Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR) celebrated the growing role of women in the energy industry during an event titled “Women… Energy Driving the Future,” attended by Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, senior officials, parliamentarians, and industry leaders. The event highlighted the ministry’s ongoing commitment to empowering women as a key driver of progress across the petroleum, gas, mining, and petrochemicals sectors, according to a statement by MoPMR.

In his remarks, Badawi praised the achievements of female professionals across all areas of the industry, emphasizing that their contributions span leadership, technical, and field roles. He reaffirmed that empowering women remains a strategic priority for MoPMR, supported by policies that promote equal opportunities, leadership inclusion, and continuous training and capacity building.

The celebration also featured two panel discussions showcasing women’s empowerment within the sector and their growing role in advancing modernization and development programs. Moreover, several inspiring success stories of female leaders across refining, petrochemicals, mining, and marketing activities have been shared, in addition to discussions on strengthening collaboration between the executive and legislative branches to support women’s empowerment and enhance their participation across all operational levels within the sector.

Women remain underrepresented in the global energy workforce, accounting for approximately 22% of employees in the traditional oil and gas sector, a figure that drops significantly in technical and field-based roles. While women hold roughly 18% of senior leadership positions globally, they are most visible in the renewable energy sub-sector, where they make up 32% of the workforce—and as much as 40% specifically within solar energy.