Earlier this year, there was a Clean Energy conference in Vancouver which discussed investment opportunities in clean energy through different industries.
The interesting thing I observed in all he discussion panels was that there was only one woman out of twenty speakers. I questioned the organizers at the end of the day why there wasn't a more balanced representation and it boiled down to lack of women in the clean energy industry.
But when I went to a Metro Vancouver Sustainable Breakfast panel on creating a Food Hubs in the Metro Vancouver region, all the speakers were women. And the majority of those attending the event were women.
It is strange to me how the issues of food (and health care) attract women while energy and finance attract men. The issues are so intertwined in that it takes energy to transport and grow all the food we eat. And perhaps it is because of the gender imbalance in the industries of food and energy that creates some of the tensions we see in increasing the importance of food security. Food doesn't generate the profits and pay the high salaries that energy and finance does. Perhaps this is why men seeking power and riches aren't as interested in positions surrounding food security?
Just my thoughts and observations.
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