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Company continues to promote the professional development of women, aligned with ESG goals

Neoenergia reinforces  its commitment to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on Gender Equality, including female participation among its ESG goals ." The company has been recording advances, and achieved in 2022 a growth of more than 30% of women electricians in the staff. Among the leadership positions, last year's data shows that they occupy about 28.8% of the positions. 

"Celebrating International Women's Day with significant numbers shows how Neoenergia stimulates women's participation in society and the labor market. We believe in promoting professional development and have invested in empowerment actions, affirming Neoenergia as an organization that values diversity and practices inclusion. For this, we have worked in the training of women electricians and strengthening our focus on identifying future leaders ", says Régia Barbosa, Superintendent of Organizational Development and Culture of Neoenergia.

The increase in the hiring of women for operational areas  is  the result of the School of Electricians initiative,  which offers free training and professional qualification for residents of the company's locations. In all, 230 women were formed in 2022, of which 80 were hired last year.

Since 2019, Neoenergia became the first company in the segment in the country to provide exclusive classes and reserve part of the vacancies for the female public. Upon completing the studies, the new professionals can be hired by the group's distributors or enter the labor market of the sector. The initiative is recognized as a global example of the Principles of Women's Empowerment (WEPs) by WeEmpower, the UN Women's Programme with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Union to stimulate good business practices. Since 2022, the company has been a signatory to the Principles, reinforcing its commitment to gender equity.

At the beginning of 2023, the stimulus to the training and admission of women was enhanced and Neoenergia Brasília inaugurated another unit of the School of Electricians and made available the first exclusive class for the female audience of the distributor. At the time, the concessionaire also signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement with the Secretary of State for Women (SMDF) to join the project of the Sou Mais Mulher Network, which promotes women's rights and the confrontation with all types of gender violence.

Women's leadership

Neoenergia also stands out for the percentage of women in leadership, who develop actions for social well-being supporting institutions that have an impact on the lives of women in vulnerable situations in order to bring paths such as entrepreneurship to awaken empowerment and transform reality.

Solange Ribeiro, vice president of regulation, institutional and sustainability of the company, is one of six women business leaders highlighted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's private sector arm, as an example of action to address climate challenges. In addition to his role in Neoenergia and the Brazilian electricity sector, he serves as vice-president of the UN Global Compact Council. In 2022, four executives of the group were nominated to "Yes, they exist", a project created in 2018 that maps women in executive positions in the energy sector with the objective of guiding the discourse on diversity and gender inclusion in the sector in a positive way – in addition to Solange Ribeiro, Laura Porto, executive director of Renováveis; Thaisa Alcoforado, Superintendent of Renewable Business Development; and Claudia Suanno, Superintendent of Regulation.