Decarbonisation without discrimination
Another year, continued commitment: advancing gender equality in the energy transition across the Energy Community Secretariat and Contracting Parties.
As the Energy Community Contracting Parties advance toward a greener future, their energy sectors must undergo a transformation. One urgent issue cannot be overlooked: women remain underrepresented in the energy sector, especially in decision-making roles. Without targeted and collaborative action, long-standing inequalities will likely carry into the low-carbon era.
According to analyses from the World Bank, OECD, and other sources, across the Western Balkans, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, women make up only about 17-18% of the energy sector workforce. Even in the renewable energy sector, often perceived as a driver of inclusive growth, women’s participation remains low: around 10% in Kosovo, 16% in Serbia, 22% in Ukraine, and 27% in North Macedonia.
This imbalance reflects broader structural challenges: underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, persistent pay gaps, and barriers to career progression. In turn, it both enforces socially unequal gender roles and simultaneously may hold back the transition itself. Currently, the regions' energy sectors are shaped mainly by men, who studies show are less likely to perceive climate risk and tend to prioritise technical and economic solutions over lifestyle changes and social innovation.
If women remain underrepresented, energy policy and innovation risk being driven by a narrower set of perspectives while overlooking social, cultural, and behavioural dimensions that are equally critical for reducing emissions and fostering resilience.
The Energy Community Secretariat’s Commitments
To address these gaps, the Energy Community Secretariat has adopted a Gender Equality Declaration with four core commitments guiding its actions:
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Mainstreaming gender in policies and support
The Secretariat seeks to integrate gender perspectives into all aspects of energy policy advice and interventions, while also raising awareness through dedicated events and campaigns such as the 2024 initiative recognizing women’s contributions across the organization. Partnerships play a crucial role, with our Director, Artur Lorkowski, being an International Gender Champion and the Secretariat actively participating in the EU Equality Platform, Gender and Energy Compact and Equal by 30 Initiative.
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Gender-responsive procurement
The Secretariat is advancing gender-responsive procurement, ensuring that gender equality and women’s empowerment are considered throughout procurement processes. This includes encouraging gender-balanced teams in the execution of contracts and factoring gender equality into evaluations.
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Promoting gender parity in leadership and events
The Secretariat has pledged to achieve gender parity in all events, both in-personand online. Following staff training in 2021 and the publication of practical guidance in 2024, the share of female participants at events slightly increased. In 2025, it reached an overall ratio of 50% male to 35% female participants, resulting in a gender gap of 15%. Additionally, 15% of participants identified as gender-diverse or their gender was unknown.
Institutionally, nearly half of all employees are women (47%), and the appointment of Mrs. Marie-Therese Richter-Kuhnert as Deputy Director in 2025 marks progress at the top. Three out of eight head of unit positions are held by women.
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Improving gender-disaggregated data collection
Finally, the Secretariat is committed to improving the collection and use of gender-disaggregated data in the energy sector. This includes, for example, a policy guidance on the topic and organising a dedicated webinar, supporting Contracting Parties in developing evidence-based policies that effectively capture the role of women in the energy sector.
Additionally, as part of the EU4Energy initiative, the Secretariat has been tracking women’s participation in its capacity-building workshops. Between 2021 and 2024, a total of 109 workshops were held in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, with 528 women trained, accounting for 38% of all participants.
Clearly, while progress has been made, challenges remain. Recognising that achieving gender equality in the energy transition is both a matter of fairness and essential for building a more resilient, inclusive, and innovative energy future, The Energy Community reaffirms its commitment to advancing gender equality. It stands ready to continue its dedicated activities in this field.
As Director Artur Lorkowski emphasised in a recent International Gender Champions interview, “a truly just transition removes structural inequalities as we reunite our energy system with the European Union.”