News & Updates

To mark World Refrigeration Day 2026, U-3ARC organised in Zambia a two-day training programme for women in the refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) sector. The initiative provided participants with an opportunity to strengthen their technical skills, connect with...

Today, we celebrate the women who are shaping the future of the cooling sector - as technicians, engineers, researchers, educators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Their expertise, innovation and leadership are essential to building a more inclusive and sustainable cooling...

Cool Intelligence is shaping the future of engineering - and women across the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sector are bringing that intelligence to life every day. On International Women in Engineering Day 2026, we celebrate the remarkable women whose...

On 8 June 2026, a Women in Science event was held during the IIR International Conference on Solid State Cooling, Heating and Energy Harvesting (THERMAG XI), bringing together women working across science and engineering. The event provided a welcoming space for...

On World Environment Day 2026, UNEP OzonAction is spotlighting the contributions of women in the refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) sector through a special campaign featuring a series of quote cards and an inspiring interview with RAC Engineer and Lecturer...

The agenda is now available for our upcoming interactive webinar on 9 June 2026 at 1pm CET! Join us to learn more about INWIC, discover opportunities for members, hear experiences from our Mentorship Programme participants, and engage directly with INWIC Board Members...

We are pleased to share three new posters developed by GIZ Proklima that highlight the importance of women’s participation in the cooling sector and provide practical guidance for creating more inclusive workplaces. All three posters are available for free download in...

Curious to learn more about INWIC and how to get involved? INIWC is please to invite all members for an interactive webinar on 9 June 2026, 1pm (CET)! Not yet a member? Register for free and receive the invitation to participate in this webinar and future INWIC...

Women from across the HVACR industry gathered in Houston on 12-13 May 2026 for the Women in HVACR Regional Leadership Summit, “Step Into Your Power.” The two-day event combined networking, leadership development, and interactive workshops designed to empower women at...

Casale Monferrato, Italy, 8 May 2026 – Eleven female refrigeration and air‑conditioning (RAC) professionals from six South Asian countries successfully completed the International Training of Trainers (ToT) Programme for RAC Certification Trainers and Assessors,...

The International Network of Women in Cooling (INWIC) is pleased to welcome Ms. Mikaila Ganado as its new President. Mikaila is the President of AIRAH and Associate Director of Women of AIRAH. She is a mechanical engineer and specializes in mechanical services and...

The third edition of the “Congreso y Premios a la Excelencia de la Mujer” (Conference and Awards for Women’s Excellence) will take place on 30 June 2026 at the Real Fábrica de Tapices in Madrid, Spain. Organised by ElectroEficiencia and ClimaEficiencia, the event aims...

Women in HVACR is inviting women across the HVACR industry to join its Regional Leadership Summit, “Step Into Your Power,” taking place on 12-13 May 2026 in Houston. The two-day event will bring together women from across the HVACR industry for leadership development,...

The British Council has launched its Women in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) scholarships for a sixth consecutive year, offering fully funded postgraduate study at UK universities for women pursuing STEM subjects. The programme aims to widen...

From 13-14 April 2026, the 2026 Women in ASHRAE Leadership Symposium (WIALS) brought together 280 professionals in Los Angeles for two days of technical learning, leadership development, and networking. Building on the success of its inaugural edition, the symposium...

As part of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2026, the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) will host the online expert meeting "Cooling without warming: energy‑efficient ACs and heat pumps" on 28 April 2026 at 2pm (Paris time). As Europe...

The Dr. Charity Kpabep Award 2026 is an initiative led by U-3ARC in partnership with World Refrigeration Day, celebrating and strengthening the role of women in the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector across Africa. Building on the success of previous editions,...

INWIC has released the third issue of its newsletter, continuing to connect and inform its growing global community. This issue features updates on INWIC activities, highlights women driving change in the cooling sector, and shares key insights and opportunities from...

To mark International Women’s Day, the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) is highlighting inspiring women working across the cooling sector throughout the week. Through a series of profiles, experts from industry, research, and academia are sharing their...

The 4th edition (2026) of the Women & Youth in Cooling Video Competition, organised by AREA (Air Conditioning and Refrigeration European Association), is now open. This competition recognises technical excellence and best practices in the RACHP sector, while...

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026, INWIC is pleased participate and invite you to the webinar “Experiences from the European Cooling Sector”,  dedicated to supporting and empowering women in the refrigeration sector. The refrigeration industry plays a...

INWIC is pleased to present its brochure, Cool Careers for Smart Women, highlighting career opportunities for women in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RACHP) sector. The brochure outline the importance of the RACHP sector for global health, food...

The Federation of Ibero-American Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Associations (FAIAR) will host a Spanish-speaking webinar titled “Experiencias en el mundo HVAC-R” on Tuesday, 25 November at 2:00PM (UTC). This event is designed to bring together prominent female...

The latest edition of the INWIC Newsletter is out! Discover recent highlights, network activities, and inspiring stories from women driving change across the cooling sector. Access it here: INWIC Newsletter - Autumn 2025  

At Cool Conclave 2.0, held in Indore on August 2nd, Women in ISHRAE hosted a landmark session titled “Women Leading the Way to a Low-Carbon Future.” The all-women panel discussion, “Driving Decarbonisation Through Inclusive Leadership: The Role of Women Shaping a...

In October 2025, IOR’s Women in RACHP Network hosted a visit to Scotland’s first major water source heat pump project, bringing together professionals from across the sector to learn from experts and exchange on low-carbon innovation. The event was free and open to...

Dakar, Senegal, 20 September 2025 – In a landmark initiative to strengthen technical capacity and promote gender inclusion in the refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) sector, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), through its OzonAction Compliance...

U-3ARC proudly invited the winners of the Dr. Charity Kpabep Award 2025 competition to the SophiA event in Germany in September. This team is made up of four women from across Africa: RAJI NIMOTALLAHI – Nigeria MOUNA AISSATA DEIENTA - Mali ISHA KAMARA - Sierra Leone...

On 24 September, INWIC President Ina Colombo met with Sokhna Fall Diawara, President of the National Network of Women in Refrigeration (RENAFF), and several executive members at the Social Integration Educative Centre in the Pikine-Guédiawaye suburb. INWIC counts...

During the final Consortium Meeting of the SophiA Project in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 17–18 September 2025, the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) presented key resources for women in the RACHP workforce. The IIR has actively supported the participation of...

In this blog, Lisa Waters highlights the changes in the industry she has witnessed through her experience with the IOR. We hope that in 20 years time someone else will be writing of positive change again. More growth of inclusivity in our engineering industries. How...

The World Refrigeration Day (WRd) is celebrated every June 26 to raise awareness about the importance of refrigeration and air conditioning in modern society. The 2025 edition, themed “Pierce the Bubbles,” promotes responsible and sustainable technology choices in the...

We are pleased to announce that INWIC – the International Network of Women in Cooling – will be presented during the upcoming SophiA Train the Trainers course and Final Consortium Meeting, taking place on 15–18 September 2025 in Karlsruhe, Germany. 📅 Event Schedule 🔹...

At the margins of the 47th Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG 47) meeting under the Montreal Protocol, the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) took part in a dynamic side event organized by GIZ Proklima, dedicated to advancing gender equality in the...

We are delighted to share that INWIC – the International Network of Women in Cooling – will be in the spotlight during World Refrigeration Day (WRD) 2025, taking place on 24–25 July at Akwa City Hall in Douala, Cameroon. Organised by the Association of Refrigeration...

INWIC is pleased to share that the winners of the AREA – World Refrigeration Day – World Heatpumps Day “Women in Cooling” Competition were officially awarded on Thursday, 12 June 2025, during the XXI European Conference on the Latest Technologies in Refrigeration, Air...

INWIC was proud to participate in the prestigious 22nd European Conference organized by Centro Studi Galileo, which took place in 13 and 14 June 2025 in Milan, Italy. This internationally recognized event brought together leading experts, researchers, and industry...

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the International Network of Women in Cooling (INWIC) officially launched its Mentorship Programme, a new online service designed to connect women professionals in the cooling sector across the world, encouraging knowledge...

For the second time, the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) took part in the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF), this year held on November 28-29 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The IIR’s participation highlighted the significant progress made by its...

Kolkata, India, 3 – 5 October 2024 The International Network for Women in Cooling (INWIC) and UNEP OzonAction proudly participated in REFCOLD India 2024, held from 3-5 October in Kolkata, India. Organized by the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air...

The article “You Cannot be what you Cannot See: the International Network of Women in Cooling’s Role in Workforce”, authored by Colleen Keyworth, INWIC President, highlights the underrepresentation of women in the refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump (RACHP)...

The Federation of Ibero-American Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Associations (FAIAR) recently gathered insightful data about the experiences of women in the HVAC sector. Key findings are shared through this infographics. A PDF version is available here:...

Colleen Keyworth, INWIC president, has been promoting INWIC at the Service Nation Spring Regional Events in March and April in the United States. Learn more about the event of the website.

On January 22,2024, IIR organised and participated to the International Network of Women in Cooling (INWIC) networking event at the AHR Expo which took place in conjunction with the 2024 ASHRAE winter conference in Chicago (USA). The event was well attended with over...

From 14 to 15 November 2023 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, UNEP OzonAction and Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) Caribbean Regional Team organised a Thematic Network Meeting of the National Ozone Officers (NOOs) from the English-speaking Caribbean and...

On December 4th, 2024, UNEP OzonAction in collaboration with the IIR organised a groundbreaking event during the COP-28 in Dubai from the Montreal Protocol Pavilion entitled "You can't be what you can't see – What can INWIC do for Women in Cooling". Several Montreal...

From 6th to 8th November 2023, the 20th Women in Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (WiHVACR) Annual Conference was held in Jacksonville, United States under the theme "Go BOLD: Believe, Overcome, Lead, Determine". Several members of the...

At ESEF 2023 in Praia (Cape Verde), the IIR’s CaRe (Career in Refrigeration) representive Ina Colombo participated to the round table dedicated to Women and Youth in Clean Energy in West Africa on October 13, 2023. INWIC was promoted in this session. 

At ICR 2023, the IIR’s CaRe (Career in Refrigeration) working group organised an INWIC (International Network of Women in Cooling) round table on Monday 21st August 2023. This discussion panel kicked off the Congress right after the opening ceremony.  The round table...

The competition consisted of a conversation about tools of RAC, between two participants from different countries, recorded in video format. You can see the announcement and more information about this year's awards here, and this year's winning video here (both in...

On 26 May, the AREA General Assembly in Estonia nominated the winner of the first edition of our "AREA-WRD women in cooling, video competition”. The evaluation committee was composed of: our Board of Directors our members of our Task Force Skills and Working Group...

The competition consists of a conversation about tools of RAC, between two participants from different countries, recorded in the form of video.
Registrants are invited to submit a video to the U-3ARC Facebook page between 15 April – 31 May 2023.

AREA and World Refrigeration Day (WRD) have partnered to launch a competition on best practices for all EU women in cooling.
The challenge is to provide a video showing best practices (e.g. installation, repair, charging , leak checking, recovery, etc.) using the right PPE, right tools, etc.; the video should be uploaded to the AREA’s Facebook page within the deadline of May 13th.

Cairo, Egypt, 19 January 2023 ‒ There is a growing need for females to join the ranks of air- conditioning and refrigeration (RAC) technicians. A training workshop recently organized by the Government of Egypt and the United Nations OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) better prepared women for advancement in the field and revealed the unique challenges women face.

Bangkok – UN Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction organized a side event on “Women in Cooling – Challenges and Opportunities” on 11 July during the forty-fourth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.

Paris - The cooling sector delivers a tremendous number of benefits ranging from public health to food security to productive and comfortable workplaces and homes. It is a truly vital, dynamic, and rapidly growing field that represents a significant source of...