The Allan Government is set to continue closing gender gaps across the workforce, with grants to help the male-dominated energy and manufacturing sector better attract women.
All four Eskom coal-fired power stations that are currently maintaining electricity availability factors (EAF) of more than 75% are headed by women. This was highlighted by Eskom group executive: human resources Elsie Pule on Thursday. She was participating in a panel discussion at the Women in Energy breakfast at the Enlit Africa 2024 conference, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Every time a woman took over a power station, she affirmed, the EAF shot up. Eskom, a decade ago, created a Women Advancement Programme. Over ten years, this has resulted in the proportion of women senior executives in the State-owned national electricity utility increasing from 29% to 42%. The same progamme has reduced the gender salary differential to 6%.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) had been running a five-year Energy Sector Women Empowerment Strategy since 2021, pointed out DMRE deputy director-general Hilda Mhlongo on Thursday. She was delivering the keynote address at the Women in Energy breakfast at the Enlit Africa 2024 conference, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. “The energy sector is crucial for economic development and sustainability,” she highlighted. But women remained underrepresented in the sector. That was why there was a need for empowerment strategies, to address this imbalance.