South Asia Women in Power Sector Professional Network
Expanding Job Opportunities for Women in the Energy Sector in South Asia
eNewsletter - October 2020
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South Asia Gender and Energy Facility is collaborating with key partners to create a vibrant and self-sustaining women's professional network – WePOWER.
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COVID-19 & its Impact on WePOWER Partners Targets | August 2020
In total, 18 out of 24 WePOWER Partners revised their targets to 86.4% activities for 93.8% beneficiaries/participants from pre-COVID targets in March. We are proud of our Partners' continuous dedication and hard work to achieve encouraging results, despite multifold challenges. COVID-19 impacted female students far more than female professionals. Due to the mandatory lockdowns and school closings, in-person activities such as Internships were reduced to 59.0%, STEM workshops to 78.4%, and Study Tours to 80%.
For female professionals, the mentoring activities were the most impacted (67.7%). However, Partners were able to leverage online technologies to actually increase some virtual trainings/workshops offerings (total 94.8%) during the pandemic.
We are also happy to report that our Partners maintained their commitment to hiring females (93.2%) in their revised targets and establishing female-friendly facilities (95.7%).
We will share the complete Results (2020-2021) for our 24 Partners in December 2020.
For details, contact Gunjan Gautam and Yukari Shibuya.
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We were recently featured by The Borgen Project- an organization committed to fighting global poverty. Read the full story here.
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WePOWER Partners Highlights
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WePOWER Partners Sign an MoU to Promote Women Professionals in the Energy Sector
Oct 23, 2020 | Islamabad
Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Pakistan inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Women in Energy Pakistan (WIE), to promote the objectives of WePOWER - Women in Power Sector Network in South Asia. Both partners recognize and agree on mutual co-operation to promote women’s roles and active participation in the national energy and power sectors.
For details, contact Mr. Shoaib Taqi and Nameerah Hameed.
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WePOWER Pillars & Activities
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Below is a quick snapshot of the activities by our key partners under the WePOWER Pillars
(July - Oct 2020)
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Zahra Marzook from CEB won the IET Young Woman Engineer Award of the Year
CEB Sri Lanka
Ms. Zahra Marzook, a female engineer from Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Sri Lanka, won the Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award (YWA) at the Institution of Engineering Technology (IET). The IET YWA is organized by the young professionals’ network of IET Sri Lanka. The finalists are required to share the obstacles they faced and the approach they adopted to break the glass ceiling to advance their careers. A panel of highly reputable judges assessed their ideas and suggestions to encourage other women engineers. The 2019 IET YWA was won by CEB’s Zahra Marzook. Watch her inspiring story here. Read her story on "Why are Women a Minority in Engineering" here. For details, contact Himali Zoysa.
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STEM Mentorship
Sep 2020 – May 2021 | WAPDA Pakistan
Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is determined to transform the future by promoting STEM fields among professionals and young female learners. Ms. Mariam Sibtain (Specialist Education Reform Program, WAPDA), who is also working as Project Coordinator for Women In Power Program, has been selected as a STEM Mentor by the prestigious New York Academy of Sciences 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures Program. The Program aims to produce self-assured female future scientists, mathematicians, technologists, engineers, and leaders.
For details, contact Fizza Mumtaz.
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Online Educational Activities
Oct 2020 | WAPDA Pakistan
To continue educational activities and to achieve academic targets during COVID-19, WAPDA launched two official YouTube channels: "Online Learning by ERP Team” by the WAPDA Education Department, and “SI & CSR Cell WAPDA" by Special Initiatives and Corporate Social Responsibilities Cell (SI & CSR). These channels highlight technical information, achievements, and events at various mega projects in the form of short documentaries. More than 5000 young female students from different schools have learned from these videos.
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6th IEEE International Women in Engineering (WIE) Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (WIECON-ECE) 2020
Dec 26-27, 2020 | IEEE Bangladesh Section and Partners
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Women in Engineering (IEEE, WIE) Conference will bring together leading academic researchers and scholars to exchange research experience and results in all aspects of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Papers can be submitted on this website by Nov. 1, 2020. To encourage the participation of women scholars, each paper should have at least one female author.
For further details, contact Dr. Celia Shahnaz.
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STEM Forward - Mega Online Job Fair
Nov 20-21, 2020 | WIE and WEP Pakistan
The drastic impacts of COVID-19 have been felt in every sector and the Pakistani workforce is facing unprecedented challenges in seeking and finding jobs. As an innovative solution, Women In Energy Pakistan (WIE) and Women Engineers Pakistan (WEP), along with WomenInTechPK and CodeGirls, will organize Pakistan's largest virtual job fair - "STEM Forward - Mega Online Job Fair". The Job Fair will be held virtually on November 20-21, 2020 from 9am to 3pm.
STEM Forward is a one-of-its-kind online job fair organized for Pakistani candidates and provides them with unparalleled opportunities to directly interact with companies, visit virtual company booths, participate in three bespoke skills-based workshops, and attend two full days of Keynote Sessions and Thematic Panels with experts speakers on STEM and Energy. Click here for agenda.
For registrations, visit https://www.stemforward2020.com/.
For details, contact Nameerah Hameed and Ramla Qureshi.
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IEEE PES Women in Power Congress in Region 10
September 12-13, 2020 | IEEE Bangladesh Section and PES WIP Bangladesh
The congress was organized virtually by WIE Affinity Group Bangladesh Section, IEEE Bangladesh Section, and IEEE PES Women in Power. WePOWER joined the event on the session, "WePOWER and IEEE Partners". Around 184 participants from 28 different countries and six continents, including all the South Asian countries participated in this event. The congress started with the program vision and brief shared by Dr. Celia Shahnaz, General Chair, IEEE PES Women in Power Congress in Region 10.
Facebook | Linkedin | Video Link Day 1 & Day 2 | Biography of Speakers.
For details, contact Dr. Celia Shahnaz.
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Grameen Shakti Story: Rural girl from Bangladesh helping others through COVID-19
April 2020 | Grameen Shakti Bangladesh
Ms. Halima Khatun is one of the many trainees who received capacity building training from Grameen Shakti and later started working as an active Improved Cook Stove sales agent. During the COVID pandemic, rural communities have suffered the most amidst the lockdown. Grameen Shakti distributed food relief to the impoverished people. Halima, braving the health risk, assisted and executed relief distribution in her village. The story was covered in a local daily newspaper in Bengali.
For details, contact Sohel Ahmed.
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CEB Employee Story: Excellence in Program Quality Award
Oct 23, 2020 | CEB Sri Lanka
Engineer Noorul Munawwara has dedicated more than three decades working at Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Sri Lanka. She was recognized by the Toastmasters International’s Excellence in Program Quality (2019-2020) Award, for her commitment, hard work, and excellent leadership skills .
Read the full story here. For details, contact Himali Zoysa.
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WePOWER Bootcamp on “Energy Modelling in Industry”
Sep 4-8, 2020 | WePOWER Track of IEEE YESIST12
WePOWER Track of IEEE YESIST12 (Youth Endeavours for Social Innovation Using Sustainable Technology) organized a Bootcamp on “Energy Modelling in Industry” to educate students and professionals on how industries are identifying energy solutions. The Bootcamp gave participants hands-on experience on the various tools, and stimulate industry collaboration to assist internships and job opportunities. For details, visit this website and contact Dr. Ramalatha Marimuthu.
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Pillar 5: Policy and Institutional Change
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Mandatory Female Presence in All Selection Boards
Oct 2020 | WAPDA Pakistan
WAPDA is continuously striving to strengthen the role of women in the energy and power sector. Towards this goal, WAPDA recently revised its recruitment selection policy by mandating the presence of a female officer on all selection boards when reviewing and hiring candidates. For details, contact Fizza Mumtaz.
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South Asia Gender and Energy Case Studies
Oct 2020 | K-Electric (KE)
The South Asia Energy Unit of the World Bank is working with researchers from the Harvard Business School (HBS) on a series of South Asia Gender and Energy Case Studies. K-Electric (KE) graciously provided HR data to pilot a data-driven case study, which measures the impact of gender diversity on technical and financial performance. The limited analysis indicates that gender diversity may contribute towards a positive organizational performance at KE.
Please read the full report here.
For details, contact Pranav Vaidya and Faiza Savul.
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Returning Mothers Workshop for Women Professionals in STEM and the Energy Sector
Nov 20-21, 2020 | IEEE WIE India Section
Returning Mothers Campaign | WePOWER Instagram
WePOWER is launching the Returning Mothers campaign to promote the IEEE WIE India Section Returning Mothers Workshop. The objective of this campaign is to learn from the experiences of successful returning mothers from different generations, and pave the way for the new returning mothers who want to re-launch their careers. We will be featuring inspiring stories on our soon to be launched WePOWER Instagram Channel. Please stay tuned!
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Webinar: More and Better Jobs for Women in STEM and the Energy Sector in Pakistan
Nov 5, 2020 | 6 PM Pakistan Time
This session features industry experts who will discuss how Pakistan can better recruit, retain, and develop the female workforce in the STEM and Energy sector. For Speakers Profiles, click here. World Bank Staff can RSVP & ADD TO CALENDAR here. Non-World Bank Staff can email RSVPs here. To attend the webinar, please click here. Read Speakers Profiles here. For event queries, contact Gunjan Gautam and Tehreem Saifey Ford. This webinar is a prelude to the upcoming "STEM Forward - Mega Online Job Fair," scheduled for Nov. 20-21, 2020 from 9am to 3pm (Pakistan time).
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Blogs, Research and Videos
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Blogs
Research
Videos
Question: Share your Returning Mother Experience: What were the three benefits, policies, or actions by your organization that made your transition back to work easy?
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Surbhi Goyal
Senior Energy Specialist,
World Bank
Watch Video.
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Raisa Rahman
Senior HR Officer,
The Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), Bangladesh
Watch Video.
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Despite outperforming boys in science subjects up until grade 8, less than 10% of Pakistani engineering graduates are women. Ramla Qureshi (CEO WEP) believes societal pressures and stereotypical fear of math and science inhibits inclination to STEM education and consequent STEM careers for many young girls in Pakistan and globally. Watch Ramla Qureshi speaking about STEM Learning for Pakistani Girls at Berlin Science Week.
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Get Involved! Contact us at tsaifey@worldbank.org
WePOWER is a joint initiative by the World Bank’s South Asia Energy and Social Development units under the South Asia Gender and Energy (SAGE) Facility
The WePOWER Network extends special gratitude to all of our Strategic and Institutional Partners for their commitment and zeal to address women's employment issues in the energy sector for women in South Asia.
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