The solar industry ranks as the largest employer in the renewables sector, reaching 7.2 million positions worldwide in 2023 – almost half of the 16.2 million total.
Women account for 40% of this workforce, nearly double that of the wind industry (21%), according to research from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
The solar sector has led by example in providing training and upskilling programmes, which continue to play a key role in bringing more women into the male-dominated energy arena.
However, considerable barriers remain to entry, retention and advancement, namely shifting diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies and entrenched gender divides between technical and non-technical jobs.
Power Technology examines the current landscape for women in solar and how the proactive implementation of gender equality and equity will benefit renewables development as the energy transition gains pace.
Women in solar
Not only is the solar industry the highest employer in the renewables sector, it also accounted for the most deals in 2024, making its continued productivity a priority for the 1.5°C climate target.
Women have a central part to play in this progression, as IRENA’s report points out: “If the solar industry fails to incorporate more women, it will be missing out on the talent pool that women represent.”
Most women (58%) in the industry are employed in administrative roles. In positions not related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), they account for 38%, and for STEM roles 32%.
Notably, women are prevalent in solar manufacturing (47%), followed by service providers and developers at 39% and 37%, respectively. However, there is a significant shortage of female installers at only 12%.
Globally, Asia-Pacific accounts for 80% of solar jobs and therefore employs the most women (40%), driven by China’s manufacturing power. IRENA estimates that women account for 38% of Africa’s solar industry, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (33%), then Europe and North America (27%).
Alongside traditional solar employment, there are major opportunities for women in decentralised solar. While there is a lack of gender-disaggregated data in the off-grid sector, IRENA highlights that “the synergy between decentralised solar and entrepreneurship plays a critical role in advancing socio-economic development and energy equity”.
The localisation of decentralised solar increases accessibility for women, particularly those in rural areas focusing on residential energy.
Accessibility is what differentiates solar as the highest employer of women across energy industries, believes Carolina Costa Pereira, lecturer in mechanical engineering and energy at Edinburgh Napier University.
“Other renewables come with more difficult environments. As a power source, solar is practically everywhere, unlike offshore wind or geothermal energy, for example, which require specific locations.”
Speaking to Power Technology, IRENA deputy director-general Gauri Singh highlights the importance of modularity. “The traditional energy sector, with its large centralised plants, is much more male-dominated, but solar is a technology that can be broken down into kilowatts. So that enables a large contribution from women as both users of energy in their own households and participating in industrial processes.”
Singh adds that the purpose-driven nature of renewables in environmental and social change, alongside the potential for a long-term career in the fast-growing solar sector, are other key factors.
Despite this, there remain significant hurdles to achieving a wholly gender-balanced solar sector.
Spotlighting barriers
IRENA’s research highlights the main obstacles women face in the solar industry: namely, social and cultural norms around gender.
This begins at an educational level. From a young age, women are systematically directed away from STEM subjects and therefore careers in solar, which require knowledge of chemistry, computer science, mathematics and physics.
Such expertise is also critical for off-grid solar, as entrepreneurs require technical skills in installation, maintenance and troubleshooting, as well as training in business development, financial management and market access strategies.
“Outreach activities should start early on,” says Pereira, confirming that the energy programme she leads has little to no female students. “We have to raise awareness of how many opportunities there are, from computational modelling to policy or commercial roles.”
Singh states that there are “regulatory, legal and economic circumstances that restrict women”. Those starting out in the solar industry may not have the financial capital to invest in their education or establish their own enterprise, while female employees may face security concerns at project sites with variances in global health and safety regulations.
She also emphasises the importance of having female board members and senior managers, of which the solar industry only has 13%, as per IRENA’s research. This remains an issue in the broader energy industry, as women occupied approximately 22% of the board seats of energy companies globally in 2023.
“Women need role models,” says Singh. “There has to be positive bias in laws and policies to build a gender-responsive framework because solar energy is a sector that is growing very rapidly, and we definitely want to see more women in it.”
The good news is that training and development programmes are equipping women with the skills to advance their careers in solar with the broader aim of strengthening the global workforce.
Funding, training and upskilling
In IRENA’s survey of solar industry professionals, capacity building was identified as a key measure for women’s recruitment and continued employment, including training, sponsorships, internships and educational initiatives.
The US is the second-biggest solar market globally, with Power Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, forecasting a compound annual growth rate of 13% between 2023 and 2035. As such, the nation influences much of the international solar workforce through investment and training.
Since 1991, Colorado-based non-profit Solar Energy International (SEI) has offered courses, mentoring and scholarships to students from all over the world to accelerate their careers through the Women in Solar Power (WISP) programme.
Programme manager Kiera Coughlan describes SEI’s mission as “building a well-trained and effective solar workforce, which will look different as we move forwards”.
After completing the programme, some students founded their own solar companies and have become trainers themselves in the US and beyond. “Some people already have jobs in industry and this is upskilling, but for many people, especially from developing countries, it offers a big opportunity to form new companies,” explains Coughlan.
WISP provides courses in both English and Spanish, thereby getting a lot of applicants from South and Central America. Coughlan identifies the Caribbean as another promising region: “We have had several women from Caribbean islands that have worked high up in solar companies or for government initiatives on renewables.”
The programme is currently supported by the Women’s Energy Network membership organisation and sponsored by US-based energy giants Sungrow and AES. A representative from Sungrow told Power Technology: “It is a no-brainer to work with SEI. Women have been under-represented in solar for far too long and fixing that requires dedicated and intentional investment.”
However, the broader DEI landscape in the US is currently undergoing a tumultuous period, with President Donald Trump signing two executive orders in January to eliminate DEI practices across the federal government, including the Department of Energy, while encouraging the same in the private sector.
Trump has also rescinded many Biden-era DEI and climate initiatives, including the Justice40 programme, which directed 40% of federal investments in clean energy to marginalised people, and the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, which analysed climate and energy indicators to delineate disadvantaged communities.
This onslaught is putting programmes like WISP under pressure. “Purposeful defunding affects us to some level, but SEI has been around for a long time and survived various administrations with varying stances on renewable energy,” says Coughlan.
“In the US, the solar industry is pretty robust. While we won’t have as much government funding to expand now, there is still a lot of private investment.”
Another notable initiative bringing women into the industry is Solar Sister, a non-profit social enterprise covering sub-Saharan Africa that recruits and trains entrepreneurs to set up their own businesses distributing solar products.
To date, Solar Sister has established more than 11,000 entrepreneurs across the region and received funding from the ExxonMobil Foundation and US Agency for International Development (USAID). However, the latter has been another casualty of Trump’s ‘America First’ funding freeze as he called its $65bn budget “totally unexplainable”.
Solar Sister continues to reach more than 4.3 million people in Africa, the most sun-rich continent in the world. “Women are the best brand ambassadors for solar electrification,” says Singh. “Their entrepreneurial abilities really come to the fore when they mobilise support for solar.”
Solar’s future workforce
The interrelation between gender and energy is becoming a burning issue. At COP30 in November, parties will present a new Gender Action Plan with a focus on gender-responsiveness in climate action.
This forms part of the just energy transition, which works towards equitably including women as energy users, workers and decision-makers.
The progress women have achieved in the solar industry stands as an enabling force that other industries can learn from.
“Companies should consider how to get more women into manufacturing cycles, as that is where solar has been able to make a lot of difference,” states Singh. “Demystifying renewable technologies is crucial for accessibility, and women can play a definitive role in well-distributed geographical deployment.”
Pereira agrees that “the energy transition and women [in the energy workforce] are interrelated”, stressing that “having people from various backgrounds helps because you have different ideas and perspectives”.
The business case for energy companies to recruit more women is clear. Research finds that including women in C-suite positions can translate into a 15% increase in profitability for a company.
An AES representative confirms that “companies in the private sector will benefit from a more diverse workforce and having a bigger pool of candidates to select from. Our hope is for more women to join solar and for an increased number of women to fill the highest-level positions in the industry.”
“Women have an intuitive understanding of energy as they use it in their own households,” says Singh. “With this behavioural knowledge, you are bringing in a dedicated workforce that can get consumers to adopt solutions faster.”
