The energy transition leaves women behind. Less than 20% of the jobs generated throughout the European Union by the renewable market in 2020 were for them. No country individually managed to exceed the female green employment quota of 30%. This is what the study reveals The employment of women in the just energy transition in Spain, which represents the first complete diagnosis on the weight of women in the energy sector, prepared by the Naturgy Foundation together with the Institute for the Just Transition (ITJ).
In the case of spainthe weight of women in the labor market associated with renewable energies was in the 18.2% in March 2022, according to the data of affiliation to the Social Security. The data is significant, especially if one takes into account that, in recent years, this sector has generated more than two million net jobs throughout the European Union. More of 152.000, in Spain.
The report details that a large part of the total employment in the sector has resulted in high and medium-high qualification positions (up to 64% of the total). The incorporation of employees with higher education has been even greater. However, and although of the new jobs created in the 2015-2022 period, almost four out of ten have been concentrated in women, their incorporation into the most highly qualified technical positions has been much lower (16.2% and 18.1% respectively in technicians, scientists and professionals, and technicians and support professionals).
Along the same lines, the document emphasizes that the 50% of the women who have joined these activities in the period analyzed have done so in positions of administrative character (accounting, administrative and other office jobs). Despite the fact that there have been advances in recent years, in 32 of the 37 branches of study associated with the renewable sector, the presence of women still does not reach optimal values, which is known as the value of critical mass, while in 16 of the 37 branches (43%) underrepresentation is severesince the female quota does not reach 15%.
The document highlights that the participation gap is the main gender gap in the energy transition. It ensures that this gap, in addition to being generalized, is not related to the global levels of participation of women in employment as a whole, which would indicate the presence of specific obstacles that hinder the participation of women in these activities.