International Women in Engineering Day: 4 challenges facing women engineers in the energy sector

Lima, June 2023.- Despite the fact that Peru has the highest rate of female engineers in Latin America (47.5%), according to the UNESCO report, there are still gender gaps in the field of engineering.

However, the presence and participation of women in engineering is essential to promote diversity, innovation and progress in the profession. Indeed, their contribution to the field is valuable and necessary to build a more inclusive and sustainable future.

This is confirmed by the report "Engineering, Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities for Development," published by UNESCO, which emphasizes that the participation of women in engineering is fundamental to solving the technical and social challenges facing humanity, in turn contributing to a more sustainable and equitable development.

That is why, every June 23 is commemorated the International Day of Women in Engineering, with the purpose of highlighting and recognizing the role of women in the field of engineering. Therefore, Catherine Acurio, Strategy and Productivity Manager of Celepsa, a company of the Unacem Group, details some of the challenges that women engineers still face:

1. Gender gap: There is still a marked gender inequality in the sector, making visible a reduced number of women occupying leadership positions compared to men. This gap can hinder access to job opportunities, equitable professional development and projection in engineering careers. That is why, from the companies, we must bet on generating positions where women have the opportunity to demonstrate their full potential; not only to comply with the SDGs but genuinely recognizing their capabilities.
2. Biases and stereotypes: Traditional beliefs and prejudices about gender skills and roles are still a major challenge for the development of women engineers since there is still a false belief that women cannot assume roles in sectors that for a long time were occupied exclusively by men. In this sense, it is important to have the conviction that there are women prepared to take on challenges in their position as engineers.
3. Organizational culture: Some companies in the energy sector may have a male-dominated organizational culture, which can hinder the integration and full participation of women. Also, some work environments may lack gender equality policies, mentoring programs or support networks that encourage female participation. On the latter, I emphasize the value of fostering a culture in which we encourage each other, congratulate good work, and give and receive feedback assertively.
4. Lack of role models in the energy sector: While the lack of women leaders in the sector may demotivate women engineers and give the impression of lack of opportunities, it is also a great opportunity (redundancy aside) to be pioneers in this field. Today, thanks to a focus on sustainability and socially important issues, there has been an increase in the number of women who are attracted to the fields of environmental, biomedical and chemical engineering.

"At Celepsa we have been working on gender inclusion and diversity. Today about 20% of the women in our team are engineers. In this sense, we are happy to see them occupying positions in the organization and performing successfully to achieve corporate objectives," says Celepsa's Strategy and Productivity Manager.

Finally, addressing these challenges requires a holistic approach that includes the promotion of gender equality, the implementation of inclusive policies in companies, among other features that boost the education and participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, from an early age to ensure greater representation in energy and other engineering fields.