ESMAP Newsletter | March 2024

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Focusing on gender equality is core to development.

It is also smart economics!

Since its inception 40 years ago, ESMAP has provided unmatched prowess and knowledge in energy access, decarbonization, and renewable energy in emerging and developing economies. Not only have we supported innovative technologies, such as off-grid solar, mini grids, and battery storage, but we have also tackled issues that had received less attention than they deserved, such as the energy field’s gender dimension.  The energy sector is one of the least gender diverse, and women and girls are disproportionally affected by energy poverty. Lack of access to modern energy or to clean cooking fuels impacts women more than men, limiting women’s work options by making their domestic duties harder and more time consuming, exposing them to health risks, and forcing them to forage for wood or other combustible materials.  

How do we do it?

We collaborate across the World Bank Group Regional Energy units and sectors, such as agriculture, environment, gender, health, transport, urban, and water. ESMAP’s Closing the Gender Gap in Energy Program uses its six regional programs to facilitate the design and implementation of interventions that aim to achieve gender equality and reduce poverty.

ESMAP’s Leave No One Behind 

The program addresses these challenges by complementing the World Bank’s humanitarian assistance activities in developing sustainable energy strategies for displaced persons and the communities where they find refuge. The program aims to integrate displaced persons, particularly women and children, into communities, improve their quality of life and economic prospects, and help achieve universal electricity access by 2030. The program explores energy for tent lighting and other personal needs. It helps determine camp infrastructure electricity needs, such as external lighting, which drastically reduces the risks of aggression, including gender-based violence.

The team also published the Understanding the Interaction between Gender, Energy, and Forced Displacement note to highlight the gender inequalities in electricity access and the importance of combining basic services with tools and resources.

Nigeria Distributed Access through the Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES)

The Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) will double down on the best practices and successful models established through the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), with the goal of delivering access to electricity to over 17.5 million people and over 230,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), says Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria. It will enable the government of Nigeria to coordinate and finance all off-grid electrification efforts and will help states access technical assistance to develop institutional capacity and policy frameworks for rooftop solar. The program will prioritize gender and inclusion by building on the NEP’s gender-related actions to facilitate access to electricity for disadvantaged female-headed households and women-led MSMEs, as well as actions to increase the employment of women in the energy sector. 

  UPCOMING EVENT

Commission of the Status of Women (CSW#68)

ESMAP - Energy Sector Management Assistance Program will host a side event at #CSW68 to present the key findings of ESMAP's recent study: Power with Full Force: Getting to Gender Equality in the Hydropower Sector, to a global audience.

The event will discuss the importance of promoting women's participation in technical and leadership roles and addressing #gendergaps in the hydropower and other energy sectors. We will also touch on contributions The World Bank can make through its portfolio in client countries.

»  More information click here 

»  Contact: Nathyeli Acuna

  PUBLICATIONS

Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report

A comprehensive tool that tracks the progress of more than 200 countries on energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean cooking, and international cooperation to advance achieving SDG 7.    
 

The ninth edition of the report, launched in June 2023, highlights that progress made across the indicators up to that point is insufficient for countries to achieve the 2030 targets. Some of the economic factors influencing this outcome include the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising energy prices. Tracking SDG 7’s content has also been used to identify lessons learned and generate such reports as Building Evidence to Unlock Impact Finance: A Field Assessment of Clean Cooking Co-Benefits for Climate, Health, and Gender; and 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Report. 

Getting to Gender Equality in the Hydropower Sector

In collaboration with ESMAP’s Hydropower Development Facility the program is promoting gender equality in hydropower through a new global knowledge product: Power with Full Force: Getting to Gender Equality in the Hydropower Sector.

Gender Equality in the Off-Grid Solar Sector | Primer   
 

In collaboration with E Co., ESMAP developed and implemented an Operational Handbook for Gender Equality in the Off-Grid Solar Sector. The handbook presents ways to close gaps within the off-grid solar sector through entrepreneurship, jobs, and at the consumer level. The report distills findings from an extensive literature review, a global stock-taking exercise, key informant interviews, and case study reviews. 

Exploring Opportunities for Energy Diversity in the Mining and Energy Sector in Serbia

According to national statistical data, women account for only 17 percent of Serbia’s mining and energy workforce, which is slightly lower than the global average of 19 percent for the energy sector. Consequently, women represent a major source of untapped talent for the sector, both in Serbia and worldwide. The ESMAP report Exploring Opportunities for Energy Diversity in the Mining and Energy Sector in Serbia assesses gender gaps in the mining and energy sector in Serbia. 

  GLOBAL CAPACITY BUILDING AND NETWORKING

Women's Employment in Energy Utilities Sector Toolkit

In coordination with the Utilities for Energy Transition Program, the gender team produced a Women's Employment in Energy Utilities Sector toolkit, which will help project teams address women’s employment in the energy sector through the exchange of lessons learned and good practices (drawing on, for example, how women’s employment issues have been advanced in the energy sector in Ethiopia and exploring how applicable best practices from the private sector are for the public sector).

Women in Energy Network Africa (WEN-AFRICA)   
 

Africa's energy landscape is poised for a transformative shift with the launch of the Women in Energy Network Africa (WEN-AFRICA). Recognizing the untapped potential of women in the energy sector, WEN-AFRICA aims to dismantle barriers and pave the way for their leadership. Through powerful networking opportunities, targeted capacity building programs, and unwavering advocacy for equal access to energy, WEN-AFRICA is poised to unlock a wave of innovation and progress. 

A Regional Network in Energy for Women in the Middle East and North Africa

ESMAP is a supporter, sponsor, and advisor of the Regional Network in Energy for Women in the Middle East and North Africa (RENEW-MENA) as a regional platform with the aim to i) boost women’s economic participation across the energy sector value chain, ii) encourage better workplace conditions for women in both the private and public sectors, and iii) combat widespread gender stereotypes about women’s role in STEM fields.  

South Asia WePOWER Network

Women in the Power Sector Network (WePOWER) continues its capacity building through regional conferences attracting women professionals from power utilities and energy sector organizations across several regions. Two out of three new World Bank energy projects in the region achieved the gender tag. Also in South Asia, a regional gender training for expert young women in the energy sector was conducted to improve women's access to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.   

Mentoring Women in the Energy Storage Sector

By leading the implementation of the Energy Storage Partnership (ESP) and its commitment to closing gender gaps in the energy storage sector, ESMAP's ESP supported a second cohort of mentees to participate in the Women in Energy Storage (WES) Mentoring Program during FY2023, focusing on career development and improving knowledge of thermal energy as well as various battery storage applications. To date, the program has mentored over 40 mentees from 35 countries.    
 

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Material in this newsletter is copyrighted. Requests to reproduce it, in whole or in part, should be addressed to esmap@worldbank.org

For more information visit our website: www.esmap.org   
 

For suggestions and comments about the newsletter, contact Marjorie K. Araya   
 

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