ENERGY? NO WITHOUT WOMEN

Manifesto for organizations

Achieving effective gender equality is a responsibility shared by all the society. For this reason, the associations, organizations, and companies listed below commit publicly not to participate in any event (talk, round table, workgroup, etc.) related to the energy sector and having more than two speakers, if it does not include the participation as an expert of, at least, one woman. This implies indeed the presence of women or, failing this condition, that they had been formally invited but declined the invitation. In the latter case, at the beginning of the event, explicit mention of this matter should be made.

Likewise, we commit to respect the balanced composition criterion in the talks, round tables, workgroups, etc. that we organize. The “balanced composition” criterion is defined in the Spanish law (LEY ORGÁNICA 3/2007, de 22 de marzo para la igualdad efectiva de hombres y mujeres. In particular, we highlight its definition of equilibrated composition as “the presence of women and men so that, for a given group, people of any sex do not exceed 60% and do not represent less than 40%”. In the case that balanced composition cannot be achieved due to lack of availability of participants, explicit mention of this matter should be made at the beginning of the event.

Why the manifesto “Energy? No without women”?

Women are seldom invited, as experts, to public events related to the energy sector, such as talks, debates or round tables. However, in our country there are women who have a vast experience in the various aspects of this sector: researchers, engineers, professors, technical staff, campaigns managers, communicators, economists, women holding manager positions in energy companies and institutions, etc. The unjustified lack of women, on the one hand, proves that women discrimination still takes place in our society; on the other hand, represents a constraint to the debate that is necessary in the sector, by leaving out half of the population.

Following the example of the manifesto No sin mujeres, promoted by Spanish scholars, which fosters the public presence of women in social sciences, we promote a similar manifesto in the energy sector.

We think that it is time to work together for a greater presence of female experts in the public sphere, so that the energetic transition to a more sustainable model, for which many of us are working, becomes also a transition to a fairer model.