Asking the right questions:: Asking the right questions: Viable entry points for mainstreaming gender in energy policy and projects Elizabeth Cecelski Principal Investigator, DfID/ENERGIA “Gender as a key variable in energy” Parallel Session “Lessons & Challenges in Mainstreaming Gender in Energy Policy and Projects” World Bank Energy Week 5-8 March 2006


UK-DfID KaR “Gender as a key variable in energy”: UK-DfID KaR “Gender as a key variable in energy” Analytical framework credible to both gender and to energy practices Empirical review of MDG linkages gender-energy: Does energy matter? 8 case studies by partners: Does gender matter? Synthesis report www.energia.org and ENERGIA News December 2005


Collaborative Research Group on Gender and Energy (CRGGE) : Collaborative Research Group on Gender and Energy (CRGGE) Wendy Annecke, Gender & Energy Research & Training, South Africa Andrew Barnett, The Policy Practice Limited, United Kingdom Joy Clancy, University of Twente, The Netherlands Elizabeth Cecelski, Tech. Adviser on Research & Advocacy, ENERGIA Fatma Denton, UNEP Risoe Centre, Denmark Feri Lumampao, APPROTECH-Asia, The Philippines Stephen Karakezi and Jennifer Wangeci, AFREPREN/FWD, Kenya Govind Kelkar and Dev Nathan, IFAD-UNIFEM Gender Mainstreaming Programme in Asia, India Michel Matly, MARGE, France Sheila Oparaocha, Coordinator, ENERGIA Jyoti Parikh, Integrated Research & Action for Development (IRADe), India May Sengendo, East African Energy Technology Development Network (EAETDN), Uganda Anoja Wickramasinghe, University of Peradeniya, ,Sri Lanka


Case studies: Case studies Impacts of renewable energy projects on women and men (Sri Lanka, Philippines, Uganda) Gender and energy policy (East Africa, Himachal Pradesh) Energy and gender relations (South Africa, China/Rural Asia, and Europe/US)


Slide5: This poor woman!


Outline: Outline Policy justification and rationale Does energy matter for gender? (MDG linkages) Entry points for gender in energy policy and projects (case studies)


Policy justification for mainstreaming gender in energy: Policy justification for mainstreaming gender in energy Convention on the elimination of discrimination against women 1979 MDG commitment by 2015 CSD – 14 on energy likely to include gender language Agency and donor mandates on gender


Entry Points: Rationale for integrating gender in energy policy & practice: Entry Points: Rationale for integrating gender in energy policy & practice Practical needs, welfare – MDGs 1, 2, 4, 5 Productivity – women’s income generation, agricultural productivity bottlenecks Project efficiency – energy objectives Empowerment – gender equality, human rights


Gender-energy-MDG linkages: Gender-energy-MDG linkages Empirical and preferably quantitative evidence on specific indicators for each MDG “Good evidence”, “some evidence”, “insufficient evidence” Few energy studies until recently reported on MDGs and fewer disaggregated by gender


Viable entry points for gender benefits in DfID case studies: Viable entry points for gender benefits in DfID case studies Existing or changing gender relations in the society valued women’s labour and favored women’s equal participation in the energy intervention (Philippines, PV battery-charging site; Mosuo, Yunnan); The policy and/or institutional environment supported energy policies and programmes favorable to women’s needs (South Africa, Himachal Pradesh, eastern and southern Africa); A community-based organization in which women already actively participated was involved in the project (Philippines, microhydro site; Sri Lanka, decentralised site); A deliberate gender strategy was followed in project planning and implementation (Uganda); or Industry objectives coincided with women’s interests (US rural electrification).


Rural electrification in Europe and the US: Gender lessons: Rural electrification in Europe and the US: Gender lessons Rural electrification came 30 yrs later in US than Europe but quickly reached urban levels In US, federal funding provided not just grids but access to productive equipment & domestic appliances Women’s desire for home appliances drove the rural market & high load: home economics ideology RECs cut costs by 30-50% compared with large private & public utilities: the poor could pay Electric appliances relieved women’s burdens and allowed them to work outside the home Developing countries could consider this model of “women’s electrification”


A framework for gender-sensitive energy policy and project planning in the new Millennium: A framework for gender-sensitive energy policy and project planning in the new Millennium Establish partnerships and a process for interaction between key gender and key energy experts, policymakers and stakeholders in the country Link micro analysis to the macro policy level: Identify the gender-energy-poverty nexus Combine appropriate frameworks and methods from gender, from poverty, and from energy practices


4) Ask the right questions: Focus on opportunities for transformation: 4) Ask the right questions: Focus on opportunities for transformation Energy project planning, M&E: Evidence about impacts on women and men of energy projects and changing access Energy policy: Expose the rhetoric gap between policy and practice in energy policy, budgets and implementation Culture and ideology in gender relations Political economy of change in gender and energy: What are the “Drivers of Change”?


Some Examples of Approaches to Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Sector: Some Examples of Approaches to Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Sector Analytical work e.g. household energy and time use surveys Yemen, Mongolia Policy dialog e.g. gender auditing of energy policy & budget TIE-ENERGIA EU Botswana, Kenya, Senegal Operational activities e.g. gender analysis throughout the project cycle in PROGEDE Senegal Gender-specific project elements e.g. Uganda SHS Gender-specific monitoring of indicators e.g. Sri Lanka decentralised electrification Gender tools specifically for the energy sector e.g. new tools to be tested in South East Asia


Opportunities for integrating gender in energy policy & practice: Opportunities for integrating gender in energy policy & practice Policy justification: welfare, efficiency, productivity, empowerment May be direct & effective way to link to MDGs and cross-sectoral priorities Donor priority New allies and stakeholders, new perspectives


Challenges for integrating gender in energy policy & practice: Challenges for integrating gender in energy policy & practice Lack of operational models – anecdotal Lack of human capacity in gender-energy Tools exist but need to be tested/adapted especially in larger-scale mainstream projects and policy Lack of gender-disaggregated data on which to base planning Agencies/stakeholder groups have inadequate representation of women – do not always reflect stakeholders


Gender as a Key Variable in Energy: Are We Asking the Right Questions?: Gender as a Key Variable in Energy: Are We Asking the Right Questions? Thank you!