Women in Wind Global Leadership Program 2024-25

In order to advance the role of women as agents of change in society and promote best practices within the wind industry, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) partnered with the Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET) to launch the Women in Wind Global Leadership Program in 2019.

Lalitha Priyadharshini from the 2017 Energy Technologies MPhil cohort has been selected to be a part of the Women in Wind Global Leadership Program 2024-2025. Twenty women from all over the world were chosen for the latest #WomenInWind program. The initiative is led collaboratively by the (GWEC) and GWNET. Lalitha holds a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras, and a Master’s in Energy Technologies from the University of Cambridge.

Lalitha is currently working as the Technical Lead at Wind Pioneers. In her career spanning over 10 years in the energy industry, she has worked in various geographies such as India, the Netherlands, Brazil, and the UK in various engineering sectors. Her goal in joining the GWEC Women in Wind program is to promote gender diversity in the renewables industry and help the wind energy sector tap into the female talent pool, especially in developing countries.

Under representation of Women in Stem sector

Women are under-represented in the STEM fields, especially in the Wind sector, both at the policy and decision-making leadership level and in the work force. Lesser developed countries are steeped in implicit gender biases that prevent girls from joining niche sectors such as engineering. This led to me being passionate about women empowerment and has been at the forefront of my journey in the renewables sector.

Goals in joining the Women in Wind Global Leadership Program:

In Lalitha's own words: 'My goals of joining this program are to have an active role in promoting gender diversity in the renewables industry which I feel the program will help me achieve. My aim is to help wind energy sector tap into the female talent pool especially in Developing countries.

There is a little representation of female engineers in the senior positions in the wind industry.

Lack of mentoring and an insight into how women tackle the issue of work life balance in a male dominated engineering fields which require long hours or challenging working conditions is something I would like to learn through this program. Career Retention in a Male dominated Energy sector after childbearing years is something I want to explore and learn as well. Navigating the systemic biases around women in STEM can be difficult and the presence of women at all levels of an organization has the potential to create environments that are less threatening for women.'

What happens during the women in wind program.

The participants come from all corners of the world, and work across various divisions of wind energy. Over the coming months, the candidates will take part in an intensive professional development journey, including working with their individual mentors as well as engaging in online training and workshops.

Throughout the course of the program, the candidates will attend online knowledge-transfer sessions on industry-specific topics, as well as participate in networking events. Each participant will be paired with a handpicked mentor—a senior energy professional. This matching is carried out according to the participants’ unique career aspirations and personal development goals. Through these initiatives, the Women in Wind program empowers participants with the professional skillset and support they need to thrive and contribute to a fair transition to renewable energy.