2.3. ENERGY
Box 2.3.1: Gender aspects of energy policies in Kenya
In Kenya, studies undertaken in the 1990s showed that national energy policy decisions affect women and men differently. Subsequently, notable progress has been made on the gender-and-energy nexus in targeting both rural and urban populations. The government has promulgated a number of policies addressing energy issues to support meeting development challenges. These policies include:
•
Kenya’s National Policy on Gender and Development, which aims to facilitate mainstreaming the needs and concerns of women and men in aspects of development;
• the Women‘s Enterprise Development Fund, intended to facilitate the availability of funds and training for women entrepreneurs;
• a Gender Data Sheet, providing a general overview of gender positions and conditions across social, economic, political, education, health and energy categories;
• the Uwezo Fund for Women and Youth empowerment. Despite these initiatives, implementation is slow and gender gaps remain, especially in energy access. Women continue to have less access to energy services than men. However, increasing gender awareness at the policy and operational levels is a first step towards meeting women’s energy needs.
Source: Malonza and Fedha (2015)
Investment: Energy policy determines energy priority sectors.
Investment projects such as construction
of dams producing hydroelectricity, improvement of fossil fuel distribution systems, or provision of off-grid renewable energy options all have gender implications. For example, without gender-disaggregated data on non-connected households there is a strong risk of disadvantaging female-led households, many of which are among the poorest of the poor, especially in rural areas of developing countries. Involving women in energy investment planning will help ensure that their identified needs, interests and preferences are addressed. Further, in the provision of off-grid renewable energy services gender-sensitive and responsive approaches can provide women and men with more equal new employment opportunities and basic energy services.
Pricing and tariffs: Pricing decisions may have
different implications for women and men due to prevailing patterns of gender differences in income and wealth. A gender-sensitive energy pricing policy that aims to increase gender-equitable access to energy services could, for example, charge lower rates for initial usage and higher rates as consumption rises. Other approaches, such as loans or staggered payment options, could address high start-up/hook-up costs.
Access and availability of energy supply: Since different energy needs are associated with traditional gender roles and responsibilities, women and men are affected differently by the availability or lack of energy.
Participation: The most effective policies are developed in an inclusive, equitable and participatory manner. Gender equality through the qualitative (not just quantitative) inclusion of women will help ensure gender-equal participation in contributing to energy policy and planning, which in turn is likely to result in more gender-just policies.
Environment: Energy policy should take environmental concerns into account. Surveys (discussed below) show that women and men have different perceptions of and attitudes to energy choices and the environmental implications of these choices. Traditional gendered roles and responsibilities result in different uses of environmental services and different exposures to environmental hazards.
Infrastructure development: Implementing energy policies requires infrastructure investment. Gender- sensitive large-scale infrastructure planning can help create equal employment opportunities and contribute to closing the gender gap in the energy industry. In addition, social impact evaluations can help determine how women and men will be affected by energy projects.
Gender-disaggregated data: In the absence of gender-disaggregated data on energy use, needs and access, macro-level energy policies that focus on, for example, investment, imports and pricing will continue to be gender-blind. Throughout the energy sector, in
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