ACCIONA Energía Is Supporting Women In Renewables

• The world is celebrating equality today for a sustainable tomorrow and the renewable energy sector is leading the way.

As a part of promoting equality and diversity in the organisation, ACCIONA supports various initiatives to inspire female participation in STEM and regards this as a strategic priority.

The Clean Energy Council reflected on the roles that women play in the clean energy transition and ACCIONA considers it essential to ensure that women are celebrated and represented in this industry.

Compared to other energy sectors, renewables are employing more women, which benefits companies by bringing new ideas, knowledge and skills to the table.

However, even with our representation of women in renewables being higher than other energy sectors, the Clean Energy Council’s Diversity report stated that still only 32% of women make up the clean energy workforce and only 19% of board positions in the industry are held by women, meaning there is still progress to be made.

Now more than ever, we need to highlight women and support more positions for them in our industry. Here are some of the women making a difference in our organisation:

Kayla Driscoll is our Operations Administrator. She analyses data from all of our wind farms in Australia. She also works with the technicians on-site to bring in new technologies and applications to help with maintenance reporting. When asked, "What is the best part about working with ACCIONA Energía?"

Kayla said, "I would say the best thing is having the opportunity to work with my Dad and learning about renewables. I especially love being able to see the wind turbines up close. They are so much more than just a 'big fan' up on a hill."

Sushana Karki, Senior GIS Analyst, studies and manages our energy assets' geographic data and presents the information in a way we can understand. Data processing and presentation is very complicated. But she makes it easy for us, taking complex information and turning it into a PDF map, chart, or table with very detailed geographic information. We asked her to share her opinion about working in GIS.

Sushana said, "The fact that my work assists our business to make smart and informed decisions feels great and is very rewarding".

Esther Beak, is one of our amazing HR Advisors. She is always busy finding more terrific people to join the ACCIONA Energía team! She enjoys being able to support our employees and the business. We asked her to tell us a bit about her experience at ACCIONA Energía.

Esther said, "Our teams come together and make amazing renewable energy projects come to life - this doesn't happen overnight, but the hard work behind the scenes is inspiring, especially when there is a wind farm being built in front of your eyes. Everyone in the business plays a significant role somewhere in this process and it's such a joy to see everyone working towards the same goal."

Michelle Holmes, Senior Stakeholder and Community Liaison, is based in Brisbane and is currently working on several projects across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. She actively engages with landowners, local councils, and other stakeholders to inform and educate them about upcoming projects while also understanding and addressing their concerns, interests and opportunities on how we can work together. This was her answer when we asked why she pursued a career in renewables.

"I have been working in the Stakeholder Relations and Community Development area for many years and it was a natural progression into renewables. I have an interest in protecting the environment and doing my bit to help make the world a better place. My job allows me to continue the work I enjoy - engaging with people in communities as well as being part of projects that are making a valuable difference to people's quality of life."

Sara Church is the Site Administrator at our Mortlake South Wind Farm. As a parent, she loves the flexibility of her role and the fact that she is contributing toward a clean energy future for her children and future generations. We asked her why she likes working with the company.

Sara said, "ACCIONA Energía has given me a chance to work within my local community in a role that I can be proud of. The flexibility and family support offered by the company is second to none. It allows me to achieve a work-life balance that works for both me and my family."

How is ACCIONA Championing Women In Australia?

Currently, 31% of our workforce at ACCIONA Energía are women and five out of the twelve members of the executive leadership group are female. As a sustainable energy company, we are dedicated to promoting and encouraging opportunities and leadership positions for females.

ACCIONA also supports initiatives including Homeward Bound, the international female scientists' leadership program for tackling the climate crisis. Since becoming a global partner five years ago, the program has welcomed 500 new participants to the initiative. The goal is to create an international network of 10,000 professional women working in different STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) areas. The program encourages collaboration on projects in diverse scientific and geographic areas, thus giving visibility to women in science so that they can be the leaders who impact their communities and have a say in solving challenges such as the climate emergency.

The program enables women to showcase the skills and abilities that they have, to not only compete in this field but to excel in it. ACCIONA is actively driving multiple initiatives to encourage women in the renewables industry with their skills and expertise, as they are helping to steer the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable future. As the renewable energy sector continues to grow, women are playing an increasingly important role in its development and success.