‘’Invest in women: Accelerate progress’’ – 2024 theme for International Women’s Day
More than ever, gender equality should be put the forefront of national agendas and as a mainstreaming approach to accelerate good governance, effective democracy and social transformations. As we are approaching the International Women's Day, we all must reflect on the progress made towards gender equality and the work that still lies ahead. Over the last 20 years a lot has already been achieved, with some of the most important progress being in the areas of legislation and representation. Today, over 30% of the Parliament seats are occupied by women, while in contrast to the time when the Gender based quota was introduced, most of the women are elected by direct vote. This progress, albeit not satisfactory, is very important! However, beyond our focus on gender equality in the traditional themes such as women’s participation in decision making, it is crucial that we analyze gender inequalities in non-traditional gender themes that often remain un-tackled. We need to reflect on how to best and intelligently invest in women in different sectors and contribute in the acceleration of the progress in those sectors and sustainable development.

Gender equality in non-traditional sectors
What do we mean by gender equality in climate, STEM, energy, construction, etc.? This is a space for a lot of discussions, research, compelling, ideation of new gender mainstreaming tools and action! What can we do?

- We first need to start thinking and discussing the nexus between gender and all the non-traditional gender sectors. We should bring it as a topic of discussion 

- In order to do that, we need to have data disaggregated by gender and if missing, research and data collection should be one of the 1st actions that will satisfy the need to have a Gender Analysis in the sector. We need to understand how this nexus is translated into differential impact of the sector in women and men, boys and girls; we need to understand on what is the gender gap in representation in those sectors at all levels, be it as decision-makers, entrepreneurs, employees or activists; and finally also understand how different patterns of behaviors for women, men, boys and girls are interlinked with the sector. The data will inform us on what strategies and interventions would yield more sustainable results.

- We need to ensure that legislation and policies are data informed, responsive and evidence based. Gender Analysis and that sectoral budgets are also responsive to the different impact and needs of women and men – thus constituting one of the most important approaches to Gender mainstreaming, the Gender Responsive Budgeting.

Invest in women and increase their participation and representation in all sectors in which they are underrepresented, and measure and document the progress (and be patient about it!)

Intelligent Investments on Women
‘’Intelligent’’ is not often used as a notion in the developmental settings, but broken down into key words of its meaning – we should use it more often 😊.

’understanding’, ‘data’, ‘information’, ‘observation’, ‘statistics’, ‘brains’ (institutional intellect), ‘knowledge’, ‘skills’, ‘learning’, etc. 

depict some of the crucial elements to successful design and implementation of investments on gender equality and women. The notion of intelligence gives value to data, statistics and research, gives value to collective wisdom and skills, as well as value in observing and learning from successful practices. This is a good start to ensure that what happened in the past is filtered to the learnings of ‘DO-s’ and ‘DON’T-s’, present listening in of all constituents and representing players through data, interviews, consultations, engagements, and finally into future designing of actions that have sustainable results.

POWER and EMPOWER

As Kosovo embarks on an ambitious energy transition journey, it's crucial to ensure that women are not left behind. With specific targets to increase the number of women in the energy sector as part of the Energy Strategy, our Compact Program intends to contribute to the investments for women and gender equality in the energy sector. Tackling gender and social inclusion in the entire program, Compact will invest in the education, employment and entrepreneurship of women in the energy transition, but not only with the aim to contribute to the Gender Agenda of Kosovo, but also with the aim to accelerate energy transition by means of gender equality.
Historically dominated by men, this field is ripe for transformation, not just in terms of technology and sustainability but also in fostering diversity and inclusion. So, today, let's all think about the importance of Powering inclusion of women in the energy sector, and Empowering generations of women to lead the charge towards a greener, more inclusive energy landscape.