DOE Aims for More Women in the Energy Sector

More women should be involved in the energy sector for gender balance and thus make it more responsive to the requirements of nation-building.

This was emphasized by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as the Department of Energy (DOE) ramped up its program to introduce students to possible careers in the energy sector. 

“We encourage women to venture in the energy sector as they can also be great engineers and designers of infrastructure projects and energy devices, thus making the energy sector more gender-responsive.”

The Energy Chief said the goal of the DOE is to motivate students especially women to take up engineering or science programs in college.

“This will support our advocacy towards spreading the gender equality policy and non-discrimination of women in the energy industry involving the long energy value chain from exploration and development, midstream sectors related to generation, transmission and distribution up to utilization,” Cusi said.

"As encapsulated in our E-Power Mo campaign, we value the roles of our youth, regardless of their gender, in nation-building, particularly in the energy sector development.”

“Educating our students about energy would allow them to better appreciate energy issues, whether in their daily lives or in their future profession,” Cusi pointed out.

The DOE-Gender and Development (GAD) through the Consumer Welfare and Promotion Office (CWPO) recently commenced the second year of the series of the ENEReady program starting with 134 high school students in Pasig City.

According to DOE-CWPO, the ENEReady: Career Talks on Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Energy Workforce Program is primarily anchored on the DOE-GAD goal of promoting a more gender-balanced employment in the energy sector as there has been no remarkable increase in the number of women taking up engineering courses and graduating in sciences program in the last five years.

A total of 134 Grades 10 and 11 students, including 36 students representing the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) all involved in sciences, attended the ENEReady career talk held last September 5 at the Pasig City Science High School (PCSHS), Maybunga, Pasig City.

The resource persons from the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, Renewable Energy Management Bureau, and Energy Resource Development Bureau related their personal experiences in their presentations. Through interactive discussions, the speakers also explained the types of jobs and leadership roles that engineers and applied science graduates can undertake in the energy industry for career path or growth.

Also present during the Career Talk were PCSHS Assistant Principal Lowell H. de Ramon and Guidance teachers, and guests from the GSP National Headquarters, Jade Villanueva and Ma. Rosalina Flores.