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Policy Brief: Women’s Inclusion in Energy Sector

Prepared by Atty. Nisrine Elias Mansour
For Publish What You Pay Lebanon & Diaries of the Ocean

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In the energy sector in Lebanon, the percentage of women’s employment is low. This is due to beliefs and perceptions of gender roles, cultural and social norms, and prevailing hiring practices in the industry. The oil and gas (O&G) sector is one of the most male-dominant industries.

The energy sector has always been regarded as one of the jobs offering the most difficult working conditions, especially on oil platforms and offshore. “United Civil Society for a Transparent Petroleum Sector”, is a project funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development and Cooperation (NORAD) and implemented by Publish What You Pay – Lebanon (PWYP) and Diaries of the Ocean (DOTO). This project opens a window of opportunity for civil society organizations (CSOs) who are seeking to reach an open and accountable energy sector. The overall objective of the project is to establish a capable civil society coalition and enhance its ability to access, understand, analyze data, and reach out to decision-makers in Lebanon. In addition, forming an academic network comprised of both university professors and students is a major aim of the project.

The aim of this policy is to encourage the wider participation of women in the energy sector while maintaining the principle of health and safety protection of the employees irrespective of gender. Therefore, a desk review of international conventions and legislation that impose restrictions on women’s employment in the energy sector was conducted. Notwithstanding the international conventions that guarantee equality to work and to choose the field of work, few legislations impose restrictions on the employment of women in harsh and hazardous jobs in which oil and gas are categorized as one of them.

On the other hand, interviews with governmental agencies which are mandated to work in this field were conducted to map the involvement of women. Most full-time female employees in the responding governmental organizations are occupying non-related energy jobs mainly administrative positions rather than energy-specialized careers. Awareness sessions on job opportunities in the energy field and incentive programs for school and university students would encourage more women to enroll in energy-related programs and occupy energy-related jobs after graduation.

Therefore, interventions of civil society, in particular, the Coalition for Energy Governance, at various levels, the legal, educational, and professional, are essential to overcome the legacy of excluding women in energy-related careers and workplaces.

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Halt to the passing of four new oil and gas laws (op-ed)

Following the government’s decision to award oil and gas offshore contracts to the Total-Eni-Novatek consortium, a hazardous rush to adopt a set of new legislation has ensued, which will prove decisive for Lebanon, not only in the coming years, but for future generations. Kulluna Irada wrote an op-ed on this topic urging for a proper transparent process to review the proposed onshore bill and alleviate major concerns over land-grabbing and environmental threats.

The Truth about Lebanon and Sovereign Wealth Funds

On the sidelines of Kulluna Irada’s work with the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative (LOGI) around the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) for Lebanon’s potential resources from this sector, and following the recommendations written by international expert Andrew Bauer on this subject, Kulluna Irada and LOGI produced a short Q&A video presenting all the information related to SWFs.

Why the rush campaign

Following the government’s decision to award oil and gas offshore contracts to the Total-Eni-Novatek consortium, a hazardous rush to adopt a set of new legislation ensued. The four laws, hastily written, could have determined the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the National Oil Company, and the Directorate for Petroleum Assets, and finally a law on the onshore petroleum regulation. Kulluna Irada fully supported The Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative’s (LOGI) claim that there was absolutely no rush to pass these laws and launched, in 2018, a campaign with a short satirical video to raise awareness about the governance of the oil and gas sector in Lebanon and to demand a national strategy before setting the laws. The campaign went viral, accumulating more than one million views on social media platforms, and was key to stop the ratification of the laws, which still haven’t been adopted.

Concerns around the proposed draft law for the establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund in Lebanon

In 2018, A proposed draft of the Lebanese Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) bill was submitted to the Lebanese parliament joint committees for revision. Kulluna Irada and the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative (LOGI) prepared a paper detailing their position in this regard and urging the Lebanese parliament not to review the current draft law for the establishment of the SWF before developing a consensual over-all strategy for the oil and gas sector as well as a fiscal strategy and fiscal rule.

Oil and gas will not save Lebanon

As Lebanon races to enter the new oil producers club, decision-makers display a dangerous tendency to put all hopes on this uncertain sector and label it as the economic savior. Kulluna Irada’s Director of Public Policies, Sibylle Rizk, and The Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative’s (LOGI) Executive Director, Diana Kaissy, wrote an op-ed in Executive Magazine in this regard.

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