Gender in the transition to energy for all: From evidence to inclusive policies

The purpose of the new publication titled, Gender in the transition to energy for all: From evidence to inclusive policies, is to provide robust evidence and analysis of the interactions between energy, access, and gender. The document includes a synthesis of the evidence generated by a five-year research program on gender and energy undertaken between 2014 and 2019. The program was coordinated by ENERGIA and undertaken in collaboration with nine other institutions. Shonali Pachauri, a senior researcher with the IIASA Energy Program, participated in the program as a member of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) that reviewed the research and provided input and advice to the research teams over the course of the project. She was also part of the writing team for the synthesis report where she assisted in distilling key findings and implications of the research.

The research, conducted across twelve countries of the Global South, explores the linkages between gender, energy, and poverty in six thematic areas: electrification, productive uses of energy, energy sector reform, the role of the private sector in scaling up energy access, the political economy of energy sector policies, and women’s energy entrepreneurship. Through the resulting seven research projects and two commissioned reports, ENERGIA and its partners developed the synthesis report, which aims to translate evidence into recommendations for policy and practice to create a more gender-inclusive energy sector.

“This report highlights the multiple benefits of addressing energy access and gender equity together, for instance by involving women in energy system supply chains,” explains Pachauri. “The research provides clear evidence of gender differences in energy needs and capacities to access energy services and technologies. Being cognizant of these differences is essential to design gender-aware energy policies that can deliver benefits equitably to both women and men”.

The research team included 29 partners, 21 of which were from the Global South. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) supported the program as part of its Sustainable Energy, Access and Gender (SEAG) program.

Adapted from a press release provided by the ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy.

Reference

Clancy J, Barnett A, Cecelski E, Pachauri S , Dutta S, Oparaocha S, & Kooijman A (2019). Gender in the transition to sustainable energy for all: From evidence to inclusive policies. ENERGIA the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/15886]

Last edited: 06 May 2019