Transition to a green economy could benefit more men than women

The statistics on female participation in the labor market were no longer good, with the pandemic they got bad and now there are indications that they can get worse.

A study by the consultancy PwC released last Monday (7) – the eve of International Women’s Day – showed that the energy transition and decarbonization efforts undertaken by companies can have the side effect of further exacerbating the professional disparities between men and women. women.

According to the report, the journey towards a more sustainable economic model will create millions of jobs around the world. However, projections indicate that these new vacancies will be concentrated in predominantly male sectors, such as construction, industry and public services.

Unless governments and companies invest in targeted interventions, the trend is that by 2030 there will be even more men employed than women, as they will be in a better position to take advantage of opportunities.

The study examined the change in the composition of jobs in OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries as a result of advances in energy sustainability. Effects on direct and indirect jobs were considered, calculated based on data from the International Labor Organization.

One of the examples cited is the transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources.

If the net-zero (net-zero) commitments made by countries and companies are taken seriously, it is to be expected that jobs in oil refineries will decline, while vacancies for wind turbine engineers or solar panel technicians will increase. .

“If nothing is done to increase the representation of women in these growth sectors, we estimate that the employment gap between men and women in the OECD will increase by 1.7 percentage points by 2030, from 20.8% in 2020 to 22.5% by 2030,” the report says.

For Luciana Medeiros, a partner at PwC Brasil, the results are not surprising. “There is a concern that the new positions that will appear in the context of net-zero will bring a gender disadvantage, because they will occur in segments that today already have a greater concentration of men”, he says.

The PwC study only considered the green transition in the energy sector, which is responsible for approximately 35% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Although Brazil is not included in the data and has an energy matrix considered cleaner than most OECD countries, Medeiros does not anticipate a very different scenario here.

According to her, the country has a great fragility in relation to gender issues, which was even more exposed during the pandemic.

The executive emphasizes that the Brazilian reality tends to be at a disadvantage in comparison with these countries, especially when it comes to social issues.

One reason is the correlation between race and gender. The report shows that the challenges in the job market are even greater for black and ethnic minority women — which leaves Brazil in an even more delicate position.

Women are disadvantaged in green jobs

The prognosis for female participation in professions linked to sustainability is bad, but the damage can be seen right away.

Another survey by PwC in 2021 showed that women feel less prepared than men to accept these positions.

So-called green jobs are those that help improve efficiency in the use of energy and raw materials; limit emissions; minimize waste and pollution; protect and restore ecosystems; and support adaptation to the effects of climate change.

According to the survey, women perform worse in all the evaluated items. They work fewer green jobs, have fewer skills needed for a job and are not aware of new opportunities.

The diagnosis supports the projection that, without specific initiatives, the transition to net-zero will increase the gap between the number of men and women employed.

Sustainable transition must be made with gender policies

Luciana Medeiros says that companies need to learn from the mistakes of the pandemic when facing climate change. In her view, the elaboration of policies that guarantee permanence and access to employment are fundamental.

One way of doing this is by reconfiguring the world of work to better meet women’s needs — offering more flexibility, for example.

The PwC study also cites other important policies to balance opportunities, such as more affordable childcare options to help reduce the burden of unpaid care provided by women, and equal parental leave policies.

On the other side of the equation comes the need to equip women with the right skills for the job market of the future.

“What we have today in the private sector is a change of view towards policies that address issues of gender, race and diversity. But even so, we continue to see a lot of discrepancy”, he says.