In the Russian Electric Power Industry, 36% of Employees Are Women, Which Is One of the Best Indicators in the World, Anastasia Bondarenko Stated at the CIGRE Forum “Women in Energy”

august 27, 2021

Anastasia Bondarenko, the State Secretary–Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, spoke as a key speaker at the V International Forum “Women in Energy” within the framework of the 48th Anniversary Session of the International Council on Large Electric Systems of High Voltage (CIGRE), where she presented the results of the all-Russian study of the structure of women employment in the electric power industry and of the existing support measures for female labor and motherhood.

According to the study carried out with the support of the Ministry of Energy of Russia and Rosseti Group, the level of women representation in the electric power industry in Russia is one of the best in the world — 36%, while the number of women in top-management positions accounts for 21%.

Speaking at the CIGRE Forum “Women in Energy”, Anastasia Bondarenko noted that education in engineering became available for Russian women in 1906, and since then it has been systematically supported and developing. Social support for female labor in the country remains historically developed as well. In general, one can speak of Russia as a holder of the best practices in the field of women support in the electric power industry, but activities in this area have to be developed taking into account the National Development Goals of Russia and in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation believes that it is necessary to continue collecting and analyzing statistical information, to monitor and implement the best practices to ensure a comfortable balance of the “family” and “professional” components, to involve women in scientific and technical activities, including promoting the formation of professional dynasties, and to ensure interaction of the existing women's communities. According to Anastasia Bondarenko, energy companies should contribute to the achievement of the National Development Goals and the UN SDGs, also with a focus on the social agenda.

Representatives of France, Brazil, China, Israel, Greece, Italy, USA and South Africa also spoke at the Forum. The issues of interaction between the older generation of specialists and the youth were discussed in the framework of CIGRE: how to combine the experience of the past and the energy of the future, the impact of the climate on the stability of energy systems operation, the influence of this factor on the future development of the electric power industry, and the role of women in this aspect.

Anastasia Bondarenko invited the speakers and participants of the Forum to take part in the Third Eurasian Women's Forum to be held in St. Petersburg on October 13-15, 2021.

Background information on the study of the structure of female employment in the electric power industry:

197 companies from the Wholesale Market for Electrical Energy and Power (WMEP) with a total number of over 500,000 employees (54%), 39 regional executive bodies (46%), 26 regional legislative bodies (31%), and 3 federal executive bodies (60%) took part in the study conducted by the “Women in Energy” Community of the Russian National Committee of CIGRE with the support of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and Rosseti Group.

Representation of women was studied in the contexts of the size of companies by the number of employees, employment type (technical professions and financial, economic and administrative segments), and the presence of women in the middle and top management. A separate analysis of regional and corporate measures to support female labor and motherhood was made in order to identify and popularize the best practices.

The proportion of women practically does not depend on the size of the company, and ranges from 30% in the largest companies (2,500+ employees) to 47% in medium-sized businesses (from 251 to 600 employees).

Background information about CIGRE Association:

The International Council on Large Electric Systems of High Voltage (CIGRE) is the largest international non-governmental and non-profit organization in the field of electric power, established in France in 1921, and one of the most reputable scientific and technical associations. CIGRE brings together scientists and energy specialists from all over the world and has a significant impact on the formation of the industry development strategy in many countries. The headquarters of the organization is located in Paris.

Members of CIGRE are over 1,000 organizations and over 15,000 experts in all areas of the electric power industry. The main organizational principle of CIGRE is to work through National Committees uniting companies and institutions in the industry of each member country or geographic region. CIGRE is currently represented in 107 countries. Russia (USSR) has been participating in the activities of CIGRE since 1923, traditionally being one of the largest and most active partners, being represented in the main governing bodies (Steering Committee, Administrative Council, Technical Council), as well as in all of 16 CIGRE International Study Committees.

Rosseti Group has been supervising the activities of CIGRE Russian National Committee (RNC) since 2015.

In terms of membership, Russia is constantly among the top ten largest Committees. In particular, at the end of 2020, in terms of the number of members, Russia was the second in Europe after Germany, and the sixth in the world, ahead of China (which took the first place in 2019). At the 48th Session, Russia took the fourth place in terms of the number of reports, and the sixth place in terms of the number of participants. Over 7,000 people are involved in the work of the (Russian) NC Next Generation Network of CIGRE (the largest in the world). “Women in Energy” debate club was launched in Russia in 2019.

About CIGRE Women's Community:

CIGRE Women's Community (CIGRE Women in Energy, CIGRE WiE) was formed in 2015, within the UK CIGRE National Committee on the initiative of Mark Waldron (the Chairman of the CIGRE Technical Council from 2012 to 2018).

This initiative, that became a global movement within the framework of CIGRE, along with the Next Generation Network (NGN), is an excellent additional emotional foundation uniting the global scientific and technological community.

The Vision: CIGRE WiE is the forum for women working in the energy sector, established to ensure their interaction, career development, self-confidence, improvement of professional skills and fulfilling the dreams (in profession).

The Mission: CIGRE WiE inspires and motivates women working in the power industry ensuring the connection with the world leaders in the industry expertise and the role models, and the demonstration of the influence and functions of women's professional communities.

The Expectations: to identify the winning strategies promoting women's career success in the power industry; to understand what knowledge, skills and experience are required to achieve the goals; to elaborate action plans for women's professional career development.

The role of CIGRE National Committees has been identified as the key one in promoting women to the working bodies of CIGRE. For that particular reason CIGRE National Committees are encouraged to create WiE communities to implement the WiE Vision. 22 National Committees have already done that:

• Australia
• Brazil
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Israel
• India
• Iran
• Canada
• China
• Kosovo
• The Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Russia
• Romania
• Slovenia
• The United Kingdom
• The USA
• The Persian Gulf countries
• Turkey
• France
• Croatia
• Sweden
• South Africa

About the CIGRE Forum “Women in Energy”

“Women in Energy” Forums are held in the framework of the CIGRE Sessions program. The WiE Session is dedicated to promoting women's development in the power industry through experience exchange, role models highlighting, and provision of networking cooperation.

This Forum is a great opportunity for women already working in CIGRE and those more broadly involved in the power industry to meet each other and the representatives of CIGRE governing bodies, and to exchange opinions on women's representation in the power industry and on the ways of achieving this.