I still remember getting rejected from a solar engineering role as a fresh-faced university graduate. ‘We like you, you had really good answers to the interview questions, but we want to hire a man for this role,’ they told me. Bewilderment and shock were among the emotions that raced through my mind as I heard the news.

I remember wondering, silently of course, ‘Why did you move forward with the interview if you had a problem with my gender?’

This was an issue that I, naively perhaps, had never thought I would face, especially since around 50% of the students who were enrolled alongside me in the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering bachelors’ programme were women. Yet somehow that ratio does not extend to the workforce currently involved in the energy industry in the Middle East.

Instead, it remains predominantly male.

Heat waves of change
Following the 50°C days we had in the Middle East this summer which, combined with the high humidity, made it feel more like 60°C, many people are pointing fingers at the energy sector as the cause. Heat waves and other extreme weather events made worse or more likely by climate change highlight the importance of the energy transition. As a result, we can say that the race to net zero by 2050 has truly begun.

According to a survey undertaken by the Women’s Forum in 2021, women and girls experience the greatest impacts of climate change since they depend more on natural resources to secure food, water and fuel. This is a significant threat to their livelihoods, health and safety.

Therefore, the way that I and many others see it, if women will be the most impacted by this global crisis, then they must also be leading the change and become more involved in decision making for the energy sector.

In the Middle East region, I can see change happening as more and more women take on leadership roles in entities dedicated entirely to climate change mitigation. However, the energy industry is still lagging behind, with only a few women sitting on company and governmental management teams or boards. For example, I attended a panel discussion on the involvement of women in the energy industry at a global exhibition only a couple of years ago where all four panelists and the moderator were men.

While it is true that currently the number of female energy experts is outnumbered by their male counterparts, there are nonetheless plenty of women available to sit on panel discussions – especially when the topic is diversity and inclusion.

Progress being made
On the positive side, companies have recently started paying more attention to their ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance and benchmarking themselves against others, which has led to them actively paying more attention to the diversity of their hires.

We are taking more measures at my current employer, CAFU, a mobile energy provider and tech company in Dubai, to work with Talent Acquisition and hire more women in technical and leadership positions. This is not just a tick box exercise. Based on research, we know that companies with a diverse workforce, and most importantly a diverse leadership, make better decisions.

The COVID-19 pandemic, despite all the loss and havoc it caused worldwide, has also opened the corporate world’s eyes to the hybrid and flexible working model, one that is especially attractive to those who have other personal responsibilities to balance outside the workplace. This development will hopefully aid women in taking on more technical roles, including in the energy industry. UNESCO figures revealing that 57% of STEM graduates in Arab countries are women suggest that there won’t be a shortage of candidates.

While it is true that currently the number of female energy experts is outnumbered by their male counterparts, there are nonetheless plenty of women available to sit on panel discussions – especially when the topic is diversity and inclusion.

A bright future
Overall, I am very excited for the future of the energy industry. Every day I see the status quo changing in the workplace, whether that’s in hiring more diversly or adapting to more flexible working.

I am personally excited to continue to play a role, in whatever shape or form, in diversifying the energy industry, so that we can hopefully live in a future where no woman gets rejected from a job simply because of her gender.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author only and are not necessarily given or endorsed by or on behalf of the Energy Institute.