ASEAN Energy Gender Week 2026: Workshop on Driving Gender Equality and Inclusion in Energy Employment

Gender equality, diversity, and inclusivity (GEDI) are essential to fostering equitable and sustainable energy transitions. While progress has been made over the past decade to integrate these principles into the energy sector, significant work remains. Championing GEDI requires concerted efforts to create equal opportunities, foster inclusive cultures, dismantle systemic barriers, and assess the impacts of energy technologies, policies, and innovations through an intersectional lens. This lens enables a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of social identities and their influence on the experiences of both the energy workforce and the progress of decarbonisation. It underscores the importance of equitable access, opportunities, and inclusive practices throughout the energy sector.

Anchored in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026–2030 and its theme of “Advancing Regional Cooperation in Ensuring Energy Security and Accelerating Decarbonisation for a Just and Inclusive Energy Transition,” this workshop contributes directly to efforts to integrate Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) into energy policy and planning. Building on the success of the first day of the ASEAN Energy Gender Week, this workshop shifts the focus from high-level dialogue to concrete action on gender equality and inclusion in ASEAN’s energy workforce and employment. In collaboration with the Tara Climate Foundation, the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) are convening policymakers, industry leaders, regional stakeholders, and global experts to strengthen and accelerate gender equality and inclusion in Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition.

While women represent only about 8% of the energy workforce in ASEAN, the energy transition presents a historic opportunity to build a more inclusive, skilled, and diverse workforce. Structural barriers, including male-dominated STEM pipelines, gendered hiring and promotion practices, workplace cultures, and limited access to technical training, have historically limited women’s participation in energy roles. This workshop addresses these barriers by combining evidence-based problem diagnosis with actionable solutions drawn from global platforms such as CEM’s Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative and the Equal by 30 Campaign.

This workshop aims to:

• Raise awareness of Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in energy employment across ASEAN.
• Identify structural barriers to women’s participation in the energy sector across ASEAN, including in education pathways, workforce entry, retention, and leadership.
• Highlight evidence-based solutions and good practices for integrating GEDSI, drawing on regional, national, and global initiatives.
• Reflect on linkages between APAEC implementation need and CEM’s existing tools (Equal by 30 and the Implementing Inclusivity Framework).
• Strengthen regional leadership by building an ASEAN cohort of ambassadors and Equal by 30 champions to support peer learning and sustained commitments.
• Promote collaboration among policymakers, industry leaders, and regional stakeholders to advance GEDSI integration in energy employment.
• Catalyze concrete actions and develop measurable indicators to track GEDSI impact through the proposed Toolkit.

Please note that this workshop is by invitation only. For more information, contact secretariat@cemsecretariat.org.

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