The energy transition is an essential process to mitigate climate change and promote a sustainable future, and also represents a unique opportunity to boost gender equality in the labor market.
There is no doubt that the energy transition process towards a decarbonized and non -polluting model is positive in labor terms and this trend is expected to increase in the coming years thanks to the investments that are being carried out.
Historically, the participation of women in the energy sector has been lower compared to other industries, and varies widely between energy subsectors and countries. Despite representing 48% of the world workforce, women only represent 22% of the workforce in the oil and gas sector, and 32% in the case of jobs in renewable energy, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Emerging job opportunities
The worldwide energy panorama is experiencing a rapid and high -range change driven by unprecedented growth of renewable energies. This transformation allows a series of social and economic benefits, including the increase in employment. Irena estimates that the number of jobs in the sector could reach 29 million in 2050.
According to its estimates, the renewable energy sector offers various professional opportunities throughout the value chain, which require different sets of skills and talents. The greatest participation of women would allow this sector in rapid growth to take advantage of female talents, while guaranteeing a socially fair distribution of socio -economic opportunities of world energy transformation.
Estimates for Spain are also positive. The National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC 2021-2030) estimates this net creation between 253,000 and 350,000 new annual jobs throughout this decade, of which between 100,000 and 180,000 may correspond to jobs related to the energy transition to renewable. The majority of this will be high or half qualification and indirectly will benefit the manufacturing industry, construction, trade and the repair associated with the sector.
In addition, in the case of Spain, the so -called energy transition is a great opportunity since we have excellent natural resources, we have research centers that have been leading change and a business fabric that is a pioneer in many developments in this field.
Close the gender gap
In this scenario in which the transition to a green economy is creating a variety of jobs in sectors such as solar energy, wind, energy efficiency and electrical mobility. Women have the opportunity to occupy key roles in these fields, from technicians and engineers to business leaders.
In Spain, women have occupied 38.1 percent of the new jobs linked to the energy transition in the 2015-2021 period, which represents a total of 58,136 new jobs occupied by women. In Europe the percentage is 34 percent, slightly lower than our country’s data.
The participation of women in the use of activities linked to this transition was 18.2 percent in 2022, taking into account that that same year, female employment was 47 percent in the whole economy. This is another of the main data provided by the study ‘The use of women in the fair energy transition in Spain’, published by Fundación Naturgy, in collaboration with the Institute for Justa Transition (ITJ).
This is the first report that provides an adjusted and complete diagnosis about the situation of women in the labor market linked to the energy transition, using a multiplicity of statistical sources.
The study reflects that, both in Spain and in Europe, female employment has grown at a rhythm much higher than male in the subsectors of the energy transition, although it must be considered that these results are linked to a low prior presence of women.
The conclusion of the report is clear, the evolution is positive, but too slow. Because, despite progress, women still face significant challenges in the energy sector.
Close the gender gap in science and technology, in general, and in renewable energies, in particular, it continues to be a pending task. The causes are varied, but they all lead to a clear invisibility of female talent in the scientific -technological field, to a lack of referents, to an endless of stereotypes and a male business culture that “have still led, still today, to a dissociation between women and technology” of which the energy transition is no stranger, as -explains the general director of the Naturgy Foundation Crowned
Although the balance is still very uneven, that crack tends to close. “There are few women even in the sector, yes, but we are on the way to break that gap,” says María José Sánchez, director of resources in renewables, new businesses and innovation in Naturgy, in favor of accelerating that thrust and working to make visible the work of women in this field.
In fact, Naturgy has marked the objective of “with 40% of women in managerial and management positions in 2025.” This and other objectives have earned the company to be recognized as one of the most committed to the visibility and promotion of women by Intrama, to achieve the certificate ‘Best Women Talent Company’.