Abu Dhabi: Placing women at the forefront of the environmental sustainability dialogue is crucial to provide momentum as women continue to suffer the most from the devastating effects of climate change, said experts today at the Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) forum during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Being held for the first time, the WiSER forum aims to focus on how women can be empowered to push towards the sustainability goals of society, given their grassroots involvement in energy usage in households.
Dr Nawal Al Hosani, Director of Sustainability at Masdar and Director of the Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP), told Gulf News in an interview on the sidelines of the forum, “Women in rural areas are normally the bread earners and also the energy users to provide for their household. They also therefore suffer from the effects of using [energy devices] such as kerosene lanterns, [for example], which are very bad for health over time.”
Dr Al Hosani also highlighted the issue of how some situations of energy source deprivation can negatively impact women. Lack of electricity or its poor availability can impair their quality of life. “Giving birth in poorly-lit areas [as is the case in many rural households across the globe] increases the mortality risks for the woman and her child making them, especially in developing countries, the most affected by climate change and global warming,” she explained.
Dr Al Hosani also touched upon the significance of having women in key decision-making areas in national development that will boost the pace of sustainability. “The UAE has an existing federal law mandating government-owned companies to have women on their boards. This makes UAE a pioneer in women empowerment and I think this step will become more widespread because it’s been proven scientifically through analysis, studies and research that companies with more women on their boards perform better,” she added.
Dr Al Hosani attributes this advantage to the fact that women are known to possess [more] interpersonal skills such as agility, inclusion and the ability to multi-task intrinsically as compared to men. These are ‘key to leadership qualities’ and therefore help women add value to the institutions they belong to, according to Dr Al Hosani.
In terms of the desired empowerment of women globally — that would play a crucial role in promoting sustainability — Dr Al Hosani said there is still some way to go. “There are still many steps that we need to take [in that direction]. It is in the best interests of everybody to have a balanced approach when [it comes to] decision-making and developing products.”
Dr Al Hosani cautioned that women should be wary of any media projections that perpetuate the notion that attaining a certain position in decision-making is beyond their capabilities. A strong female role model, she said, can be a very powerful tool in combating this projection.
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Abu Dhabi General Electric, GE (NYSE:GE) and Masdar today announced the launch of a co-leadership training programme for women to drive innovation and talent development in the renewable energy sector.
The agreement to initiate the training programme was signed by Dr Nawal Al Hosani, Director of Sustainability at Masdar, and Deb Frodl, GE’s Global Executive Director of Ecomagination, at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi to coincide with the World Future Energy Summit 2016.
GE and Masdar will select the women for the training programme through an online competition that will be announced in the first quarter of 2016. Women from across the Mena region will have to demonstrate through their qualification and application their interest in advancing their knowledge in a relevant sustainability field. The experience will be focused on skills that will enable them to pursue career opportunities and/or pursue entrepreneurial options in the renewable energy sector.
Al Hosani said: “Women have a central role to play in driving sustainable development. Their ability to initiate positive steps in promoting a culture of sustainability and influencing societal change is significant. Through the training programme that we are co-developing with GE, we aim to strengthen the participation of women as professionals and entrepreneurs in the renewable energy sector. This is aligned with the vision of the UAE government to promote the role of women in sustainability and encourage their participation and inclusion in decision-making positions.”
Deb Frodl said: “Building a culture of localisation and developing human talent have been priority areas for GE in the region. Through our work in the renewable energy landscape globally, we understand the tremendous value-add that women can bring to the sector. The training programme has a dual goal of encouraging women’s participation in the renewable energy industry and in promoting their entrepreneurial skills. It will complement the UAE government’s goal of strengthening the role of women in the energy sustainability businesses as well as enhance workplace diversity.”
GE Ecomagination Innovation Centre in Masdar City, which already promotes localised research and training in sustainability initiatives, will serve as an anchor point for the training programme. Experts from GE and Masdar will provide extensive training on various aspects of the renewable energy industry based on a modern curriculum. It will cover the diverse forms of renewable energy, their development potential and leadership programmes.
A report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) predicts gross employment effects of up to 20 million jobs in renewable energy by 2030. The highest job creation is in the biofuel sector — up to 12 million — followed by solar with 6.3 million and wind with 2.1 million jobs.
