Energy and Gender

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Energy and Gender

With increased demand for gender integration into energy sector work, a Gender and Energy Development Strategies (GEDS) Program under the ESMAP 2008-2013 Strategic Business Plan was developed. The program aims to provide a more structured and coherent gender focused support to energy solutions.

ESMAP’s work on Energy and Gender will broaden the scope of analytical and technical assistance activities to address obstacles and to formulate appropriate incentives to address gender issues in the energy sector. The program draws from work completed at the global level to develop a gender sensitive approach for energy projects together with the energy task teams, and government agencies within targeted countries.

The goal is to create traction on the ground, survey, experience and document much-needed results, case-studies and evidence regarding gender mainstreaming within the energy sector. Interventions, in particular, target countries with activities encompassing technical support, capacity building, training and dissemination and generation of knowledge products.

Africa Energy and Gender Program

In the Africa region, ESMAP is piloting a Gender and Energy Program within the Africa Renewable Energy Access Program (AFREA) to work with energy task teams and government clients, such as rural energy agencies, to help strengthen the gender dimensions of their energy projects and programs. This program has been critical in linking the gender experts to the energy community at a national and regional level and has aided the dialogue on gender to transition from advocacy to action on the ground. Initial activities have begun in Mali, Senegal and Tanzania.

Key Objectives

The key objective is to develop a gender sensitive approach for energy projects of the Africa region. Activities will be developed around four key areas:

(i) technical support; (ii) generation of knowledge products; (iii) capacity building; and (iv) training and dissemination. Interventions in particular target countries will include activities covering all areas. This work began under Phase I with the identification of the SWAT team and scoping missions in selected countries, and will continue with scaling up this approach in Phase II, through consultation with an advisory panel to report on the status, the challenges/barriers, areas of success and plan of action going forward. This “learning by doing approach” will allow for necessary dialogue with TTLs and clients to ensure relevance of the gender components and buy-in for implementation. Phase II will be the continuation of Phase I but will benefit from a check-in with an advisory team of experts to ensure that the plan is operational, sustainable and on track.

A Phased Approach to Learning by Doing

The Africa Energy and Gender Program aims to develop and mainstream the application of good practices in applying a gender sensitive approach to energy policies and projects. The program will include two phases:

The First Phase Will:

Focus on building a network of gender and energy experts on the local, regional and global level. Carry on scoping and planning missions with task teams to begin developing the tools and methodology for gender mainstreaming through a practical approach. This will include “just in time” technical assistance to AFREA projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, spread across the three sub-regions.

This is the knowledge generating and stocktaking phase, which will initiate development of concrete and operational action plans for implementation of Phase II. The second phase will:

Scale-up Initial Activities of Phase I

Include consultation with an advisory panel to ensure that the action plans developed are operational, relevant, and take the opportunity to receive constructive feedback and suggestions. The team will also begin extending a similar scoping approach to other energy projects within the Africa energy portfolio, depending on funding availability.

Program Outputs

The key output of the AFREA Gender and Energy program is the development of a gender approach methodology for the energy projects in the Africa region through identification of experts at the local, regional and global level, the introduction/facilitation of these experts with the task teams to create sustainable integration and the documenting, surveying and development of action plans that are operational, relevant and will provide the team, the community and the government with results.

Other concrete outputs such as methodologies, Terms of Reference (TORs), Capacity Building Training and Toolkits, gender assessments, guidance for TTLs and clients will constitute part of the planned knowledge and communication component of the AFREA gender and energy program. These outputs and deliverables aim to contribute towards the greater outcome of increasing energy access while understanding and addressing the needs of the poor, through capacity building, dialogue and engagement with women and men in the region.

For more information on the Energy program in the Africa region click here.

Knowledge Products and Resources

Substantial analysis is needed to build frameworks for adopting a gender-sensitive approach. This includes stocktaking of the gender dimensions and actions on the ground within the energy sector, as well as identifying strategic entry points and resources for mobilizing efforts.

Building off the regional and thematic interventions, ESMAP has distilled lessons learned and identified good practices to share this knowledge at a local and global level. Knowledge sharing and outreach is integrated throughout the technical assistance work of just-in-time assistance and capacity building efforts.

Here, you will find guidance notes, publications and other energy and gender resources.

Featured Video: Mali | Women's Involvement in Meeting the Country's Energy Needs while Protecting the Environment

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