USAID-funded project looks to increase women’s participation in energy sector

AMMAN — A four-year USAID-funded project on energy will dedicate part of its activities to boost female involvement in the sector, officials in charge of the initiative said Monday.

The programme is part of a USAID project agreement signed with the government last year to implement a $19 million Energy Sector Capacity Building (ESCB) activity to create future energy security for Jordan. 

ESCB promotes energy efficiency, building institutional capacity and strengthening energy companies, according to a USAID statement. 

ESCB Chief of Party Mary Worzala said part of the programme is to boost women’s presence in the local energy sector.

“We will hold several activities that will target the younger generation, including women, to introduce them to the importance of having women in this vital sector,” Worzala told reporters.

It is very important to have strong women role models in the energy sector to tell their stories to younger women “and for these youngsters to know that they can also succeed”, Worzala added.

Senior gender expert and consultant Jenine Jaradat said one of the main activities of the project is holding a women’s leadership forum and networking event on May 19.

“We are inviting over 100 women leaders who are involved in the energy sector or want a career in that field to meet other women working in the sector,” Jaradat, who is handling the gender component of ESCB, told journalists.

The following day, she added, a women’s leadership forum will be held where 250 men and women from the public and private energy sectors will share their experiences and success stories with young people.

“Our aim is for some of the successful stories to... mentor the younger generation of Jordan, especially females, who excel in schools in scientific streams but in real life they enrol in professions that do not match their achievements,” Jaradat added.

The project is implemented by Deloitte Consulting, LLP, in partnership with Jordanian consulting firm ECO Consult, and the US-based National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, Alliance to Save Energy, Quanta, and Technology Transition Company, the USAID statement said.