This week, Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Italian independent renewable energy consultant Giulia Muia. She says a resilient energy sector depends not only on diversified energy sources but also on diverse voices, perspectives, and inclusive leadership that drive innovation and better decisions.
Empowering women, listening to different experiences, and creating space for emerging talent are essential to building a stronger, more sustainable renewable energy future.
Energy is no longer a topic for insiders. It sits in household bills, in the news and in geopolitical choices. It has become a strategic asset and a matter of security. If the energy crisis taught us anything, it is that no one builds security on a single source: diversification is what makes a system resilient. I believe the same applies to the teams building that system.
Gender diversity and inclusion are part of that resilience. With the sector growing so quickly, we have a rare chance to build an inclusive culture now, instead of having to correct it later. The decisions we make about whose voices we hear will shape how the sector grows.
Different people ask different questions
Innovation often starts with asking a different question, and different people ask different questions. In my work, I connect foreign investors, developers, EPC contractors and local landowners. Each of them sees a risk the others miss. Bringing those perspectives together helps us understand a project beyond any single area of expertise.
I have seen engineers and geologists complete every study, only for a local farmer to tell them that the land floods. That single remark can save a project. For me, this is a practical example of why listening matters. The person who holds a crucial piece of information may not be the person leading the meeting or preparing the report. A sector that wants to grow fast, and be accepted by the territories that host it, cannot afford to listen to only one kind of voice.
Creating space, and leaving it
As a leader, I try to make room for different contributions through practical choices. I ask the most junior people first, before senior voices set the direction. I give more time to those speaking in a language that is not their own: I know from experience how easily a good idea gets lost in translation.
I also commit to giving everyone real responsibility, with as little micromanagement as possible. That means establishing clear areas where mistakes are expected and allowed, so we can learn from them without putting the company at risk.
Giving responsibility requires leaving enough room for someone else to use it. Inclusion does not happen by itself: whoever leads has to create the space and leave it.
Learning to take space
Early in my career, as a junior strategy consultant, the head of the company would sit down with me one-to-one, open his notebook and ask: “How can we improve? What has your experience been?” Then he wrote down my answers.
He probably knew it all already, but in that moment I felt I could tip the scales. My experience was worth asking about, and my answers were worth recording. I started preparing, choosing my thoughts and owning my mistakes. Being listened to changed how I approached those conversations and the responsibility I felt for my contribution.
That confidence taught me to take space and, later, as a team leader, to give it. It remains a reference point for how I want to lead: listening to someone can help them recognise the value of their own voice.
Open the door for the woman coming next
My advice to a young woman entering solar and renewable energy is simple: do not wait to feel fully ready. This sector needs more than engineers. I came from M&A and strategy consulting, and that different angle became my strength. Your experience can give you a perspective that others in the room do not have.
Prepare well, then take your space in the room, even when yours is the only different voice. Go to the field. Some of the best lessons come from a landowner, not a report. Look for leaders who listen and invest in you.
And when it is your turn, open the door for the woman coming next.
Giulia Muia is a Renewable Energy Consultant and Strategic Advisor in Italy, providing independent advisory and origination services to industrial groups and utility-scale developers in PV, agrivoltaic and BESS. She connects international investors and IPPs with developers, EPC contractors and landowners, and helps energy-intensive companies through the energy transition. During more than ten years in Munich, she was Head of Business Development South Europe at ZE Energy, International Finance & Investment Manager at Sungrow and Investment Manager at Goodyields Capital. She holds a Master’s degree from the Technical University of Munich, speaks four languages and advocates for inclusive leadership.
Interested in joining Giulia Muia and other women industry leaders and experts at Women in Solar+ Europe? Find out more: www.wiseu.network
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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