Women’s participation in Uzbek energy sector focus of OSCE event

Promoting women’s participation in the Uzbek energy sector was at the centre of an event organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, jointly with the Kazakh-German University and the Tashkent State Technical University on 28 April in Tashkent.

More than 40 female students attended the event, where they had the opportunity to connect with female representatives from government, industry, academia, civil society and other international organizations.

The participants listened to real-life experiences from those already working in the energy industry in Uzbekistan and discussed current challenges and opportunities for women in energy. They also had the chance to connect with peers that share similar interests as well as with potential employers and mentors.

The participants noted that the energy sector is opening up and more opportunities for women are being created, especially in renewables. However, they highlighted cultural norms and stereotypes that still act as obstacles to the advancement of their careers, along with a general lack of information and entry-level opportunities. The importance of organizations such as the OSCE was recognized for their potential to bring access to the right tools needed to connect with professionals and enterprises and gain first-hand experience in the energy sector.

Following the roundtable, the students visited the Parkent Sun Institute, which consists of a complex of heliostats, a solar laboratory with an impressive solar energy concentrator, and a solar furnace, the second to be built in the world. This was a great opportunity for the students to gain practical insights about career opportunities in the renewable energy sector and to learn how to use renewable energy sources for business purposes.

The event was organized in the framework of the OSCE Project on Promoting women’s economic participation in the energy sector for energy security and sustainability in Central Asia. This extra-budgetary project, financed by Germany and Italy, aims to empower Central Asian women as change agents in the energy transition and support Central Asian governments and companies as they integrate women’s needs and gender equality targets in their energy policies.