Engendering Utilities Quarterly Newsletter | March 2021
ENGENDERING UTILITIES ANNOUNCES
NEW PARTNERSHIPS!
Despite the impact COVID-19 has had on people and businesses worldwide, our partners' ongoing commitment to improving gender equality in the workplace is inspiring. Engendering Utilities' partners span 29 organizations across 21 countries. In 2020, we expanded our partnership base and added 12 new utilities in the power and water sector. Learn more about our partnerships here.
NEWS
Updated Best Practices Framework is now available! 

In 2018, USAID’s Engendering Utilities program released Delivering Gender Equality: A Best Practices Framework for Male-Dominated Industries. This toolkit provides organizations with information and practical resources to help advance gender equality in the workplace. Using each phase of the employee life cycle, the Best Practices Framework highlights a concrete set of actions employees can take to advance gender equality at the workplace. Engendering Utilities has updated and revised this toolkit, adding new best practices, hundreds of new resources, and two new chapters on, 1) intersectionality, diversity, inclusion, and 2) gender equality during times of crisis, with an overview of why this matters and how to use the framework to address these issues. Learn more about the updated Best Practices Framework here. Spanish and French versions will be released shortly.  
Workplace Advancement for Gender Equality (WAGE) launches the SEE Change Initiative with Johns Hopkins University 

In November 2020, USAID's WAGE activity launched the Self-Empowerment and Equity for Change (SEE Change) Initiative in partnership with Johns Hopkins University. SEE Change conducts international gender-informed research and evidence-based training, and provides services that help entrepreneurs and employees build positive mental habits, realize their leadership potential, and achieve their personal and professional goals. They are currently working with several Engendering Utlilities partners to implement personal agency training for women employees and are available to partner with a wide range of organizations to implement the training. Watch the launch event and learn about the initiative.
PARTNERS IN THE NEWS
Women’s Leadership Development: The Return on Investment at Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited

With support from USAID’s Engendering Utilities program, India’s Tata Power-DDL implements women’s leadership and development initiatives. Read more about how gender equality efforts improved company culture and performance here.
In North Macedonia, the Future is Female 

Nearly forty percent of EVN’s employees are male technicians, many nearing retirement. With a limited national talent pool, EVN began building the next generation of STEM professionals, starting with girls. Read the story to learn more about the role women play in the future of the power sector in North Macedonia.
Moving Gender-Based Violence Out of the Shadows

In recognition of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence (GBV), employees at Edesur Dominicana, S.A., a large power utility in the Dominican Republic, discuss utility efforts to combat GBV in the workplace. Read more here.
Electricidade de Moçambique Increases Women’s Participation in the Power Sector

Fewer women than men participate in the labor force around the world. In Mozambique, only 52 percent of women are employed, and 80 percent of employed women work in the agricultural sector. Read about how USAID’s Engendering Utilities program supports partner Electricidade de Moçambique, a Mozambican power utility, to increase women's participation in the workforce. 
Paternity Leave ‘Beneficial for Business’ at BRPL: Improving Work/Life Balance Boosts Performance at an Indian Power Utility

Research shows that parental leave help companies attract and retain talent, improve retention, increase employee productivity, and promote diversity and inclusion; factors known to enhance business performance. USAID’s Engendering Utilities program supported BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL)—an Indian energy utility—to develop and roll-out a paternity leave policy; the first of its kind for the company. Read more here.
Engendering Utilities Results Factsheet
The data is in! See how Engendering Utilities is effectively working to increase gender equality around the world and learn more about our impact here.
WEBINARS AND EVENTS
Shining a Light on Gender-Based Violence: African Utilities Respond to GBV in the Power Sector
As part of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based-Violence (GBV), USAID's Engendering Utilities program, the Women in African Power network, and African power utilities discussed efforts to mitigate and respond to GBV in the workplace. The discussions included the impact of GBV on women and men in the workforce, interventions that work, challenges to implementation, and the business case for effectively addressing the issue and creating a safe workplace for all employees. Speakers also shared their experiences using tools and methodologies to increase gender equality in the workplace—including Engendering Utilities’ Best Practices Framework. Watch the webinar.
Engendering Utilities Presents: Empowering Women to Thrive in Male-Dominated Sectors
In this webinar, USAID’s Engendering Utilities program and the World Bank shared tools and resources that increase women’s workforce participation in male-dominated industries. Participants gained hands-on experience using Engendering Utilities’ Best Practices Framework, a resource that provides the practical tools and resources organizations need to increase gender equality across their organization. The World Bank presented new research, Stepping Up Women’s STEM Careers in Infrastructure: An Overview of Promising Approaches, which provides insight into strategies that support women’s STEM careers.