Electricity + Control April 2016

A SENSE OF AFRICA

At work with ‘Females in Energy Efficiency’

Join the SAFEE You need to be a member of the SAEE in order to join the SAFEE. Being a member will enable you to contribute towards discussions throughout the year, to ask for assistance play a part in achieving a gender-equal engineering industry and energy society. Enquiries:Tel. +27 (0) 11 038 4300 or email SAFEE@saee.org.za

At a mentorship breakfast held at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on 10 March 2016, hosted by the Southern Afri- can Females in Energy Efficiency (SAFEE), a number of young, female students and future entrepreneurs had an opportunity to share their concerns, ideas and aspi- rations with regard to fitting into South Africa’s engineering and energy industry. The SAFEE (a division of the SAEE) has ventured into mentorship programmes at tertiary institutions promoting education- al interest in the energy sector as a career option. This… in an effort to empower women and make all things equal in an historically gender-disparate industry.The support andmotivation at the mentorship event was offered by highly respected and well established women across the country’s energy sector. A better life for women Women bear the brunt and burden of energy poverty with risks to their health, safety and wellbeing as a result of house- hold air pollution, lack of lighting, the heavy fuel loads that they carry daily… not to mention their time spent on tasks that would not be necessary in a society that embraced sustainable energy solu- tions. At this point in the 21 st Century, the lowering of renewable energy technology costs has changed the energy outlook with an end to the brunt and burden in sight. The gender discrepancy exists on a different scale in the corporate sense… where often, men are selected for top positions in preference to their equally or

better qualified female colleagues. These are challenges which women have faced for many years… but the time has come and women are taking a stand. SAFEE objective With the objective of increasing women’s access to sustainable energy and, there- fore, making the associated opportuni- ties accessible, the SAFEE has the vision to ‘Establish a large representation of females playing an influential role in the energy management sector’. . In the belief that opportunities in the energy sector should be available to everyone with ap- propriate qualifications, the SAFEE gives women a platform to support, motivate, encourage and network with one another. The organisation has embarked on a journey of assisting women to become powerful agents for change in the transi- tional phase to sustainability. To this end, the SAFEE has plannedmany networking, coaching, mentorship and information sharing events for 2016. In an interview with Leanne Manas on SABC’s Morning Live, third year chemical engineering student, Edinah Joy January, described the mentorship programme as very beneficial to students. "The breakfast mentorship programme was quite amaz- ing, very empowering. I got in touch with phenomenal women and what I learned from it is the fact that there are a lot of opportunities in the energy sector. It has encouraged me to consider a career op- portunity in the energy sector…more spe- cifically in environmental engineering."

Mentors: Helen Couvaras (Left) and Ntombenhle Ndwandwe (Right); Student (centre): Siphiwe Mosiane (University of Johannesburg).

Mentors: Daphney Ramaphosa (left) and Joy Msoki (right); Student (centre): Edinah Joy January (University of Johannesburg).

SAFEE Committee Members: Santa Scheepers, Faith Mkhacwa, Lesego Gaegane, Coretta Magongoa-Mohale and Noxolo Kahlana (Committee Chairperson).

Electricity+Control April ‘16

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