The Career Services Office, in collaboration with Women in Energy-Pakistan, organised a panel discussion for female students who are interested in pursuing a career in the energy sector at the Lahore University of Management Sciences on Monday April 15, 2019.
Women in Energy (WIE) is a professional network supporting women working in the field of energy and power in Pakistan. It has over 200 active members, which include professionals working in the field of energy including solar, wind, thermal energy, energy efficiency, urban planning, green buildings, climate change etc. Members include a Managing Director of a Punjab Power Development Board, a Director General of a national regulatory authority, Founder(s) and CEO(s) of local solar companies and Senior Energy Specialists.
Saadia Qayyum, Chief Energy Economist and WIE Lahore Hub Co-Chair, discussed the prospects for women looking for work in the energy sector of Pakistan and shared facts about WIE. She said WIE has more than 200 active members in three cities, and one third of their members are in leadership positions in different renowned companies.
Ms. Qayyum elaborated that WIE also recommends women for placement on boards of public companies and hold collaborative webinars to stay connected. It was also shared at the panel that WIE is establishing university chapters to engage female students.
Ms. Qayyum encouraged women to join the energy sector as there are many career opportunities available for them. She then invited the panellists to share their experiences of working in the energy sector.
Panellists included Afifa Jabeen, Director Legal, Punjab Power Development Board, Rehma Javed, Senior Executive, Sapphire Renewables, Asma Rizwan, Planning Engineer, SkyElectric, and Sehrish Riaz, Associate Engineer, USAID Sustainable Energy for Pakistan Project.
The session concluded with an interactive Question and Answer session.
