On October 4 2023, Women in Green Hydrogen was established as a non-profit organisation. Following the decision of the strategic and organising team in 2022 to register the network as a legal entity, the formal process has been completed and Women in Green Hydrogen now has the status of an NGO in Germany. This opens many more opportunities for the network to grow in reach and impact, having operated as a loose network since November 2019.

The NGO status will allow us to apply for funding, receive donations and participate in research projects with people and organisations that support our mission to “Connect. Empower. Change.” the hydrogen field. It also allows us to strengthen our professional working structure, reimburse volunteers for costs, rent an office, and employ staff. The legal structure of an NGO also ensures a continuation of the democratic exchange and decision-making processes within the team. German law allows for these benefits and structures, so we decided to register the network in Germany. Our goal is still to connect women globally and expand the network in all regions of the world.

Our mission and areas of work

Women in Green Hydrogen continues to pursue its mission to increase the visibility of women and promote gender equality in the hydrogen sector. We promote gender equality at international, national, and local levels with a focus on climate action and international cooperation through the following areas of work:

  • Showcasing the expertise of women experts in the hydrogen sector through a crowd-sourced, openly accessible database
  • Organising events to enable exchanges between women (and men) in the hydrogen sector and to discuss the role of hydrogen in achieving climate action objectives
  • Conducting educational events for public administrations and companies to support gender issues in the hydrogen sector
  • Collecting and disseminating information on the potential and impact of hydrogen technology, as well as on the impact on women and men
  • (Co-)Publishing reports that illustrate gender equality and inequalities in the hydrogen sector
  • Promoting women’s participation and increasing the proportion of women in key positions in the hydrogen sector by examining organisational bodies for their gender parity
  • Addressing gender equality issues through intervention and exchanges with responsible bodies
  • Empowering women to take an active role in events and committees in the hydrogen sector through further education, training, and mentoring programmes
  • Promoting the cooperation in the fields of energy policy, climate change, innovation, industry, and sustainable development by advising national and local hydrogen networks

What does the organisational structure look like?

From October 2023 we will have an interim board of four women from the organising team. The first annual election of the Board will take place at the first General Assembly in spring 2024. Eligible to vote and candidate are the members of the organisational teams (events, partnerships, mentoring, communications) and the co-founders (view the team here). As long as we work on a voluntary basis, we are not able to open up our organisational structure to the public. And by the way: Yes, until now WIGH was organised solely by volunteers on their own time (thanks to all of you!).

What does this mean for you as a WiGH member?

Nothing will change for you as a member. There will be no formal application process as we have decided to make it easy for people to join and follow the network without any binding commitments. This in turn allows us to keep our member management processes lean so that we can focus on our key areas of work. It also means that we will not be charging membership. As a NGO we are focusing on establishing professional structures to offer our WiGH community more events, exchange and space to grow.

What does this mean for you as a partner organisation?

For you as a partner organisation nothing has to change. We are still happy to work together with you on the previous conditions. As it is our goal to build a head office for WiGH, we are also grateful for partners who are able to support this process financially and strategically. Our long-term goal is to develop more capacities at our NGO to work together with our partner organisations.

How to get involved with WiGH now?

As before, your involvement in the network depends on your own motivation and energy. The ways in which you can get involved have remained the same and are still open to evolve as the network grows and changes:

Are you a woman working in green hydrogen?

Are you looking to partner with us as an organisation?

WiGH aims to develop strong collaborative partnerships with organisations to enable and empower women in the sector. Connect with WiGH to:

  • Organise education and training programs: webinars, short-term courses, career support.
  • Advance your network: publish articles in journals, studies, and papers.
  • Organise a Women in Green Hydrogen event: take a look at our Events Guidelines.

We want you to be part of the change towards a more inclusive and diverse sector. To become a partner, contact the WiGH partnerships team.

Are you an event organiser or journalist?

  • Make us of our expert database to find women speakers and experts for panels, keynotes, and interviews.
  • Directly reach out to our experts via their profiles.
  • Let us know if you find the expert database useful.
  • Share the database with your networks.