Gender-Inclusive Approaches in the Energy Sector

Abstract

Low accessibility of energy resources by low-income households and disadvantaged groups (including women) exacerbates the global issues of poverty, women’s marginalization, urbanization, and population. For instance, studies have shown that as the use of traditional biomass fuel increases due to persistent lack of access to clean energy, female fertility increases, life expectancy decreases, infant and child mortality increases, and annual population growth rate increases. On the other hand, in communities where people are aware of sustainable, safe, and equitable use of energy, the patterns for energy generation, distribution, and consumption tend to be more responsible, inclusive, and efficient. This correlation between energy and social issues unravels the implications of the issue of energy poverty and underscores the need to attend to both the supply and demand sides of energy generation and distribution. Reddy defines energy poverty as “the absence of sufficient choice in accessing adequate, affordable, reliable, high-quality, safe, and environmentally benign energy services to support economic and human development.” A measure of energy poverty is one’s “inability to cook with modern cooking fuels and the lack of a bare minimum of electric lighting for reading or for other household and productive activities at sunset.”