Women In Solar Should Hold Up Half tThe Sky
Updated March 7th, 2025
By Morgan Pierce
Did you know that women make up 40% of the full-time work force in the worldwide solar energy industry – leaving employment statistics for other renewables in the shade?
With International Women’s Day upon us once again, it seems like an opportune moment to trumpet SolarSmart’s success as a female-led energy installer, and to share our aspirations for the future.
We also see this as a chance to ask an important question, and to pose a challenge. If women occupy 40% of global jobs in solar, why am I still so lonely at the top as a solar CEO? And why aren’t more women knocking at our door as engineers and electricians? You cannot break a glass ceiling, after all, if you aren’t in the room!
The Irish government hopes to see rooftop solar rolled out to one million homes across the country by 2030 – but as yet, we’ve only reached one tenth of that number. That means there will be plenty of employment opportunities across our industry for years to come.
As I explained in an interview with the ISEA and Women in Solar Energy (Ireland) – WISE(IR), at SolarSmart, half of our sales team are women, and project management is also female-dominated. Behind every great solar installation we do, is a woman who planned the whole effort.
We don’t want women to think, though, that gender is going to limit any job she might want to do in our industry. There is a skills shortage, and women in solar are equally capable of filling any role in this industry that a man can.
Our industry, though, does not just need people with the skills to make, install, sell and service solar. We also need strong voices to advocate for renewable energy at the policy and planning stages. Women like lawyer Maeve Delargy, of Philip Lee LLP, whose expertise in environmental and planning law has made her a crucial ally for our industry.
“Environmental law is the perfect career for me,” DeLargy said in an interview for Irish Women in Solar, “it allows me to use my legal training to assist projects I truly believe in. It marries my personal passion for protecting the environment with my legal skill set.”
Women are already among those leading the way with cutting-edge research in solar. At the University of Sheffield in the UK, Professor Sue Hartley, co-authored a ground-breaking study on how agrivoltaics – integrating solar panels into farmland without disrupting agricultural activities or by enhancing them – could help the UK reach its solar energy targets and meet its commitment to reach net zero by 2050.
The technologies Hartley and her team identified might be used to significant effect in Ireland as well. Devoting less than 1% of all agricultural land to solar would enable Ireland to meet its entire solar energy generation target, the Irish Solar Energy Association (ISEA) Chief Executive Conall Bolger told the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine back in May 2022.
Things like the Women Farmers Capital Investment Fund (part of TAMS III agricultural funding) makes women-owned farms eligible for a 60% grant (up to €90,000 euro) to install solar panels on farms. With this kind of support, female owned farms could take the lead not only in making farming itself more sustainable, but in innovative ways to diversify farm incomes through the dual use of fields for agriculture and energy generation.
Farming is just one sector where female entrepreneurship, technical and scientific know-how could have real impact.
Studies have shown that women are disproportionately affected by climate change, so women must be in the room and at the table when solutions are proposed. If there isn’t currently a seat for us at that table, we need to bring a folding chair. We need more programmes like I WISH, the voluntary organisation founded to encourage Irish secondary school girls to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
Women, not only women in solar, are crucial to making the transition to a more sustainable, secure, energy future. According to one recent survey, from Europe to the Americas, women control 85% of all spending decisions. If women choose a greener future, the world will follow.
Why Choose Solar In Ireland?
Investing in a solar panel systems in Ireland can bring many benefits, including reduced energy bills, increased energy independence, and a reduced carbon footprint. If you are interested in installing a solar panel system in Ireland, it is also worth exploring the different grant options and green business loans available and seeking professional advice from one of our solar energy advisors.
Feel free to contact us for more information, we’re here to help.