Role of Women in Hydrogen and Renewable Energy in the Middle East

The Rainbow of Hydrogen has been touted as the single most important alternative to solar power in the future. At a time when the Hydrogen industry could easily do with more hands-on-deck, it is disappointing to note the scale of gender inequality, especially in the Renewable Energy sector.

According to global statistics, women constitute just 20% of panel speakers at green hydrogen conferences and constitute a little above a quarter of the total numbers invested in the Renewable Energy sector.

The spotlight shifted on this minority recently when Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman stated, “We are recruiting, by the way, young Saudi ladies that are happy to see the pink coming along. We have started being very conscious of taking care of our female new recruits and new cadets. We’re becoming an extremely well-emancipated society.” The Minister was referring to the latest addition to the rainbow spectrum of colors, pink hydrogen which is a form of hydrogen that uses nuclear power to electrolyse water, thereby splitting hydrogen from oxygen for use as a fuel.

This comment however did spark a debate on the tenability of this claim given that according to recent statistics, Women constitute a simple 6.8 percent of all managerial positions in Saudi society with no female ministers in the ruling government. In terms of income, the average income is just less than a quarter of a man’s. The minister did not explain why women, especially young women, are making pink hydrogen, rather than men of any age.

PWC’s media portal states, “In recent years, women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have made unprecedented gains as a vital part of the region’s workforce. A pioneering generation of younger women is more likely than ever to go to work and remain in employment to fulfill their career ambitions. Typically, they are highly educated and motivated, and are increasingly visible across the public and private sectors, from roles in policy making and diplomacy to entrepreneurship and corporate leadership.”

Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has been striving hard to encourage more women to seek employment which spurred various policy changes, and it was recognised as a triumph for the Prince and the country as a whole when the figures revealed that 22.1% of Saudi females from the age of 15 were active in the workforce. Lately, it has been reported that the empowerment of Saudi Arabian women makes up for a significant part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 reform program, with far-reaching social and economic goals including increasing women’s economic participation rate to 25% and motivating more women to join the workforce to support the vision.

According to IRENA, “Perceptions of gender roles are seen as the most important barrier to entry into the sector. These are driven by cultural and social norms that influence many of the fundamental decisions people make.”

While women have been emancipated in different ways in Saudi Arabia, especially in recent years with decisions like permission to drive cars, in 2021 the World Economic Forum’s gender equality index ranked Saudi Arabia 147 out of 156 countries. Should the kingdom take proactive steps in regaining gender balance, we should be able to see a genuine shift in not just an index number but also the global perspective of Saudi’s patriarchy.

Another important observation by IRENA reads, “Women frequently face the double burden of balancing work and family, especially during the childbearing years. Mobility requirements and difficult work schedules are demanding for women shouldering family and household duties. Wage inequities are also an issue.”

Now should we look at the broader gender struggle even globally one will find that gender distribution of panels, congresses, and management boards, are uneven? Reports reveal that women constitute only 1 in 5 speakers at green hydrogen conferences. This is lesser than in the energy sector and other sectors closely related to hydrogen, such as oil & gas which has an average of just 22% women speakers; transportation at 22 %; the chemical industry at 35 %; and the renewable energy sector at 32 %. 

The idea of empowering women seems to have received a setback not just in the Middle East but also in the far West which makes it imperative for us to bring the focus back on this critical issue. How can this disbalance be mitigated? This is the key question. The Hindu ran a feature most recently on ‘the Petromin Express garage in Jeddah which has recently hired women as part of a nationwide push to bring more women into the workforce. One of the mechanics, Ola Flimban, says customers are surprised to see them working in this male-dominated field.’

Take Topical collection a group of researchers that proposes a group of professionals and students with the goal of supporting gender balance and diversity in the hydrogen energy and technology sector. “The purpose of the group is to build our professional networks and mentor youngers, and promote relevant studies and achievements in the hydrogen energy sector.”

Women in Hydrogen is an organization dedicated exclusively to the role of women in the field. They are doing a phenomenal job.   According to Sundus Ramli in the UAE, “Diversity makes science and engineering better. Without women and other underrepresented groups, the world may miss out on valuable innovations and ideas that alternate perspectives bring to the table.”

Take Rachel Fakhry, an energy expert who says Hydrogen is very promising. Experts like Fakhry believe that while wind and solar energy can create electricity used to power homes and electric cars, green hydrogen could be an alternative power source for energy-intensive industries as well as parts of the transportation sector that are more difficult to electrify. “The last 15% of the economy is hard to clean up – aviation, shipping, manufacturing, long-distance trucking,” says Fakhry says.

Hydrogen fuel cells will power the future of zero-emission mobility in heavy-duty, hard-to-electrify sectors, says Roxana Bekemohammadi with a degree of authority on the subject. Rachel, Roxana and Sundus are just a few examples of the stellar work and the incisive approach of educated and employed women. There are many more such professionals waiting for the right opportunity.

One must not forget that women are the major domestic energy consumers, hence they are also part of the consumer class. According to studies, women’s health and resilience are further challenged by the widespread use of harmful fuels in industry and households. Being able to take on a proactive role on both sides of the spectrum gives the Middle East a glo-cal advantage. At SNC Lavalin, Razan Alfnissan says, “There used to be a separation in the workplace between men and women. This has changed over the last 10 years, especially for big companies and organizations. Not only this, but also in terms of deployment, companies are now basing hiring on qualification and skills, not gender.”

Can the Middle East do better? The answer is in the affirmative. Take the UAE for example. The Royalty and the government have been making persistent efforts to leverage the role of women. DEWA is one of the largest government organisations to employ women in technical positions within the energy sector across Dubai. DEWA has 1,933 women in its workforce, 80% being Emirati. This includes 646 female engineers and technicians at DEWA, 87% of whom are Emiratis. There is significant scope for the numbers to increase.

According to the latest numbers on Gender Equality, UAE United Arab Emirates has a 71.60% average equality where Economic opportunities stood at 51%, Education at 98.70%, health, at 96.30% Political power at 40.30%, a clear indicator that the country is looking at promoting its women and empowering them in the right direction.

Women in hydrogen, indeed, women anywhere cannot be reduced to a mere statistic. There has to be a clear picture, a reason behind hiring them. Women can play a phenomenal role in the development of the renewable energy sector. What Saudi’s Energy Minister accorded for women in pink hydrogen needs to be replicated in every contributing sector of the Middle East economy.

“A complete reset is required to encourage all stakeholders - from individual citizens to local communities and international corporations - to take more proactive ownership of their role in mitigating climate change," says  Dr. Lamya Nawaf Fawwaz, Executive Director of Brand and Strategic Initiatives, Masdar in an interview. She further added, “Empowering women can significantly accelerate sustainability.”

Should the Middle East want to establish a firm footing in the energy sector and other industries, it must uplift the role of its women. The adoption of an intersectional approach to women’s empowerment, one that recognises the importance of solutions tailored to the local context, will gain universal support on an international stage.