Renewable Energy: Scaling up Women's Share

There is a big disparity between the number of women and men involved in renewable energy activities, with women being disadvantaged. This is despite women being the majority consumers of the technologies in the rural areas. In addition, few opportunities are afforded to women to train in solar installation as it was reported that out of 357 technicians who attended a training course in 2015, only 16(5%) were women. It is important that such training initiatives though well intentioned, do not exacerbate the gap between men and women thus denying women an opportunity to earn a living especially in the rural areas.

Due to the difficulty in getting solar technicians licenses, women entrepreneurs who wish to trade in solar products are forced to "hire" licenses from licensed men technicians. In most cases they have to pay exorbitant prices to engage in solar entrepreneurial activities even though in most cases they don't have the money. This gives men the upper hand in installation, and confines women to office admin, sales, design and supply aspects only, leaving them out of equal participation in actual installation in the field. Initiatives that support women and other disadvantaged groups are needed to empower them to be able to compete with the already established status that is skewed towards one gender, especially in the areas of technical training and installation.

Evidence shows that integrating women into every level of the value chain can lead to more effective clean energy initiatives. As women are more than passive users of energy, with proper capacity building they can be empowered to expand access to renewable energy products and services, thereby creating jobs and reducing poverty.

The Panelists who are practitioners or involved in energy sector will share their experiences and engage the participants by answering below questions;

• What’s the role of the private sector in a renewable energy sector that has potential yet is faced with a myriad of challenges?
• What are the challenges and what can the broader group of women and CSO learn from these challenges?
• What are some of the radical measures that are needed to accelerate both renewable energy uptake and more women being involved in the sector?
• Where are the opportunities for increasing the number of women technicians in the sector?
• The country is rich and has potential in solar, thermal, solar PV, wind, small hydro, biomass and geothermal - how can women tap into this market?
• Are there existing good practices that can be replicated?

Invited Speakers:  

• Lydia Muchiri - Energia Kenya/Practical Action
• Kristen Wanyama – Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KEREA)
• Linda Davis - wPower Hub
• Sarah Mbwaya - Aspectus (Solar Entrepreneur)
• Catherine Nyambala - Kengen (Pink Energy)

Moderated by:

Tameezan wa Gathui – Women in Sustainable Energy (WiSE)

Format of discussion:

A panel discussion contextualizes issues to the audience. This is infused with public dialogue and Q&A where the audience engages with the panel and forum.

About Heinrich Böll Foundation

Being part of the Green political movement that has developed worldwide as a response to the traditional politics of socialism, liberalism, and conservatism, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung is a Green Political Foundation, affiliated to the German political party “Alliance ’90 / The Greens”. The regional office for East and Horn of Africa is a people-centric green think-tank, based in Nairobi since 2001. In our work, we facilitate open dialogue, undertake studies and forge partnerships with and among communities in East & Horn of Africa along the core themes of Gender, Environment, Democracy and International Dialogue.

About the Gender Forum

The Gender Forum is a monthly public dialogue convened by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung since 2001, encouraging dialogue on pertinent national social issues with a gendered lens. It brings together scholars, law- makers and implementers, civil activists, government institutions, students and the general public, aiming at sharing knowledge and inspiring gendered analysis of policy and programmes.

Sign language will be provided.

Join the conversation online via #GenderForum.

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