JustGESI Xchange
JustGESI Xchange video conference
On Tuesday 25th February 2025 an online meeting took place to allow our JustGESI in-country project partners to introduce themselves and their organisations to the JustGESI co-investigators. In-country project participants included representatives from The Ethiopian Women in Energy Network, The Mulanje Electricity Generation Agency, SNV Mozambique, Ethiopian Clean Energy Alliance, Chipopoma Hydro Power and the Ministry of Water and Energy of Ethiopia.
JustGESI aims to ensure that future energy transitions are equitable by advancing equality and inclusion in projects on the ground and in policy, and by addressing the skills gaps that have historically kept women and marginalised groups out of the clean energy economy. It focuses on the strategies of institutional change and capacity building as key levers to bring about a radical change to advance gender justice in the transition to clean energy. The group discussed what challenges they might face in terms of engagement. These included:
Bureaucratic challenges with institutions due to the formal processes of engagement that needed to be followed with certain groups.
Resistance to change, especially in rural communities where traditional cooking methods are deeply embedded. Plus, women, who are the primary users of cooking energy, often have limited decision-making power in energy access policies.
Financial, policy enforcement, empowering professionals and entrepreneurs, encouraging systems for women in the energy sector, capacity gap, nature of energy projects being remote, socio-economic and political situation.
Cultural challenge with women not being seen as being able to work in hard science as women focus on reproductive roles indoors, with women themselves not thinking they can do it.
Geopolitical challenges i.e. local political unrest affecting the project.
The second part of the workshop focussed on WP3, led by nd the University of Cape Town, who are tasked with undertaking a review of engineering and energy education and curricula across the four JustGESI countries with the aim to identify GESI gaps that may exist in current education programmes. The team brainstormed recommendations for universities and technical colleges in each country and stakeholders and actors that JustGESI should engage with.
Our next Xchange will take place online on 17th June 2025.