Remarks by the honourable Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala (MP) AOW: Investing in African Energy Conference Women in Energy Forum

Programme Director,
Organisers of the AOW: Investing in African Energy
Fellow Women in the Energy Industry

Distinguished Guests

As we gather here today to talk about our collective actions to empower women in the energy industry, we are of a firm view that we need to move beyond talking to execution of our action plan initiatives.

During the previous women in energy engagements, delegates had extensive discussions about the challenges and opportunities that are faced by women in the industry.

Some of the challenges identified include but are not limited to; the barriers to women participation in the industry, persistent gender gap in leadership roles, and the lack of mentorship and sponsorship to support women in technical fields.

Of great concern to us about these discussions is that we have fantastic proposals that seek to address our challenges, however, we do not have clear timeframes, roles, and responsibilities, and thereby subjecting these engagements to talks about talks, rather than progressive engagements.

The reality of the matter is that the conditions under which we meet today do not allow us to keep on talking while South Africans, in particular women and youth are trapped in extreme poverty, high unemployment, and inequality.

In its quarterly employment statistics released in September this year, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported that, whereas total employment increased by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter between March and June 2024, total employment decreased by 1.3% year-on-year between June 2023 and June 2024.

As social partners in the mining and petroleum sectors, we all need to put shoulder on the wheel and change this reality by not only ensuring the provision of secure, sustainable, and affordable energy, but also advance the full participation of women and youth in these sectors.

To do so, stakeholders in the energy sector need to fully embrace the objectives that are set out in the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Strategy (WEGE) 2021 – 2025. I can assure you of the government’s commitment to developing and strengthening procedures and practices to ensure equal rights, opportunities, and ensure economic empowerment of women in the economy.

Whereas the mining industry has over the years increased participation of women in the industry, both the mining and energy sectors remain predominantly male dominated. As part of its Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations recognised gender equality as a fundamental human right and a foundation for prosperous and sustainable world economy. 

It is within this context that the WEGE strategy seeks to achieve gender equality by advancing increased numbers of women leaders, business owners, and decision makers in the energy sector.

However, limited access to education and training is major challenge and a barrier for women to enter the mining and energy industries. One of the most direct actions by our government over the past 30 years, has been the provision for access to education for all South Africans, irrespective of race, gender, and household economic status. 

Today, almost every school going aged young person is literate, and thereby contributing to the 85% of adult literacy, up from only 64% in 1996. Despite this progress, a challenge remains the shortage of learners doing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects which are critical for the mining and energy sectors. It is against these background that the Department continues to facilitate full time bursaries targeting eligible South African scholars from disadvantaged social backgrounds that are doing or have completed grade 12 in mining or energy related fields, such as science, engineering, and geology.

Limited financing and funding have also been identified as major hindrances to women participation in the energy sector. Many interventions have been introduced by government over the past 30 years to assist small enterprises, entrepreneurs and cooperatives, especially in townships and villages, with set-asides for women, youth and persons with disabilities. Some of these interventions include the recently established exploration fund to assist junior miners in their exploration projects, and the artisanal and small-scale miners’ fund to assist artisanal miners with their mining projects, and thereby do away with the sterilisation of marginal deposits.

As the Minister reported during this year’s Joburg Indaba, at least 44 applicants for the exploration fund have been provisionally selected to undergo the second phase of the verification process, and on the other hand, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is finalising contracting agreements with successful applicants for the R72 million artisanal and small-scale miners’ fund. 

We continue to engage with investment community to support these initiatives as they are poised to sustain our economy in the long run. Additionally, laws such as the Broad- Based Black Economic Empowerment Act have enabled both women and youth greater access to business and investment opportunities.

As part of our efforts to eradicate these barriers in the energy industry, in particular the petroleum sector, and many others, the government commits to strengthening relations, and working, with organisations that seek to advance gender equality such as the South African Women in Energy Association (SAWEA) and the Women in Oil and Energy South Africa (WOESA).

We are convinced that by working together, we will have more and more women participating in the energy sector not only as employees, but drivers of change and innovation. Notwithstanding these barriers, there are opportunities that we need to pursue to increase women participation in the energy sectors.

As we set our sights on providing for the orderly development of the country’s Upstream Petroleum Industry through the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill, which the President is considering assenting into law, women are poised to lead the country’s exploration and production operations, as well as taking part in the refining and processing of petrochemicals, including pipeline maintenance and transportation of petroleum products.

It is within this framework that the government continues to participate in forums of this nature which bring together prominent and aspirant women in the mining and energy industries to foster strategic partnerships and collaborations, as well as inspire one another to take advantage of the existing opportunities.

Identified as the primary solution to delivering clean cooking by the International Energy Agency and the African Development Bank, the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) is poised to play a catalytic role in our journey towards addressing energy poverty, and contribute to our drive towards inclusive economic growth, employment creation, and eradication of poverty.

As we work towards the expansion of the South African LPG industry to ensure its sustainable growth, women and the youth must be actively involved in the entire value chain of the LPG industry, including production, wholesaling, and retailing.

We therefore look to prominent women in this meeting and beyond to help us facilitate the entry of these aspirant women in the sector by among others, mentorship, sponsorship, and scholarship. This can be achieved by investing in targeted training programmes with technical and vocational education training institutions to equip these women with technical kills and knowledge required to establish women-led energy startups and entrepreneurship.

Our nation is blessed with a wealth of untapped talent, particularly among women and youth, that must be nurtured and guided to reach their full potential. Despite the lack of access to education and training, there are thousands of young professionals, women with skills in STEM, and innovators with creative solutions for our energy challenges that need coaching and personalised advise for career advancement in the energy sectors.

If we are to increase diversity and inclusion in the energy sector, we must foster innovation, creativity, and collaboration among all key role players in the industry. The transition from a high carbon economy to a low carbon economy will require such collaboration and creative ideas.

On the global arena, forums such as BRICS, that our country is a member of offer various benefits for the oil and gas sector, addressing economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges. For its part, government will continue to increase the voice of developing countries, in particular the voice of women and youth, with a view to expand and deepen our trade and investment relations with both the developing and developed nations in line with the National Development Plan.

We must therefore continuously engage one another, beyond this meeting, to ensure that we transform the energy sector by adequately addressing the barriers to women participation, ensure women involvement in leadership roles, promote mentorship, meaningful networking, innovation, and ensure that gender equity is embedded not only in government policies, but in our working environment.

In our discussions today, I wish to encourage all the aspiring women in energy to draw wisdom from the prominent women who have already made their mark in the industry, and equally, urge the prominent women to lend a helping hand to these aspiring women.

Let us continue working together and leave no one behind. For us in government, we will not tire until gender equality and transformation of the economy are achieved.

I thank you.