{"id":22397,"date":"2024-03-06T20:34:01","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T15:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=22397"},"modified":"2024-03-07T09:23:23","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T03:53:23","slug":"green-jobs-and-the-problem-of-gender-disparity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/06-03-2024\/green-jobs-and-the-problem-of-gender-disparity","title":{"rendered":"Green jobs and the problem of gender disparity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>transition to low-carbon development<\/strong> has the potential to add about <strong>35 million green jobs in India by 2047<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Green Jobs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>International Labour Organization <\/strong>defines green jobs as \u201cdecent jobs that contribute to preservation or restoration of the environment\u201d.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/1ILixqxSjoZpTkEFEslnboLCOK23bwhr6sDeAAiLXqhi4E8_9-w-azNEroALcS0VBWR0KAWvSdrClp7kfJwSLb6hbpHXOoZ7sgg9J8wjuZZLb-VRE87EpKneLRVk6ilFN8dzQjtnQGwx98T4BdisGhw\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:470px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They involve the development, application, and maintenance of technologies, products, and services that <strong>help conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, and mitigate climate change.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Types of Green Jobs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/OWKR39HslD5886XuuqMeT9YWXOtzrNZYmhfZ0Oig-xQsF-GVLb6zBHNluChmTgT__JCQWqACEg6zXq_95wbmApSU5ZE2ekRY4rACAZQG1yOFoQp8TvQySn0o2YfwZ3v3y4uy8nlXoKyyAzhaIhd0w9k\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:612px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Renewable Energy:<\/strong> Jobs in solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower sectors like installation, maintenance, and manufacturing of equipment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Efficiency:<\/strong> Roles in building design, energy audits, and development of energy-efficient appliances and technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environmental Protection: <\/strong>Jobs in conservation, waste management, pollution control, and environmental restoration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sustainable Agriculture:<\/strong> Positions in organic farming, precision agriculture, and sustainable land management practices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Green Transportation:<\/strong> Jobs in electric vehicle manufacturing, clean fuel development, and public transportation systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Status in India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has the potential to create up to <strong>35 million green jobs by 2047 <\/strong>across traditional and emerging sectors, including renewable energy, waste management, electric vehicles, green construction and sustainable textiles, according to <strong>\u2018The \u2018Gearing Up the Workforce for a Green Economy\u2019 report by Skill Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) estimates that <strong>solar photovoltaic (PV) projects built in India between 2011 and 2014 created approximately 24,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The wind sector has created about 45,000 FTE jobs<\/strong> so far, according to government estimates.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Benefits of Green Jobs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-us.googleusercontent.com\/oES9VJ3Y1HIXqOUNAiqcIkIuYDWVI-q97XxKSBrgZumMkp4Myxmm_lWPCckLViVDjxQOcrsUvhCWlTEaKl0ZpFAB99ED19lTz6Vrp_jAz_kMoTkBtw11mcC83Aohhjpgb3MXApflfoVDl9fK1bH85e4\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Environmental Impact:<\/strong> Contribute to a healthier planet by reducing pollution, conserving resources, and mitigating climate change.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Growth:<\/strong> The green economy is a rapidly growing sector, creating new job opportunities and economic development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Innovation and Technology: <\/strong>Green jobs often involve cutting-edge technologies and contribute to advancements in sustainability solutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Job Satisfaction:<\/strong> Many individuals find green jobs personally rewarding, knowing they are contributing to environmental well-being.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Green jobs and Gender Equality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Men in lead<\/strong>: Globally, <strong>men are likely to transition to green jobs faster than women.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lesser participation of women:<\/strong> Even as India increased its renewable energy capacity by 250% between 2015 to 2021, women comprised merely<strong> 11% of workers in the solar rooftop sector.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concentration in non-green sectors:<\/strong> The Annual Survey of Industries 2019-20 shows that women workers are mostly concentrated in industries such as apparel, textile, leather, food, and tobacco.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In contrast, a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) 2019 report shows that <strong>men comprise 85%<\/strong> of the workforce in sectors such as infrastructure, transport, construction, and manufacturing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Skill gap: <\/strong>A study in 2023 by the Skill Council for Green Jobs indicated that <strong>85% of the training for green skills was imparted to men while over 90% of women believed that social norms limited their participation <\/strong>in training for green jobs.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These restrictive social norms include factors such as the belief that women are unsuitable for certain technical roles, <strong>safety concerns, lower representation in STEM subjects, and familial constraints.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Measures needed:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Unlock potential:<\/strong> As India embraces a green transition, empowering women and advancing gender equity in climate actions will be one of the keys to unlock the co-benefits of a low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economy.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increase representation:<\/strong> Increasing women\u2019s representation in green jobs has several benefits.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In the short run<\/strong>, it can address the gender biases in the Indian labour market and improve women\u2019s labour force participation rates.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the long run,<\/strong> this can contribute to improving women\u2019s agency and their empowerment by creating economic, technical, and social opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Address the gaps in data:<\/strong> There is limited data to understand the landscape of women\u2019s work for green jobs in India. Mapping emerging areas for green growth and collecting sex-disaggregated data on green jobs could be the starting point to improve women\u2019s participation.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Assess impact:<\/strong> There is need to build evidence on the present and future impact of low-carbon transitions on women workers and entrepreneurs while considering the hidden and invisible roles played by women across different sectors and geographies.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Incorporate gender analysis:<\/strong> Conducting gender analysis, collecting gender statistics on green jobs through periodic labour force surveys and mobilising additional resources to emphasise and encourage women\u2019s role in the green transition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supporting women entrepreneurs:<\/strong> Gender-focused financial policies and products catering to the requirements of women entrepreneurs can spur their ability to enter the green transition market.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>C<strong>ollateral-free lending, financial literacy training and building supportive networks <\/strong>are crucial steps to unlock their potential.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Leadership<\/strong>: Finally, bringing in more women into leadership positions to incorporate gender-specific needs in low-carbon development strategies can promote women\u2019s integration in green jobs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Way Ahead:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The global transition towards a sustainable future is expected to drive <strong>significant growth in the green jobs sector. <\/strong>As environmental concerns become more prominent, demand for <strong>green skills and expertise is expected to rise.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A gender-just transition demands a multi-pronged strategy<\/strong> that focuses on employment, social protection, reduces the burden of care work, and enables skill development.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Partnerships across government, private sector and other stakeholders are necessary<\/strong> to leverage the benefits of innovation, technology and finance for women entrepreneurs and workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/green-jobs-and-the-problem-of-gender-disparity\/article67917596.ece#:~:text=Globally%2C%20men%20are%20likely%20to,in%20the%20solar%20rooftop%20sector\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Daily-Editorial-Analysis-6-03-2024.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Syllabus: GS3\/ Economy Context About Green Jobs Types of Green Jobs Status in India Benefits of Green Jobs Green jobs and Gender Equality Issues Measures needed: Way Ahead: Source: TH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22397"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22413,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22397\/revisions\/22413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}