-Fred Ojiegbe (with APO Group)
The African Energy Chamber has become a signatory to the Equal by 30 Campaign which calls for equal pay, equal leadership, and equal opportunities for women in the clean energy sector by 2030. The Chamber has been joined in this initiative by a series of its partners, including Centurion Law Group, Tsavo Oilfield Services, Apex Industries, DMWA Resources, the Germany Africa Business Forum, and Africa Oil & Power.
The Equal by 30 Campaign is being rolled out with the aim to advance gender equality and ensure women are firmly at the centre of the energy industry. As signatories, the Chamber and its partners have endorsed principles and taken concrete action to accelerate the participation of women in the energy sector and close the gender gap in Africa.
The Equal by 30 campaign is a joint initiative of the Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment Initiative (C3E), which works to advance the participation of women in the clean energy transition and close the gender gap, and the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Equal by 30 campaign aims to have public and private sector commitments to work towards equal pay, equal leadership, and equal opportunities for women in the clean energy sector by 2030.
There is more urgency than ever to align political, financial, economic, and social resources to create a more equitable energy sector in Africa for all, and we firmly believe, as a coalition, that this cannot be done without involving women.
“It is not a question that women add incredible value to the businesses they run and operate in the energy sector. The African energy industry must move beyond words and platitudes and must ensure women are included in all facets of our energy sector” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber. The Chamber and its partners who have joined the call all have multi-pronged and complementary spheres of operation, making them a powerful group to promote the campaign’s agenda far and wide across the African continent.
“We are proud to fully support this campaign as the Chamber and to bring a lot of companies operating in the energy sector on board as well. There is a whole lot of change going on at the moment, therefore there is no better time to ensure we build a bright future that includes women, looking ahead at 2030 and beyond.” added Ayuk.
The transformation of the global energy sector will only succeed if we harness all available talents, which means removing barriers to women’s participation, empowering women, and creating a more inclusive energy sector overall. The energy sector remains one of the most gender imbalanced in the world. In response, world leaders pledged, in 2015, to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls by 2030.
To that end, the African Energy Chamber is proud to commit to creating positive change in the African energy industry and fostering a sustainable future for all. We encourage the rest of our partners to join the campaign, and look forward to working together with governments, industry and civil society to tackle the challenges of the energy transition with a diverse and inclusive energy workforce.
As of today, with the seven organizations signing on, we are now at 144 signatories total, including 118 organizations, 13 partners, and 13 governments. Equal by 30 is led and based at Natural Resources Canada, a division of the Government of Canada.