EDM Increases Women’s Participation in the Power Sector

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USAID’s Engendering Utilities program supports partner Electricidade de Moçambique, a Mozambican power utility, to increase women’s participation in the workforce.

Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) provides electricity to nearly 30 percent of Mozambique’s population. Only 18 percent of the utility’s 3,400 employees are women, and few work in technical, engineering, or leadership roles. In 2018, Engendering Utilities began supporting EDM to address gender inequities at each phase of the employee lifecycle. By improving the organization's recruitment and hiring practices, the utility has widened its pool of qualified candidates, improved business efficiency, and increased economic opportunities for women in Mozambique’s traditionally male-dominated power industry.

USAID’s Engendering Utilities program works with organizations in male-dominated industries to increase economic opportunities for women, improve gender equality, boost business performance, and strengthen economies. Through a customized best practices framework, demand-driven coaching, and a Gender Equity Executive Leadership Program, Engendering Utilities builds the capacity of leaders to implement gender equality interventions that increase the professional participation of women and meet their core business goals.

Launched in 2015, the Engendering Utilities program demonstrates USAID’s commitment to promote a path to self-reliance and resilience in developing countries by fostering enterprise-driven innovation, inclusive economic growth, and gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. Engendering Utilities is a key activity under the U.S. Government’s Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP), which aims to reach 50 million women by 2025 through innovative and effective programs.

Date 
Friday, January 15, 2021 - 1:00pm