Hydropower

Women in hydropower inspire, share challenges and experiences at HYDROVISION luncheon

Women in hydropower inspire, share challenges and experiences at HYDROVISION luncheon
(The Women with Hydro Vision luncheon at HYDROVISION International 2024.)

Four outstanding women recognized via Women with Hydro Vision award

“I was not naïve enough to think I was going to talk,” revealed Rebecca Simpson, engineering manager at Grand County PUD, as she took the podium to accept her award. “I would like to thank my direct supervisor who nominated me for this in the dark.”

“I thought the email confirming me for this was spam,” she added with a wry smile. “I was going to send it to the phishing filter.”

Simpson was one of four outstanding women recognized for their contributions to the hydropower industry during Wednesday’s Women with Hydro Vision award luncheon at HYDROVISION International in Denver, Colorado. The award has been bestowed annually by Clarion Energy’s Hydro Group; this year’s recipients are amongst the tenth class.

Simpson, who has spent 14 years working in dam safety, described the difficulties she faced balancing home life with work. When she joined Grant County PUD in 2010 as a hydro-engineering technician, she said she had no clue what dam safety was. She was more concerned about the safety of her three young boys while their mother was working at a remote site 65 miles from their school. Fortunately, she told the luncheon attendees, there were no major emergencies outside of an occasional “put some pressure on it and I’ll be there in an hour” situation.

Simpson was promoted to dam safety engineering in 2011 and manager of the Civil & Dam Safety Engineering group in 2020. Simpson has been critical to Grant County PUD building a sustainable best-in-class dam safety program, her nominator said.

“There have been ups and downs,” Simpson waxed about being a woman in a field that is currently about 75% male. “I absolutely have seen people asking if I belong here. Yes. This is my job. I know where I’m going.”

Simpson added she’s also encountered plenty of supportive colleagues. “I am one small part of hydropower, but the passion I have for it is now part of me, and I can share it,” she concluded.

The Women with Hydro Vision luncheon at HYDROVISION International.

Priscilla Dornas, senior engineering manager at Brasil PCH, was also among the women recognized Wednesday. Brasil PCH owns 13 small hydro power plants, totaling more than 300 MW of installed power. Dornas has been with the company for nearly 12 years, and her nominator said Priscilla knows every part of hydropower generation in depth, from the dam to the tailrace and everything in between.

Priscilla, who speaks Portuguese, shared some written sentiments passed along by HYDROVISION content director Elizabeth Ingram onstage. “I am so very happy,” Dornas first said in English.

“I need to thank you for this recognition that reinvigorates me and gives me the energy to continue,” Ingram read.

“Motherhood, being a wife, apprentice, and a dreamer are balanced functions. Learning to have fun as a juggler is what I’ve been doing,” Dornas described. “Thank you for spreading the word about these women… I need idols like you to recharge and synchronize.”

“The best thing about the future is that it hasn’t happened yet,” Dornas finished, eyeing opportunities to strengthen female presence within the industry.

Isha Shrestha, director of Nilgiri Khola Hydropower Company Limited in Nepal, recounted her early journey of discovering the world of hydropower when accepting her award. She recalled she came across a power systems science textbook and began to wonder about the field. She later took a tour of a generation facility and was amazed by its size and magnitude.

Shrestha told the luncheon she has often wondered why more women aren’t on the hydro floor.

“I have been lobbying a lot on gender inclusiveness in the hydropower sector,” she said. “It’s not only required in my country but all over the world. Every human has the same color blood running through their nerves… If you spread the seeds, it will definitely bloom in various colors.”

“Thank you for recognizing me and my work. I feel so honored to receive this prestigious award.”

Rocío Uría-Martínez of Oak Ridge National Laboratory accepts her Women with Hydro Vision award.

Rocío Uría-Martínez, senior R&D of the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was the fourth and final award recipient. She told her peers she got into hydro more or less by accident. While studying economics in Spain, she conducted a survey of fishermen and kayakers competing over water use in a river, sparking an interest in how resources are allotted.

After her undergraduate studies in Spain, she moved to the U.S. to pursue a PhD in agricultural and resource economics, studying natural gas markets. Martinez began research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 2010, focusing on the energy sector, water resources, and environmental economics. She is the driving force behind the U.S. Hydropower Market Report.

“DOE decided there was a need for a report similar to what was being done for wind and solar about what’s happening in hydro,” explained Uría-Martínez, who scoffs at the idea that the industry is slowing down. “The truth is a lot is happening in hydro and there was a need for a report sharing that with the world.”

She maintains the last ten years working on that report have been rewarding allowing her to keep in touch with stakeholders across the industry, learning from them. Uría-Martínez confessed her biggest struggle as a woman in hydropower comes from within.

“I didn’t feel being female was particularly hard, but it’s more about me believing I have something to say or that I’m not bothering people when I send an email,” she explained. “I’m in my mid-40s now and I think I’m getting there. I think it’s very important to try to get over those internal barriers, speaking up and reaching out.”

Debbie Gray of the International Hydropower Association concluded Wednesday’s program by communicating opportunities within hydropower for women. She shared a link to Power with Full Force – Getting to Gender Equality in the Hydropower Sector, the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program’s (ESMAP) first global baseline for gender equality within the hydropower sector which presents best practices to foster diversity and inclusivity. Gray participated in this research.

“51 percent of female respondents think a lack of female role models is a barrier to gender equality in the sector,” Gray shared with the audience. 44% said hydro was less gender-inclusive than other sectors.

The study promoted five recommendations to improve gender inclusivity:

  • Include more men in the gender inequality discussion
  • Raise awareness to promote hydropower as an appealing career for women
  • Remove barriers to STEM education
  • Identify gender gaps in the workplace and enact policies to close them
  • Provide mentoring, role models, networking, and leadership opportunities for women

Gray added a personal anecdote. She graduated in 1991 from a university in Canada and counted the women in her yearbook, discovering just 20% of her class was female. Surveying all of Canada in 2019, she found only 20.6% of graduates from engineering schools were women.

“In 30 years since I graduated, the needle has not budged,” Gray laments. Despite lots of changes, more programs and opportunities, women are still being left out of STEM fields. “We have to continue our efforts, and part of that is showing your face,” she recommended.

Gray concluded her presentation by inviting luncheon attendees to apply to the Women in Hydropower Mentorship Program and recommended joining the Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET) and Women in Sustainable Hydropower (WISH).

Tags