Gender gap persists across global renewable energy workforce, IRENA report finds

Women account for nearly one-third of the global renewable energy workforce but remain significantly under-represented in technical and leadership roles, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Energy: A Gender Perspective finds that women hold 32% of full-time jobs across the sector. While this figure is higher than in oil and gas and nuclear energy, it remains well below the global workforce average of 43.4%, highlighting persistent participation gaps as renewable energy deployment continues to expand worldwide.

IRENA estimates that the renewable energy workforce consisted of 16.2 million jobs in 2023 and could grow to around 30 million by 2030 under a pathway aligned with the Paris Agreement. The agency notes that workforce expansion will require large-scale recruitment across multiple technologies including solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal and hydropower.

The report finds that women’s participation varies significantly by job type. Women hold:

• 45% of administrative roles
• 36% of non-science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) technical roles
• 28% of STEM technical positions
• 22% of medium-skilled technical jobs such as installation and construction.

Representation decreases further at management levels. Women occupy 26% of middle management roles and 19% of senior management and board positions across the renewable energy sector, a significant gender gap.

IRENA states that this pattern reflects uneven access to decision-making and technical positions across the industry.

Regional differences in female participation were reported as relatively small. Africa and Asia-Pacific recorded average female participation of 33%, while Europe and North America reported 27%. IRENA notes that these variations are not statistically significant and reflect a global pattern rather than regional outliers.

Organisation size also affects workforce composition. Smaller organisations generally reported higher female participation, while larger companies, particularly in manufacturing-focused activities, reported lower shares of women employees.

Barriers identified by survey respondents

The report is based on a global survey covering organisations and individuals from 119 countries. Respondents identified workplace barriers as the most significant obstacle to women’s participation. These include recruitment bias, limited advancement opportunities, inflexible working arrangements and a lack of family-support policies.

Nearly 45% of female respondents reported experiencing gender-based discrimination in the workplace. Only a minority of these cases were formally reported, with respondents citing concerns about ineffective reporting systems and possible retaliation.

Societal constraints, such as caregiving expectations and legal restrictions in some countries, were also identified as factors affecting workforce participation. Academic barriers including limited access to STEM education and training pathways were highlighted as contributing to lower representation in technical roles.

The gender gap: policy and industry measures

IRENA identifies government policy, employer practices and data collection as key mechanisms to improve workforce diversity. Recommended measures include equal pay regulations, gender-disaggregated workforce data, workplace flexibility policies and training programmes targeting under-represented groups.

Survey participants rated employer gender equity efforts at an average of 69 out of 100, indicating progress alongside ongoing gaps in implementation.

The agency states that workforce diversity is relevant to meeting projected labour demand across renewable technologies as the global energy transition accelerates.

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