Anu and Ruth delve into the role of women in electric mobility, discuss the involvement of indigenous communities in design and hear about the World Bank’s South Asia Gender and Energy Facility Assessment. The experts in this episode are Gunjan Gautam, Professor Alison Page and Aparna Vijaykumar, sharing their insights on how to build an equitable and inclusive infrastructure workforce.
Gunjan Gautam is Senior Energy Specialist at the World Bank’s South Asia Energy Unit. He works on energy sector infrastructures projects in South Asia, including Tarbela hydropower projects and Dasu hydropower project. He co-leads South Asia Gender and Energy Facility (SAGE), which functions as the interim secretariat of WePOWER. He specializes in preparing and managing energy sector projects with public and private investments. He has experience of working on solar, hydropower, transmission, distribution, micro-grids, and distributed generation; and consumer side technologies.
Aparna Vijaykumar is a Program Manager – Electric Mobility with the Sustainable Cities and Transport Team at WRI India. She supports the work on electric buses, working with bus agencies to aid in their transition to clean technology. She coordinates WRI India’s engagements in Kerala with a focus on Urban Transport and Development. She works with stakeholders at the city, district and state levels to provide technical support, build capacity, shape policy and bring change on-ground. Aparna worked in the construction industry before moving on to cities. Aparna is a Civil Engineer by graduation from NSS College of Engineering, Calicut University and holds a master’s in Urban Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
Alison Page is a Walbanga and Wadi Wadi woman from Tharawal and Yuin nations and is an award-winning Designer and Film Producer whose career since the late 90s has been connecting indigenous stories and traditional knowledges to contemporary design. She is the co-author of Design: Building on Country, written with Paul Memmott, which explores indigenous design, architecture and engineering principles as a blueprint for contemporary Australian design. In 2015 Alison was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia’s Hall of Fame and the IDEA Awards Gold Medal winner for 2022. She is Associate Dean at the University of Technology’s Design Architecture and Building School and the founder of the National Aboriginal Design Agency.
Anu is a published author and thought leader on gender equality and social inclusion. She has advised governments, international agencies and non-profits in the Asia Pacific region on implementing inclusive gender equality in policy, programs and projects.
Ruth possesses a multifaceted professional background spanning various industries. Her primary professional objective centres around advancing women’s involvement within markets and fostering dignified employment prospects for women. Ruth’s collaborative efforts extend to partnering with international organisations, non-governmental entities, and multilateral institutions, with a specific emphasis on promoting gender parity and societal inclusivity.
