Creating jobs for women: Renewable energy sector

Context:

A report by McKinsey Global Institute states that India has a huge potential to create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for women in the growing market of Renewable Energy.

The Scope:

• The government of India has committed to install 175 GW of Renewable Energy by 2022.
• Several of these installations will be in rural areas, where a large number of the poor live.
• So the new projects can be planned in such a manner that can create good quality jobs for women in these areas.
• The Authors discusses about the various ways for government and private sector to support the inclusion of more women in the Renewable Energy sector.

Reasons behind poor labour force participation of women in the Renewable Energy sector:

• The temporary nature of the labour intensive  civil masonry work,
• Issues of safety and support systems in the sites,
• Lack of  formal education and training for women, and
• Lack of institutes that offer training to women in rural areas.

Steps to increase Participation:

• Establishment of vocational training programmes and certification schemes for women,
• Skill development and capacity building of women,
• Work place should be more gender sensitive,
•  E-learning facilities for of women in remote areas can be developed, and
• Public private partnership and collaboration with civil society organisations.

Advantages of women participation:

• Help in poverty reduction,
• McKinsy says GDP is expected to grow up to 60% by 2025 and
• Capacity and skill of women in rural areas will be enhanced.

McKinsey Global Institute’s Report, 2015:

• McKinsey Global Institute published a report: India’s ascent: Five opportunities for growth and transformation.
• The report looks into the opportunities for Indian economy and the implications for domestic businesses, multinational companies, and the government.

Five-fold ways to create sustainable economic conditions:

1. From poverty to empowerment: Acceptable living standards for all:

• Minimum acceptable living standards include spanning nutrition, water, sanitation, energy, housing, education, and healthcare.
• These gaps are to be filled in the first place to achieve the country’s economic potentials.

2. Sustainable urbanization: Building India’s growth engines:

• To achieve sustainable growth, Indian cities will have to offer clean air and water, reliable utilities, and extensive green spaces.

3. Manufacturing for India, in India:

• India has substantial opportunities to invest in value-creating businesses and to create jobs.
• Reforms and public infrastructure investments could make it easier for all types of manufacturing businesses, foreign and Indian alike, to achieve scale and efficiency.

4. Riding the digital wave: Harnessing technology for India’s growth:

• According to an estimate, technologies could add $550 billion to $1 trillion a year of economic value in 2025.
• These technologies can raise productivity, improve efficiency across major sectors of the economy, and improve the provision of services such as education and healthcare.

5. Unlocking the potential of Indian women: If not now, when?

• Movement toward closing the gender gap in education and in financial and digital inclusion can help to represent woman as one of the largest potential economic forces in the country.