Today, the Women in Renewable Energy (WIRE) Network, a professional development group for women working in energy in island nations, announces its transition from the Clinton Climate Initiative to RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute), beginning this summer.
The WIRE Network leads efforts to boost the presence of women leaders on islands within the energy sector and was founded in 2016 by Chelsea Clinton and the Clinton Climate Initiative (an initiative of the Clinton Foundation). Since then, more than 570 individuals from more than 60 countries have joined the network. Over 80 women have participated in the flagship Mentorship Program, and alumni continue to have an impact beyond the network on the ground in their localities.
“Despite women being affected disproportionately by climate change — the effects of which are most severe in island states — women face many barriers in actively participating in the urgent combat against its ravaging effects. The energy sector in the Caribbean has long-standing barriers to the participation of women and is lacking in gender diversity,” said Charlin Bodley, manager with RMI’s Energy Transition Academy and WIRE alumna. “The WIRE Network is a critical force for equipping and empowering women working in the energy sector in island states to respond effectively to the ongoing disruptions and needs of a modern sector. RMI is excited for the opportunity to accelerate the progress of women in the sector by building on the momentum of this outstanding network.”
The Clinton Climate Initiative has managed the WIRE Network since its founding in 2016. This year, the Clinton Foundation announced a scaling up of their convening-based model through the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). As part of these efforts, CGI will take on all the Foundation’s work on climate action, and RMI will take over management of the WIRE Network. RMI is particularly well-suited and enthusiastic to host WIRE. Fostering deep partnerships in the Caribbean beginning with the Islands program since 2012, RMI is committed to empowering local practitioners as well as advancing equitable access to skills, knowledge, and peer networks with ongoing initiatives such as the Global Fellowship Program.
The WIRE Network takes a multi-faceted approach to opening opportunities and promoting career development among its members:
- MENTORSHIP: Through a two-year reciprocal program, mentors and mentees meet one-on-one and as a cohort, with access to resources to support their learning and career advancement.
- COMMITMENTS TO ACTION: Mentorship participants are encouraged to fulfill a Commitment to Action — a new, specific, and measurable project that addresses a challenge within the nexus of gender and energy in their own communities. Past commitments have helped distribute LED lightbulbs to female-headed households, promoted engineering at all-girls schools, and elevated women’s voices, stories, and creativity through educational podcasts.
- CAPACITY BUILDING AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Members receive a wide variety of technical training materials and access to webinars and in-person training sessions throughout the year, while the WIRE Network supports the coordination of all-women panels at regional and international energy conferences.
- STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS: The WIRE Network partners with regional and international organizations, such as Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) to jointly progress and advocate for gender equality, ensure active women’s participation in the renewable energy space, and work toward the achievement of UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 in line with the Paris Agreement.
- RAISING AWARENESS: The WIRE Network also works to advance women’s leadership by raising awareness around relevant issues and highlighting outstanding women leaders, through storytelling opportunities and at industry conferences hosted around the world.
Applications for the 2022–2023 WIRE Mentorship Program will open on September 13, 2022.
