The Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE), through the Latin American and Caribbean Women in Energy Network (RedLACME), held the webinar “Just Energy Transition and Women’s Leadership in the Region: Vision and Leadership of Women in the Sector,” a regional forum that brought together prominent professionals from the energy field to reflect on the progress, challenges and opportunities of building more inclusive, sustainable and equitable energy systems.
This high-level dialogue addressed the sector’s current transformations, the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into the energy transition, and the strategic role of women’s leadership in the region’s sustainable development.
The panel featured representatives from the associations that make up RedLACME: Paola Pimentel, of Women in Energy of the Dominican Republic (MER RD); Marcela Zulantay, of the Women in Energy Association of Chile (AME); Verónica Geese, of the Association of Women in Sustainable Energy of Argentina (AMES); and Cecilia San Román, of the Uruguayan Association of Women in Energy (AUME).
During the event, participants noted that an energy transition that does not fully integrate women’s capabilities and skills loses out on innovation, decision-making quality and talent that is key to the sector’s development. They also pointed out that gender gaps in energy stem from structural, multifactorial and territorial factors, including inequalities between rural and urban areas, segmentation between the public and private sectors, the male-dominated nature of STEM careers, wage gaps and cultural barriers.
The panelists agreed that the lack of visible role models limits women’s entry, retention and access to leadership positions in the energy sector. In this context, they stressed that the energy transition represents a historic opportunity to promote greater participation by women, especially in areas such as renewable energy, digitalization, distributed generation and local energy projects.
The webinar concluded with a call to shift the paradigm: women should not be seen merely as a group to be included, but as key actors and central architects of a just, social and sustainable energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean.
During the dialogue, the panelists shared reflections on the importance of women’s leadership in transforming the energy sector. Verónica Geese noted that “when an activity does not integrate women’s capabilities, it loses innovation, decision-making quality and talent that is key to the energy transition.” For her part, Cecilia San Román emphasized that “the energy transition will not be just as long as technical and leadership roles remain male-dominated and wage gaps persist.” Along the same lines, Marcela Zulantay stated that “making women’s leadership visible is not symbolic: it means creating real mirrors so that more women can see themselves and envision their future in the energy sector.” Finally, Paola Pimentel emphasized that “energy is not just a technical issue: it is education, health, autonomy and social justice; that is why a gender perspective must be present from the design stage.”
This regional forum reaffirms OLACDE’s and RedLACME’s commitment to promoting gender equality and strengthening women’s leadership as a fundamental element for advancing toward fairer, more inclusive and sustainable energy systems in the region.
Watch the webinar at the following link: https://youtu.be/bSnbOgfY5aU
