2023-06-25 08:00:45
In the Mena region, efforts are being made to promote women in energy, even if at present, the environment is still very masculine.
The World Bank has just organised, on 22 and 23 June in Tunis, the first regional conference of the Regional Energy Network for Women in the Middle East and North Africa (Renew-Mena). The event was an opportunity to showcase the commitments of Mena region countries and promote regional and global knowledge sharing to increase women’s economic participation and leadership in the energy sector.
Launched in June 2022 by the World Bank, “Renew-Mena”, as a regional platform, indeed aims to stimulate the economic participation of women throughout the value chain of the energy sector, in particular in the jobs related to the clean energy transition, to encourage better working conditions for women in the private and public sectors and to challenge widespread gender stereotypes regarding the role of women in STEM fields and increase their visibility in the energy sector.
300 million young people in the labor market
In a statement to the media, Ferid Belhaj, World Bank Vice President for the Mena Region, said youth employment remains a global issue and a major policy concern in all countries. “As Tunisia is no exception to this rule and as the youth employment rate in the Mena region remains low and still poses a problem, there is a need to prepare and put in place adequate programs for this daunting challenge…D By 2050, no less than 300 million young people will enter the labor market in the region.
In this context, the promotion of job creation requires the existence of an adequate framework for its development. To do this, we must prepare the ground for the private sector to be one of the main engines of economic growth and job creation in all sectors, at the head of which is energy”, he said. -He underlines.
On another level, the Vice-President of the World Bank insisted on the important role of women in the economy, which should evolve, while emphasizing the need to reduce gender inequalities, promote social inclusion and strengthen its presence in the energy sector by supporting the development of its know-how so that it believes more in its abilities, to prepare and seize job opportunities in public and private structures in the energy sector…
An additional 2% increase in GDP
For his part, Dalila Chebbi Bouattour, CEO of the Tunisian Petroleum Activities Company (Etap), indicated that this event represents a key opportunity to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors to achieve the expected objectives in terms of investment in the energy transition and the role of women in this area. “This conference is a valuable opportunity to bring together all the partners and discuss the role of renewable energies in boosting investment as an engine of economic growth… It was also an opportunity to strengthen and consolidate the participation of women throughout the sector’s value chain, as well as their empowerment, which would improve their access to reliable, sustainable and modern energy in the Mena region, with more favorable living conditions and access to healthy resources,” she said.
Chebbi did not fail to recall that our country recently adopted Tunisia’s energy strategy for 2035, developed with the contribution of all stakeholders in a participatory approach. It is in fact a strategy which aims to produce in 2030 no less than 35% of electricity from renewable energies, which will inspire Tunisia in a course of energy transition, with a view to gradually replacing fossil fuels and preserving the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector. “This would make it possible to achieve the objective set by Tunisia following the ratification of the Paris climate agreement and to reduce the country’s carbon intensity by 45%… This strategy therefore carries a global, coherent vision and long term covering both energy, climate, economic and social aspects. It will also allow inclusive and fair economic development with an additional 2% increase in GDP and the creation by 2035 of more than 70,000 direct and indirect jobs, knowing that a new approach aimed at the systematic integration of Gender equality in energy sector programs and projects will be adopted,” she added.
“We are 42% women”
On another level, she assured that Etap has always evolved in partnership with private companies, both international and local, to realize current and future energy projects. In addition, the company is also involved in the national effort to produce electricity through renewable energies and on numerous solar projects.
Chebbi also insisted on the fact that Etap gives an important place to women in the image of our country. “We are a relatively balanced company in terms of the distribution of people. Of a total of 833 employees, 42% are women. The latter hold 43% of decision-making positions (general management staff), whereas if we count the other responsibilities, we even rise to 60% for women. Therefore, within Etap, women are present in all technical, financial and administrative departments and have participated, for several years, in studies and work on construction sites, at the level of all operating concessions,” she asserted. She also added that the State and its partner companies in the energy sector are working for better inclusion of women, as part of a corporate social responsibility program.
Acquire the skills
required…
As for Paul Noumba Um, regional director of the World Bank for infrastructure in the Mena region, he emphasized the need to improve the economic integration of women. For him, this improvement can create pressure favoring an adjustment of employment.
“I did a little ‘chat’ test with GPT and asked him this question of women’s economic integration. The application told me that to improve the participation of women in the energy sector, and in the economy in general, they must be given the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills that remain relevant on the job market. You can’t get a job position if you don’t have the skills. So, all women in the world must acquire these skills. This is the first step. This is still true in the energy sector, which was for a long time a sector dominated by men. Today, this is no longer the case. This is a sector that is much more accessible to women. And besides, in most countries, especially in Tunisia, women have university qualifications, more than men. So we have to encourage them to go there,” he explained. Returning to the objectives behind the organization of this event, Paul Noumba Um indicated that this sector remains dominated by men. In the Mena region, today, the participation rate of women in this sector varies between 10 to 15% while it should reach an average of 40% given the existing qualifications.
“To do this, we will have to encourage our daughters, our sisters, our young women… to go to engineering schools, to obtain diplomas in the scientific sectors, to study science… They are competent and are capable of do it.
And once they have these qualifications, it is also necessary to facilitate their access to these sectors, by also adjusting the way in which they can access the workplace and above all the way in which they can also benefit from a certain number of flexibilities,” he added.
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