The use of renewable energy has an important role in both developing and developed countries. There are different implications of the wider use of renewable energy resources for women and men. It has been shown, however, that women have an important role to play in sustainable energy development.
In this entry, I would like to examine why women need renewable energy and why a gender perspective is relevant in the energy sector.
Renewable energy addresses women’s needs in cooking energy that is less labour intensive, convenient and safer. For this to take place, a broad view of the entire household’s fuel cycle needs to be taken into consideration. A large portion of women’s economic contribution goes unpaid and is often unrecognised and unpaid, therefore resulting in less attention in the development of technology in improving the work of women. Renewable energy addresses their labour saving needs such as water pumping, grain grinding and transport.
Renewable energy development can also address women’s needs in their livelihoods and income. This improves the safety in working in energy intensive industries. Lighting is also important in allowing women to work more productively in the evening in home industries.
As modern lifestyles become more rushed, renewable energy programmes need to involve women because they influence the direct and indirect energy consumption of the home, and in turn play a part in the education of the children in energy conservation and consumption habits.
There is a stereotype that women are not capable of building and operating sophisticated technologies. The woman’s role in technology has often been overlooked, and their ability to innovate may be a rich source in improving renewable energy technologies, and can increase the confidence of women.
Women are increasingly adopting non-traditional work roles in the energy sector, due to the increasing education levels and the number of female headed households. Hence, non-traditional roles for women can also be considered in renewable energy projects. Documentation on women in renewable energy activities have been limited and more information is needed.
The gender perspective recognises that some issues are gender specific. Men and women play different roles and face different constraints. A gender perspective ensures that women receive benefits from the development of renewable technology, and that they are able to contribute to the development of it.
In the conventional energy industry, it is not true that women have been excluded intentionally or that their energy related activities are overlooked. The fact is that they have been defined out of the energy sector, and only recently, energy has been defined as large scale, capital intensive technology that is run by experts for economic growth. It is not viewed as small scale or management intensive activities done by women using their own natural resources and strength for small scale income activities. Women have been largely ignored in energy planning, but I believe that this is slowly changing.
Today, although current gender perspectives mark a shift away from viewing women as passive recipients of science and technology, women are merely getting into the mainstream. They are seen, but are not active participants in the innovation process. With women getting into the innovation process, needs of the poor and women can be easily met.
Currently, it is a fact that more women are employed in energy professions, because of the increased access to science education, and changes to policies have ensured equal opportunities among men and women. However, in most energy institutions, the participation of women is still small, and women may still face obstacles in the male dominated energy sector.
Therefore, I believe it is important to consider gender in the developing of renewable energy. Without their involvement, renewable energy projects can become inappropriate. Women are generally the main users of household energy in developing countries, and they influence the family’s use of energy.
