Women face barriers in the energy sector despite high STEM participation: Report

A comprehensive report jointly released by CII - Centre for Women Leadership (CII CWL) and The Quantum Hub (TQH) has highlighted the stark gender disparity in India's rapidly expanding energy sector, where demand is projected to grow by 5% annually until 2040. 

According to the report, despite India's impressive women's participation in STEM education (over 40%), their representation in the energy workforce remains critically low at less than 10%, with only 11% in the solar renewable energy sector. 

The situation worsens at the leadership levels, with female representation declining from 14-17% at entry/mid-level positions to merely 9% at CXO positions. 

The report is the outcome of a closed-door roundtable with industry partners. It identifies several key challenges, including a significant education and skills gap, with particular emphasis on the lack of industry-aligned education in renewable energy and low participation in technical trades at ITIs. 

There is also a mismatch between the energy sector demand and the skill training offered at ITIs and other government-run skilling institutions/programs. Women’s participation remains concentrated in gender-role conformant trades. In 2019, women accounted for 54.69% of non-engineering and 4.28% of engineering enrollments at Industrial Training Institute (ITIs) [7].

While short-term skilling under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana saw higher placement for women than men in 2016-20, more than 50% of the training and placement was concentrated in beauty and wellness, apparel, media and entertainment, healthcare and IT-ITeS.

The report points out that within energy firms, women tend to be concentrated in HR, finance, corporate affairs, and other support departments, with minimal representation in the technical units. 

The report reveals that women face additional workplace barriers as they are largely concentrated in support roles rather than technical positions. They also have to deal with safety concerns at remote on-site locations, especially in renewable energy installations.

To address diverse challenges, CII and TQH have outlined comprehensive recommendations for both industry and government stakeholders. For industry, they suggest setting specific hiring targets for women, implementing flexible timing and returnship programmes, creating women-only worksites, and investing in gender-responsive infrastructure. 

Government recommendations focus on mandating industry-aligned curriculum, introducing employment-linked incentives, creating gender awards for companies with high women participation, and ensuring safer public infrastructure near energy hubs, says the report.

The report emphasises that as India transitions to renewable energy sources, systematic changes across industry and government are crucial to improving women's representation in the energy sector workforce. The report highlights notable initiatives from companies such as Avaada, Triune, Shell, and ReNew as examples of positive steps toward gender inclusion, demonstrating that progress is possible with dedicated effort and strategic planning.

Aparajita Bharti, Founding Partner, TQH said, "Our roundtable discussions revealed that while women make up less than 10% of the energy workforce, targeted interventions in education, workplace policies, and infrastructure can significantly boost participation.”

Shivani Kumar, Executive Director, CII CWL said, “The world is witnessing an energy transition. This translates into new jobs with new skills, thereby providing an opportunity for industry to intentionally engage the new generation of aspirational women to lead us through a just energy transition.

"At CII CWL, we want this intentional action to begin now, so that we are not adjusting to fit in women later, but are designing the transition in a manner that women are an integral part of the arising opportunities.”