Further comment on draft South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (July 2023): Gender equality, gender justice and women’s participation

The Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of the Life after Coal Campaign, submitted further comments on the draft South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) in August 2023. The submission argues that gender equality and justice must be a deliberate, central outcome of the energy transition rather than an afterthought, as systemic patriarchy and existing discrimination currently limit women's participation in the renewable energy sector.

• Women are significantly underrepresented in South Africa's energy sectors despite often having higher education levels than their male counterparts. In 2022, women made up 31% of Eskom employees and 21% of the coal sector workforce, while accounting for only 14% of employees in the renewable energy sector. Within the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) over bid windows 1-4, women held 10% of job-year opportunities.
• Women-owned businesses in the South African renewable energy sector have seen very low levels of expenditure, far below government targets. Over the first four bid windows, the share of expenditure channelled to women-owned businesses was 5% overall, with an average of 5% for construction and 6% for operations, compared to a target of 40% set by the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
• The draft SAREM currently addresses women's participation primarily through general transformation goals and skills gaps, rather than a dedicated gender strategy. It mentions alignment with the B-BBEE scorecard, the Women’s Economic Assembly Initiative (WECONA), and the DMRE’s Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Strategy for the Energy Sector (2021-2025).
• The DMRE Gender Strategy identifies several risks that could hinder the implementation of gender equality goals in the energy sector. These include a lack of leadership commitment, the perception that gender is not critical to the sector, insufficient financial and human resources, and resistance from the private sector.
• To achieve a gender-just transition, the document recommends that the SAREM establish ambitious targets and incentives. These include promoting STEM education for girls, ensuring equal representation of women in skills development programmes, striving for 50% women in senior and executive management, and implementing gender-inclusive workplace policies such as childcare support and measures against sexual harassment.
• The submission suggests using specific economic levers to increase women's participation, such as linking state subsidies or tax relief for renewable energy companies to the employment of women, and utilizing the proposed Transformation Fund to support women-owned SMMEs and larger enterprises.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2023). Further comment on draft South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (July 2023): Gender equality, gender justice and women’s participation. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LAC-Further-Comment-on-gender-aspects-of-SAREM-18-Aug-2023.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Further comment on draft South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (July 2023): Gender equality, gender justice and women’s participation. 2023. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LAC-Further-Comment-on-gender-aspects-of-SAREM-18-Aug-2023.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Further comment on draft South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (July 2023): Gender equality, gender justice and women’s participation |date=18 August 2023 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LAC-Further-Comment-on-gender-aspects-of-SAREM-18-Aug-2023.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2023further, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Further comment on draft South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (July 2023): Gender equality, gender justice and women’s participation}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LAC-Further-Comment-on-gender-aspects-of-SAREM-18-Aug-2023.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }