In the run up to the U.S-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership Ministerial and furthering the long-standing partnership on power sector reforms in India, USAID organized a two-day ‘National Conference on Large-Scale Integration of Renewable Energy in India – Transforming India’s Power Landscape’ on August 24-25, 2021. As part of the conference, the South Asia Women in Energy (SAWIE), hosted a high-level dialogue on the ‘Role of Women’s Leadership in Advancing the Global Clean Energy Transition’. SAWIE is a joint initiative of USAID and USISPF, and this program is being hosted in collaboration with USAID’s regional coordination and communications platform the South Asia Regional Energy Hub (SAREH).
The energy sector remains one of the most gender imbalanced and gender equality holds a greater challenge in the energy sector, globally. Women comprise less than 6 percent of technical staff and less than 1 percent of top managers. As women take on more leadership roles in advancing social and political change, the analysis of women’s contributions to the transformation occurring within the energy sector is critically important.
The 60-minute panel discussion spotlighted women’s leadership on how women-led, institutions, and organizations can advance the renewable energy transition for a clean energy future. Furthermore, the panel deliberated on how to create an enabling global environment that accelerates women’s leadership in renewable energy transition and in the clean energy sector. The program also marked the public release of a ‘SAWIE Summary Report – The journey so far….’ The report highlights the activities and achievements of SAWIE during June 2019-July 2021 since its inception and announces SAWIE collaborations with like-minded organizations.