Offering free professional training to Brazilian women, Neoenergia's Electrician School opens up opportunities in the electricity sector and helps pave the way for gender equality

Acting for gender equality is one of Neoenergia's commitments, with the aim of contributing to sustainable development. The Electricians School, an initiative that promotes free training for residents of the company's concession areas, is one of the tools to encourage the growth of the number of women in the electricity sector, in a profession mostly occupied by men.

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“Encouraging the presence of women in an activity that is still seen as male not only expands opportunities in the job market, but also supports the constant search for gender equity. Equal opportunities, in addition to being a fundamental right, is also one of the essential foundations for building a more prosperous and fair world for all”, says Neoenergia's Organizational Development superintendent, Régia Barbosa.

More than 300 women trained by Neoenergia

Since 2017, 384 women have been trained by the Electricians School in mixed and exclusive classes for women – these, promoted by Neoenergia Coelba (BA) and Neoenergia Pernambuco (PE) in an initiative that was recognized as a global example of one of the Empowerment Principles (WEPs) by WeEmpower, a UN Women program with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the European Union to encourage good business practices. In all, 268 of these female students were hired, with the same salaries and benefits as the men.

Joyce Marques, 24 years old, entered the Electricians School in 2016, when she was 18 years old. Today, she works on Neoenergia Pernambuco's readiness teams. She can already see a change in the scenario, now, for her, more favorable for women.

“Being part of the company makes you feel more at ease, it facilitates the whole process. I see it has even changed to the workplace, with a larger women's locker room,” she reports. “The performance of women is already very natural in the company. The ideal is to show that all women can be wherever they want. Before, it was a male area and not today, we have female live-line electricians, in transmission. Gradually, we are managing to show that we can act in areas that many people never expected”.

More than 50 women in training at the Neoenergia Electrician School and prepared to work in the electricity sector in 2022

Another 54 women are being trained in 14 groups starting in 2022, distributed in four states and the Federal District. In addition to Bahia and Pernambuco, they promote the initiative Neoenergia Cosern (RN), Neoenergia Elektro (SP) and Neoenergia Brasília (DF). The company has been working to increasingly increase the participation of women in the project. An example is one of the classes that are in progress in partnership with the National Service of Industrial Learning (Senai) of the Federal District, where the participation of women reaches 58%. In Mossoró and Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte, the percentages are 42% and 33%, respectively.

Thawanny Souza Gomes, 28 years old, is one of the students benefiting from the initiative at Neoenergia Brasília this year. For her, who is in training, the initiative is not only a way to offer training and job opportunities, but also to contribute to gender equality. “The Electricians School generates the interest of women in this area. Women see women doing and see themselves capable of performing the task. It is an incentive for women to see that the sector is not exclusively for men”, she opines.

“I think it's also important because of the issue of women's empowerment,” agrees Clécia Maria Bezerra dos Santos, 34, a graduate student at the Neoenergia Cosern initiative in February. “Some people even laugh, but I never bowed my head to it, many people still think that women cannot be electricians, each stage won was a great achievement. I want to start working, grow and take other courses”.

About Neoenergia

Publicly held company with shares (NEOE3) traded on the São Paulo Stock Exchange. Part of the Spanish group Iberdrola, the company has been operating in Brazil since 1997, and is currently one of the leaders in the country's electricity sector. Present in 18 states and the Federal District, its businesses are divided into the areas of generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization.

Its distributors [Neoenergia Coelba (BA), Neoenergia Pernambuco (PE), Neoenergia Cosern (RN), Neoenergia Elektro (SP/MS) and Neoenergia Brasília (DF)] serve more than 15 million customers, the equivalent of a population over 37 million people.

Neoenergia has 4 GW of installed generation capacity, 88% of which is renewable energy, and is implementing another 0,7 GW with the construction of new wind farms. In transmission, there are 2,3 km of lines in operation and 4,3 km under construction. Through the Neoenergia Institute, it encourages sustainable development based on socio-environmental actions and, thus, contributes to improving the quality of life in the communities where the company operates, especially the most vulnerable people, always aiming for sustainable development.

The company is the first company in the country to exclusively sponsor the Brazilian Women's Football Team, giving its name to the national competition, which is now called Brasileirão Feminino Neoenergia. Since January 2021, it has been part of the B3 Corporate Sustainability Index portfolio – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão – which brings together companies that have the best corporate governance and sustainability practices.