In December 2021, we conducted a capacity building exercise to factory workers on water & energy efficiency in the tea sector, bringing together workers from KTDA’s Region 2 factories. The training was successful with 33 attendants from various factories in the region. The success of the training notwithstanding, we noticed that during the first training, there were no women present amongst the trainees. This raised concerns around gender inclusivity in the tea sector.
Gender equality is essential for human development. It is an objective in itself and has been widely adopted as a compulsory guiding principle of international and national policy and cooperation. With women representing half of the population, it is only just to develop, provide, include, champion, and maintain a level playing field that provides for opportunities where women are actively involved in meaningful and rewarding work.
Such opportunities are made available through direct and indirect employment. The Centre targeted employees of tea factories who are involved in the day-to-day operations as they are better positioned to apply the lessons from the training in the running of the factories. To bridge this gap in gender disparity, CBES organized an all-women training which was held on 22nd February 2022. We received and trained 23 women on the intensification of biomass and water utilization in tea factories.
Energy and Gender
This section focused on the gender imbalance in the sector. We explored the following;
- Involvement of women in the modern energy sector
- Barriers to entry
- Retention and advancement of women in modern energy
- Policies and solutions
Women from KTDA’s Region 2 tea factories pose for a group photo after training and a University tour, Tue. 22nd Feb. 2022
The perception of gender roles has long been a barrier to entry into industries, sectors, and roles that have historically been dominated by men, and the energy sector is a contender for the top spot. Between fossil fuels and renewable energy, there is a significant gender gap in the active participation of women.
Cultural and social norms also contribute to the low participation of women in the energy sector. Closely tied to the perception of gender roles, culture and society has a big impact on the perception of gender and work.
Other factors such as limited mobility (for family women), insufficient or lack of STEM backgrounds, discouraging workplace policies, insufficient or lack of awareness and opportunities, and poor gender targets were highlighted as key causes of the low participation of women in the energy sector.
Access to education and training will form a major component of the solutions to gender issues in energy. This can be achieved by encouraging girls to pursue STEM, which can lay the foundation for careers in energy. Continuous training and professional development of women already practicing in the energy sector will also be crucial in addressing gender issues in tea factories. Other strategies that can be implemented include developing networks and supporting mentorship programs, gender quotas in workplace policies’ regulations to accelerate gender inclusivity, and establishing gender as a pillar in the formulation of energy strategies within the tea sector.
The conclusion of our exercise elicited strong opinions from the trainees regarding gender and work in tea factories, with participants highlighting that the physically demanding roles such as boiler operations and chargehands were better suited to men. Women are therefore more likely to be found in less physically demanding roles around the factory such as green leaf sections, quality assurance, stores, and production.
CBES will continue to play a part in the renewable energy sector through R&D, capacity building, gender mainstreaming creating and promoting awareness of sustainable energy in the tea sector.