The transition to low-carbon development has the potential to add about 35 million green jobs in India by 2047. The International Labour Organization defines green jobs as “decent jobs that contribute to preservation or restoration of the environment”. Many of these span across sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, renewable energy, energy efficiency and automobiles, which traditionally saw a lower representation of women.
Globally, men are likely to transition to green jobs faster than women. Even as India increased its renewable energy capacity by 250% between 2015 to 2021, women comprised merely 11% of workers in the solar rooftop sector. The Annual Survey of Industries 2019-20 shows that women workers are mostly concentrated in industries such as apparel, textile, leather, food, and tobacco. In contrast, a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) 2019 report shows that men comprise 85% of the work force in sectors such as infrastructure, transport, construction, and manufacturing.
A study in 2023 by the Skill Council for Green Jobs indicated that 85% of the training for green skills was imparted to men while over 90% of women believed that social norms limited their participation in training for green jobs. These restrictive social norms include factors such as the belief that women are unsuitable for certain technical roles, safety concerns, lower representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, and familial constraints.
