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In 2021, Daystar Power committed to making gender diversity a key pillar of our business values. Having witnessed firsthand the benefits of hiring strong female talent, we signed on to the 2X Challenge, a global initiative to drive investment in women. The target was an ambitious one: to have a 40% share of women in our workforce by 2024. While our target was not fully met (for reasons we will discuss in this piece), we made solid progress. Across our country offices, women now make up 27% of our team, more than two-thirds of our goal.
Key to our efforts was our flagship training and development initiative, the Women in Power Training (WIPT) programme. So far, WIPT has trained more than 35 women, with one-third staying on as full-time employees.
For this year’s International Women’s Day, we want to share our experience in building a gender diverse team, highlighting both our successes and challenges.
Globally, women represent 40% of the solar energy workforce. Achieving this level of gender diversity in Africa is uniquely challenging, as the percentage of women pursuing engineering degrees is lower— estimated to be 10% in many countries — compared to the global average.
Despite the uphill battle, we set this high target for ourselves because we are convinced that gender diversity is great for business. Research consistently shows that diverse teams drive stronger performance. A McKinsey study found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to achieve above-average financial returns. Women engineers, particularly in mission-driven fields like renewables, demonstrate higher retention rates and motivation to make an impact.
Across Africa, cultural and systemic barriers deter women from entering engineering. Traditional values, gender stereotyping, and a lack of female role models make it difficult for women to see themselves in technical roles. Engineering education remains largely theoretical, with few hands-on opportunities, and female students struggle to gain the experience needed to secure technical roles. In Nigeria, for instance, internships such as SIWES provide vital field experience, but past WIPT trainees often found it difficult to gain such experience due to biases that it is “unladylike” or “too physically demanding.”
Even after securing jobs, female engineers can face obstacles to staying in the field. Competition from sectors like tech and finance, which are perceived as offering higher salaries and better job stability, draws talent away from engineering. Additionally, many African economies have struggled in recent years, leading to volatility in the job market. Women engineers also face workplace challenges, including limited mentorship opportunities and hostile work environments, making retention difficult.
For example, in South Africa, up to 25% of engineering graduates are women, yet many leave the field due to high attrition rates. In Ghana and Francophone Africa, recruitment has been difficult due to the limited number of qualified female engineers. Tanzania posed the greatest challenge in 2024, with no female engineers hired—not due to a lack of effort but because no qualified candidates applied.
Attracting and retaining female talent in renewable energy requires long-term commitment. Over the years, we have found that even though we have invested in training and development, we can always do more.
Any setbacks are far outweighed by the success stories of women who have thrived at Daystar. As Daystar’s South Africa country head, Wendy Green has led our expansion efforts in this competitive and complex power market, demonstrating the power of female leadership in driving business success. Adaoma ‘Ada’ Onyeukwu, a graduate of the first WIPT cohort, quickly distinguished herself by solving operational challenges. In 2024, Daystar created a new energy asset analyst role specifically for her, recognising her exceptional talent in optimising maintenance and operations of our solar and hybrid power systems.
“Diversity in engineering isn’t just about recruitment; it’s about creating an environment where women can grow and lead,” says Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, CEO of Daystar Power. “We must continue breaking barriers, one by one, to ensure women play a central role in shapingAfrica’s renewable energy future.”
Daystar is committed to building on this foundation, fostering a culture that not only brings women into engineering but ensures they have the support needed to stay and succeed.