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USAID Partners with Key Partners in the Energy Sector to Promote Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the governments of all five countries of Central Asia reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, and also acceded to international human rights conventions. However, women still face cultural and social barriers in technical and managerial fields that are traditionally considered a “male” area of ​​expertise.

Only 25% of all workers in the energy sector in Kazakhstan are women (1). In today’s and rapidly changing world, women have successfully demonstrated their ability to work in all sectors of the economy and play an increasingly important role in promoting peace and security.

In the last decade, the boundaries between traditionally “female” and “male” professions have leveled off, and gender stereotypes are gradually disappearing from the energy industry.

At the moment, in the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, women represent 43.8% of the total number of employees. This is a vivid example of the fact that girls are increasingly entering professions that used to be “male” – related to traditional energy, subsoil use, petrochemicals, oil development and production, as well as the development of renewable and nuclear energy and industry.

Leyla Omarkhanova, 29, graduated from the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in Moscow and today works as a chief expert in the Department of Renewable Energy Sources, Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Layla is one of almost 400 women who have been trained in various technical workshops and trainings conducted by the USAID Future Energy Project over the past four years. To create more employment opportunities for young women, in 2019 the project initiated a vocational internship program for 14 female energy students. Many of these students were sent to the Departments of Renewable Energy, Electricity and Atomic Energy of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The sight of these girls getting their first professional experience reminded Layla of her early career.

“I was delighted to learn about the launch of such an internship program organized by USAID. The girls worked hard and gained direct experience and knowledge in terms of the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of renewable and nuclear energy and industry,” says Leila.

Since 2019, USAID and Future Energy have organized visits to wind and solar farms to provide a platform for female students and professionals to network, share experiences, and develop professional relationships.

“Thanks to the USAID project, I had the opportunity to visit several power plants in Kazakhstan: 2 wind power plants in the Akmola region, this is the First Wind Farm and Astana Expo 2017, and in the Zhambyl region, the solar power plant Burnoe Solar.”

On September 7, 2021, the Future Energy project organized a virtual event on women’s leadership in the energy sector. The seminar was aimed at enabling female students of technical and non-technical disciplines to learn about career opportunities in the field of renewable energy.

“I am very interested in the energy sector, I wish to build my career in it and promote the interests of the Republic of Kazakhstan. I was very happy to learn about such seminars and projects that support aspiring young women in this sector,” said Malika Yermagambetova, an undergraduate student in international law at the Kazakh Humanitarian Law University named after M.S. Narikbaev.

Last year, Kazakhstan prioritized women’s empowerment, education and training: On July 1, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the launch of nationwide resource centers to support women entrepreneurs.

In recent years, the country has also launched mentoring and training programs for women, and in August of this year, Nur-Sultan became the 17th city in the world and the first in Central Asia to join the C40 Women4Climate mentoring program. The program will connect aspiring young women with local and international policy makers and industry leaders to create green solutions for the city and country. Detailed on the USAID Internship Program, these initiatives aim to build the foundations for an inclusive and progressive future with equal opportunities for men and women. Kazakhstan is taking consistent steps to liberalize its economy, and USAID will continue to work with the government and its partners to empower young women and professionals

Working together, the Government and USAID will continue to shape agents of change who will promote acceptance and understanding of the social, political, and economic benefits that women bring to Kazakhstan’s energy sector.

“USAID has done a lot of work in the field of renewable energy development in Kazakhstan, including its educational programs in universities. However, more can be done. In the field of renewable energy, we see a low level of awareness, especially in rural areas. We can work to make these opportunities more accessible and visible to the girls and youth of our country,” said Kairat Bakenov, director of the Chokin Kazakh Energy Research Institute.

(1) Research on the role and employment of women in the energy sector conducted in 2016-2019 Among 55,000 employees and 32 companies with a total of 46,245 employees (KAZENERGY-EBRD, 2020

Link: https://www.usaid.gov/ru/kazakhstan/success-stories/dec-2021-empowering-young-kazakhstani-women-join-renewable-energy-sector

 

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