Project to promote inclusivity

A NEW project aimed at promoting gender inclusivity and supporting women in the energy sector was launched yesterday at the Pacific Community (SPC) office.

The Pacific Energy and Gender Initiative (PEGI) project aims to provide women and girls in the Pacific with career and incomegenerating opportunities. It hopes to achieve this by funding pilot projects that support women-owned businesses involved in the sale, distribution, and maintenance of renewable energy systems and by providing scholarships to women and girls pursuing relevant science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

Last year, a $1.5million Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) grant was awarded to SPC by the Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues to assist with PEGI implementation over the next three years. At the launch event yesterday, the project and the PEGI team were introduced, along with the scope, deliverables, milestones, and activity roadmap.

Roles, responsibilities, and expectations were clarified, the project team’s approach to working with stakeholders was outlined, and ongoing work on gender and energy-related initiatives in the Pacific was mapped out.

Speaking at the event, US ambassador Marie Damour, emphasised the importance of such initiatives and the benefits they bring to women in communities, as well as the impacts of climate change on women.

“Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the impact of climate change, which amplifies existing gender inequalities and poses unique challenges and threats to their livelihoods, their health, and their safety,” she said.

She also highlighted the need to focus on increasing community resilience for the inclusivity of women.

“The climate crisis needs to focus on increasing resilience among communities in a way that promotes inclusivity and equity for women.”