04 | 03 | 2023

Ecoener promotes female employment in construction

Ecoener is working to highlight the role of women in the construction of renewable energy facilities, with the commitment to provide opportunities and increase the presence of women in a traditionally male-dominated sector.

Proof of this is the outstanding growth of the work team associated with the construction of the Cumayasa 1&2 photovoltaic plants, located in the District of Cumayasa, in the province of La Romana (Dominican Republic). As of 31 December 2022, 28% of the workforce was women, occupying administrative and site execution tasks. However, an important milestone has been the incorporation of local women into the workforce of site operators, accounting for 14% of the workforce.

The average age of the women hired as workers is 29 years old. All of them belong to the localities close to the projects (Villa Hermosa, La Romana and km14 of Cumayasa). In addition, most of them are heads of single-parent households, with an average of between 3 and 5 children. Their previous occupations include occasional and sporadic work, in most cases as domestic helpers.

The professional category in which they are employed is that of construction labourer, carrying out the functions of day labourer, logistics assistant in mechanical assembly, health and safety assistant, and machinery checker. During the development of the works, both female and male personnel have received training in: proper use of tools, electrical risk, reception of module material, use of PPE.

The average salary received is 6% higher than that established in Resolution CNS-03-2022, the minimum wage for construction and related workers for the contracted category.