2.3. ENERGY
Development (OECD) countries (Carrington 2016). In a 2011 study, women in Germany were reported to make up 24% of the renewable energy workforce (ILO and EU 2011). A study in 2010 revealed that on the governing boards of smaller companies in the renewable energy sector in Europe there were an average of 15% women (EPWN 2010).
Energy production, supply and consumption
Energy production at “zero monetary cost”: on the shoulders of women
Almost 3 billion people, most of whom live in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, rely on open fires and traditional biomass such as wood, dung and crop waste for cooking and heating (WHO 2015; IEA 2014). Reflecting gendered social norms, women and children perform a large share of the unpaid work required to collect biomass fuels, with differences according to regions and types of fuel. Depending on the region, season and availability, average biomass collection time in Africa is estimated to be four to ten hours per week (World LP Gas Association 2014; Matinga 2010).
In developing countries nearly all households in rural areas, and a large share in urban areas, use biomass as fuel. More time is spent collecting for poorer households (who are more dependent on this type of fuel) than those with higher incomes. Not only is fuel collection extremely time-consuming and laborious (Figure 2.3.6), but particularly in conflict settings women and girls are more vulnerable to harassment and sexual violence when they leave the relative safety of their communities or refugee camps (GACC 2013).
While biomass energy sources are collected without direct financial outlays (“at no cost”), indirect economic costs – especially for women -- are enormous in terms of missed opportunities for employment, education and self-improvement, all of which are essential to improve community livelihoods. A World Bank report argues that much of this unpaid work could be reduced or eliminated by, among other interventions, improving infrastructure for energy and other services. These interventions would result in higher gross domestic product (GDP), lead to women’s financial independence and possibly have a ripple effect on intergenerational benefits, as research in 24 countries has shown that
daughters of mothers who work for pay are more likely to be employed themselves (World Bank 2015).
Social costs and benefits of expanding the electrical grid
As electrification comes to rural communities, more women engage in economic activities. In Brazil, girls in rural areas with access to electricity have been shown to be 59% more likely to complete primary education by the time they are 18 than those without (O’Dell 2014). In Guatemala and South Africa, electrification resulted in a 9% increase in female employment with no comparable increase in male employment; in Nicaragua access to electricity increased work by rural women outside the home by about 23%, although there was no effect on participation by the male labour force (Grogan and Sadanand 2013). Similar effects have been observed in Bhutan and Bangladesh (Al- Amin and Chowdhury 2008; Barkat 2002).
Expanding the grid and extending the reach of electricity are critical for gender empowerment, social equity and eliminating poverty. In low- and middle- income countries energy expansion is proceeding rapidly, often by means of large-scale energy projects. Social safeguards and thorough gender analysis are of crucial importance in the case of large-scale energy projects, as well as in that of compensation funding.
Large-scale energy projects (including for renewable energy such as hydropower) not uncommonly result in displacement of local communities. Although there has been progress in recent years regarding laws that recognize women’s land ownership, women are still particularly disadvantaged by displacement (Davis and Fisk 2014). Globally less than 20% of land titles are registered in women’s names (less than 10% in most parts of Africa) (FAO 2010). If compensation is provided for dislocation of communities due to large-scale energy projects, women are compensated at lower levels – if at all – because of their invisibility in land titling and claims processes (Skinner 2016).
Other documented
gendered impacts during the realization of large-scale energy projects include greater sexual harassment and violence, as well as increased prostitution and human trafficking during and after large-scale infrastructure construction.
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