(Atlas, 8.Jun.2021) — The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America (LAVCA), dedicated to supporting the growth of private capital in the region, recognized Atlas Renewable Energy with the 2021 Gender and Diversity Award for their Female Workforce Program during the Seventh Annual Latin American Private Capital ESG Deal Awards on June 2nd.
The program was submitted by Actis, Atlas Renewable Energy’s sponsor and active member of LAVCA, which was recognized for supporting social and gender diversity through one of Atlas’ initiatives. The winners were determined by a distinguished panel of institutional investors from development finance institutions, insurance companies and pension funds.
Atlas Renewable Energy’s female workforce program “We are all part of the same energy” stood out because of its goals to improve local women’s access to employment, entrepreneurial opportunities and leadership positions across the corporate value chain. The program established an ambitious target to increase female representation in the construction workforce of the company’s solar projects from a 2% to a 10-15%.
The program has become Atlas’ ESG flagship initiative in the communities where the company is building new renewable energy projects in Brazil, Mexico and Chile. With this Atlas aims to address the existing gender gap in the renewable energy sector. Furthermore, the program is directly aligned with five of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: #5 – Gender Equality, #8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, #10 – Reduce Inequalities and #12 – Responsible Consumption and Production.
“We are all part of the same energy” was created with the intention to develop technical skills in the local female workforce such as electricity, mechanics, quality control, carpentry and environmental management which will grant women access to better job opportunities within the construction of Atlas’ own projects under execution or others being developed in their communities. At the same time, Atlas mobilized its contractors to prioritize women who participated in the trainings during their hiring process.
“To this day, the program has trained close to 700 women in three countries and plans to reach 1,000 in the coming months. As the projects advance and others are added, we expect an increase in these results and at the same time a change in paradigm within our industry and the communities we touch,” said María José Cortés, Head of ESG at Atlas Renewable Energy. “It is an honor that Actis and Atlas are both being recognized for their shared vision toward gender diversity. The female workforce program is proof that good corporate social responsibility inspires and promotes best practices beyond the office and that it can positively impact our society.”
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