1. What is this standard?
This is a recommended practice that provides a framework for implementing Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) considerations into industry practices within power and energy projects and operations, primarily for the Low Carbon Energy Industry. The scope includes incorporating GESI considerations in projects, both in the transition phase and the business-as-usual phase, as well as developing indicators and metrics to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of GESI considerations in industry practices and measure wellbeing outcomes.
2. Why is it important?
There is a global need to provide a coherent recommended practice to assist professionals—in particular engineers, scientists, technologists, and other technical professionals in the power and energy industry—to consider GESI aspects in their projects, programs, and research and development.
This standard will provide tractable measures in support of the well-being of communities, societies, and individuals, in terms of their health, work, family outcomes, productivity, education, governance, etc., and for vulnerable groups, for whom the accessibility and affordability of quality energy services are both critical and essential necessities. The goal is to promote an inclusive and equitable culture within society overall.
Specifically, the application of this standard will advance diversity in the Engineering technical profession and overcome barriers in the energy profession. It will benefit project outcomes, such as increased stakeholder engagement, and enhanced social license to operate. This standard also supports the fulfilment of the IEEE Diversity Statement, Code of Ethics, and Non-discrimination Policy.
3. What is a real-world example or case study of how this might help?
There are several examples in the power and energy sector illustrating why universal GESI standards are timely and how they might help in guiding the implementation of inclusive energy transitions. The following is an example of the Maldives which highlights the timeliness of the GESI standard and the role it can play in guiding policy makers and planners in the industry.
The Maldives Case: Preparing the Energy Sector Road Map
The government of the Maldives has recently published its Energy Sector Road Map 2024-2033, which outlines a plan to achieve a 33% renewable energy share in the electricity sector by 2028, ensuring energy that is sufficient, reliable, sustainable, secure, and affordable. The Road Map is a key document, outlining flagship interventions defined by the Energy Policy and Strategy 2024-2029 and the guidelines of the Electricity Act 2021.
Unlike previous Road Maps, this version commits to a GESI-focussed Just Energy Transition. It provides a framework with key GESI considerations incorporated in eight domains to guide implementation: policies, access to key utilities and quality energy services, economic development, employment and green jobs, social protection, community-centered local governance, technology innovation and financing.
The Road Map was prepared with input from a member of the IEEE GESI workstream. The fact that IEEE was committed to DEI and had a workstream aimed at developing these standards was an important consideration in the process that led to the incorporation of a GESI-focussed Just Energy Transition.
The Road Map’s framework is somewhat general. A standard with concrete and tractable measures, including indicators and metrics to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of GESI considerations, will go a long way in supporting the implementation of this Road Map. Furthermore, the assessment is that if there had been an established set of standards, it would have accelerated the adoption of a more developed and detailed framework for implementation purposes.
4. What stage is it at?
The project has been recently authorized by the IEEE SA Standards Board to develop a standard. The next steps are to mobilize the working group, which includes a call for participation and recruiting new members, attending to various administrative tasks related to the functioning of the group, and then starting to draft the standards. We have already recruited several new members through existing individual networks and will undertake activities such as articles in this newsletter to reach out to others.
5. What is the current geographical or disciplinary spread of your working members?
The geographical spread covers Australia, India and Sri Lanka (Region 10), Sweden and Kenya (Region 8). Given the interdisciplinary nature of the project, the disciplinary spread of the working members ranges from electrical engineering to social development, history of technology, and health economics.
6. What type of people might be interested or well-suited for this standards group?
Those with a keen interest in promoting DEI and GESI, with an understanding of the energy sector in relation to their own areas of expertise, experience and research, such as energy and social policy experts, energy economists, energy standards developers, international development specialists, and community representatives. Participants from industry, development agencies, universities and tertiary institutions, and civil society organizations, would be well-suited and welcome for this standards group.
7. What triggered your own interest in this area?
My experience as a student in engineering at university and working in industry motivated me. I understood that I had chosen a career in an area that was traditionally male dominated. However, knowing this and experiencing it is a different matter.
The students in my year were overwhelmingly male. There were only around six girls in a group of some 100 students. For the first few 2-3 years the lecturers were all male. In industry it wasn’t any better either. In one instance, I was told that ‘women can’t climb poles’ and had no place in the industry. I am certain that other women have had their ‘women can’t climb poles’ moments too. Some women engineers I knew tried to make it in industry but gave up and went into other professions.
Things have improved markedly in the last 2-3 decades, primarily due to women themselves advocating for change, and I am proud to have been a part of these women’s networks. However, we still have a long way to go. The energy transition is a transformative endeavour, because it is key to mitigating climate change impacts. What we do now will have major socio-technical-economic implications for decades to come. Addressing GESI is extremely important and necessary, especially in this conjuncture.
8. Call to Action
Please express your interest in this project, IEEE SA - P3564, by contacting us directly at [email protected] or the IEEE Standards Association Program Manager, Christy Bahn, at [email protected] if you would like to become a member.
