Women occupied 4 out of 10 of the new jobs linked to the energy transition in the 2015-2021 period

In Spain, women occupied 38.1% of the new jobs linked to the energy transition in the 2015-2021 period, which means a total of 58,136 new jobs occupied by women. In Europe, the percentage is 34%, slightly lower than the figures seen in Spain.

Women’s employment in jobs linked to the energy transition stood at 18.2% in 2022, whereas female employment accounted for 47% in the economy as a whole in the same year. This is another of the main data points provided by the study ‘Women’s Employment in the Just Energy Transition in Spain’, published by the Naturgy Foundation in collaboration with the Spanish Institute for Just Transition (ITJ).

It is the first report to provide an accurate and comprehensive assessment of the status of women in the labour market linked to the energy transition, using a multiplicity of statistical sources. The analysis was performed by Abay Analistas, while the political scientist Cristina Monge coordinated the team of experts.

The document was presented today at a colloquium opened by the director of the ITJ, Laura Martín, who said that “this assessment allows us to expand our knowledge of the situation and identify the necessary measures to move forward. We must continue working to ensure that women play an active role the energy transition, facilitate their access to employment in all sectors and subsectors of the transformation and ensure equal conditions in their jobs. Doing so requires the administration, social actors and the scientific and education communities to work together”.

The study shows that, in both Spain and Europe, female employment has grown at a much higher rate than male employment in the subsectors of the energy transition, although these results stem from the once low presence of women. Nevertheless, the conclusion of the team of experts is clear: there has been a positive development over the last decade, but it is still too slow.

If we take the last decade as a reference, in Spain, female employment in jobs in the energy transition jumped from 17% in 2012 to 18.2% in 2022. According to the study, there is an “extensive and persistent” gender participation gap and “at the rate of progress recorded in the last ten years, it would take 265 years to achieve gender parity in jobs linked to the energy transition”.

The study also offers an assessment of the different subsectors and lines of activity linked to the transition. Of the five subsectors studied, only one of them –energy consultancy– exceeds the critical mass level, i.e., women account for more than 30%. As for the lines of activity, only five exceed the critical mass level, while 16 are characterised by severe under-representation – as the figure is below 15%.

Rafael Villaseca, president of the Naturgy Foundation, highlighted the data provided by the study, calling it “a starting point for thinking and determining how to act”. “Women’s participation in the labour market of the energy transition is extraordinarily low and reflects the need for initiatives to bring balance to this situation”, emphasised Villaseca.

The general director of the Naturgy Foundation, María Eugenia Coronado, affirmed that “studies such as this one provide objective data on a situation that must be reversed in order to guarantee a just transition. Because of this, our foundation now has training and employability programmes in place focused on women”.

Occupational segregation and wage gap

In addition to the participation gap, which is the most prominent, the study also detected other gender gaps, such as occupational segregation: women are concentrated in administrative jobs, while technical jobs are mainly occupied by men.

On the other hand, the gender pay gap is significantly smaller than in the economy as a whole: women earn on average 6% less than men in the sector, compared to 14% overall. Even so, it should be noted that women working in the energy transition are also overqualified.

Meanwhile, the study also analyses the gap in women’s participation in the most necessary technical studies for the energy transition, both at university and vocational training level. STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degrees account for 36% of all university graduates for men and only 11% for women. The gap is even wider in vocational training.

In addition to the quantitative assessment, the study includes a qualitative assessment based on the testimonies of more than 50 women working in the energy transition. Their testimonies confirm the existence of gender gaps, as well as of some of the factors that reinforce them, such as stereotypes or a very male-oriented company culture in the sector.

On the other hand, factors that promote change include the commitments made by many companies (e.g., quotas), the emergence of companies following co-operative models and new energy production technologies, or the progressive incorporation of younger men and with a greater sensitivity to gender issues.

The study ends by listing a series of measures that can help to reverse the situation, such as increasing the visibility of women working in the sector, formal and ongoing training or companies implementing active policies that promote equity. In any case, the document argues that most of the problems detected are not specific to Spain, but occur throughout Europe, and that the solution lies in the involvement of all actors in the sector.

“In order for the transition to be not only green but also just, these new job opportunities must be as accessible to women as they are to men”, says the research team.

During the presentation, María Isabel Martínez, director of Abay Analistas, summarised the findings of the study by explaining that “there are multiple, significant and persistent gaps over time, affecting both the entry and the position of women in training and employment”.  According to Martínez, “the actions carried out are moving in the right direction, but they are clearly insufficient, as there has been little and uneven progress over the last decade”. For all these reasons, the sector needs “a strategy that addresses all the gaps comprehensively and involves all the actors in the system”.

In the view of the researcher from Abay Analistas, “women’s difficulty in accessing this sector is not only a problem of equity and social justice, but also an economic problem, because companies will have an increasing need to attract and retain talent”, to which she added that “we cannot expect improvement in the situation if there are no far-reaching policies, both in Spain and in the rest of Europe”.

Cristina Monge recalled that “the energy transition does not describe a specific moment, or road we are travelling; it describes our arrival to the world of the future, and that’s why it is necessary to guarantee that women are playing an equal role in the new energy model and that the stereotypes that have prevailed in the sector until now die out”.  The political scientist also stressed the need for “the education community and families to be involved in this process, as they must be allies in the normalisation of women in the world of energy”.

The presentation of the study was also attended by the director of Socioeconomics and Policy at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Michael Renner, who stated that “women face many barriers to entry in the sector, which prevent them not only from gaining employment but also from advancing and growing once they are already in the sector. In this sense, it is necessary to reduce these inequalities between men and women”.

Ana Belén Sánchez, advisor on the Just Transition to the Vice-president and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, highlighted the value of the study presented and emphasised that, on the prospect of reversing the situation described in the document, “if measures with specific criteria are put in place, progress will be made”.  “We come from a highly male-oriented sector, and if we want to change things, we will have to establish criteria and put them into practice, because change doesn’t come out of nowhere”, she added.

On the company side, María José Sánchez, director of Renewable Resources, New Business and Innovation at Naturgy, explained that, at the energy company, “the first thing we did was set ourselves the ambitious goal of having 40% of women in executive and management positions by 2025. This means breaking the mould and rebuilding the company’s corporate culture”.

Celia García-Baños, head of programmes at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), said that “more can be done in Spain; we are a very advanced country whose social and cultural norms favour improving this situation, but more and better things can be done”.