and Inclusive Transitions in Clean Energy” session at #SEforALLForum, organized by SEforALL and the Gender and Energy Compact.
The session started out with opening remarks from H.E. Ms. María Erla Marelsdóttir, Climate Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, who emphasized that her country’s strides in gender equality have not come through singular action, but rather a commitment by the government to ensure full participation for a sustainable energy future.
The Director of the ENERGIA Network, Ms. Sheila Oparaocha, set the context for the event, which coincides with the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action. Her remarks highlighted the five key pillars for action, embedded into the work of the Compact:
- Ending energy poverty,
- Scaling-up gender smart investment and women-led clean energy businesses,
- Providing equal opportunities for women’s career advancement,
- Creating an enabling policy environment for women’s empowerment, and
- Institutionalizing accountability mechanisms to ensure gender justice.
This last point implies the collection of sex-disaggregated data and tracking of gender indicators, an issue that was underlined by every speaker that followed.
In her keynote address, Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), appealed/urged for gender equality not being an afterthought but a core pillar of energy access. Much in line with Ms. Oparaocha’s intervention, Dr. Al-Hosnay stressed that embedding gender in energy policies, access to finance, investing in leadership and capacity building, and accountability are key.
Catalyzing Change: Global Financing for Women’s Leadership in a Just & Inclusive Energy Transition
In the conversation that followed, “Catalyzing Change: Global Financing for Women’s Leadership in a Just & Inclusive Energy Transition,” Ms. Bola Adesola, Chair of the Ecobank, acknowledged that barriers for women to access finance exist, but also shared examples of finance modalities that are out there, such as their Ellevate, a specialized banking program to support women entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders. Key features of the program include tailored financial solutions and up to $50,000 in funding without collateral, exclusively for female-owned enterprises. Blended finance with a gender lens ensuring a portion of funds is directed toward female entrepreneurs and strategic partnerships to reduce financing costs are other examples.
Ms. Ashley Lashley, Barbadian youth advocate and founder of The Ashley Lashley Foundation, brought young female leadership alive by sharing her experiences. Ms. Lashley’s foundation creates a model of empowerment, creating spaces for young women to enter into, speak up and make change in the energy sector through partnerships with CSOs, government and private sector. Her foundation conducts workshops and inspirational talks, engaging young women and leading by example.
Powering Progress: Women Shaping the Global Renewable Energy Movement
During the rich panel discussion “Powering Progress: Women Shaping the Global Renewable Energy Movement,” which featured Dr. Flaubert Mbiekop, Senior Program Specialist, Canadian International Development Research Centre; Ms. Racquel Moses, CEO, Caribbean Climate-Smart; Ms. Milena Megrè, Researcher, Observatório Latino-Americano da Geopolítica Energética; and Ms. Ayu Abdullah, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Community Energy Toolkit (COMET), again the need for data collection, data driven storytelling and evidence to inform policy was stressed. The panel underscored that engaging women and local governments and identifying and understanding local needs is crucial, as is participatory, community-led energy planning. Further, we need to be intentional in our efforts and vigilant about the messages we convey.
The closing words of the session were delivered by(?)Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for SEforALL, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, ensuring that gender equality and youth participation are not add-ons for SEforALL, but starting points, cross cutting topics in all its projects. Ms. Ogunbiyi further stressed the importance of female mentors and supportive systems for women leaders. “We cannot fail,” she said. “If we fail, it’s a missed opportunity. We must come together when things are hard, not just when things are working.”
