Celebrating 'Solar Sisterhood' Power

On International Women's Day (March 8), Ashden highlighted the women who made renewable energy happen especially among the world's poorer communities where energy access posed significant challenges. The theme for this year's International Women's Day was 'Inspire Inclusion.

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On International Women's Day

Traditionally, women have been relegated to the sidelines in the energy sector, following men in terms of training opportunities. However, this narrative is undergoing a transformation worldwide, especially in the Global South concerning clean energy access. Now, there is a proliferation of solar training organizations strategically prioritizing the training of women. Solar technician training and entrepreneurship provides women with income, independence, new skills, and improved status. Recent studies by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shed light on an encouraging trend: the Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) sector employs about 32 per cent more women than the broader energy sector, where the figure stands at only 22 per cent. While this is a step in the right direction, there's still work to be done.

Isona Shibata, International Programme Manager at Ashden, said: "Investing in women in the clean energy sector is critical to achieving a just transition. With training, skills and financial support women in clean energy not only build great businesses, but the knowledge and investment is shared with their family networks and communities so the change is sustained.

"On International Women's Day we want to celebrate all the women who are contributing to the fight against climate change and working towards universal clean energy access. More than three billion people face energy shortfall these people are almost exclusively in the Global South. Training people in the DRE sector is a vital means of getting communities access to the energy they need to lead normal, healthy, and connected lives."