GENDER & ENERGY

Women of Wind Energy

The first international meeting of female wind industry managers ever to be held on European soil is being hosted in association with the active and successful American Women of WindEnergy colleagues at HUSUM WindEnergy 2010. On 23 September 2010 (12:00 – 14:00) there will take place the Women of WindEnergy Lunch on in the new Husum Congress Centre. Register for the Women of WindEnergy Lunch now at Kromrey(at)husumwindenergy.com

An other opportunity for networking offers the newly established Women of WindEnergy online group. HUSUM WindEnergy also wants to give the strong women in the wind industry a special opportunity to establish a future oriented Women’s Wind Network within the HUSUM WindEnergy WindCommunity.

Where are the women in wind?

The April issue of the magazine of the European Wind Energy Association contains an article on the question why the gender balance in wind energy is as uneven as in the traditional fossil energy sectors.

To get more women into the wind industry, girls would have to be encouraged stronger to take up studies in engineering. Also, while there is no direct discrimination in the industry, women still have to handle their job and are more responsible to take care of the children and the rest of the family. Because of this double burden, they rarely advance to executive positions. Here, employers have to step in by offering better and more flexible work arrangements for mothers and fathers.

Download the full article in Englisch

Energy comsumption by gender in some European countries

Household total energy use has been estimated in numerous studies in recent decades and differences have mainly been explained by levels of income/expenditure. Studies of gender consumption patterns show that men eat more meat than women and drive longer distances, potentially leading to higher total energy use by men. In this study we calculated the total energy use for male and female consumption patterns in four European countries (Germany, Norway, Greece and Sweden) by studying single households. Significant differences in total energy use were found in two countries, Greece and Sweden. The largest differences found between men and women were for travel and eating out, alcohol and tobacco, where men used much more energy than women. We suggest that these findings are policy relevant for the EU, which aims to mainstream gender issues into all activities and to lower its total energy use.
Räty R. and Carlsson-Kanyama A. 2009: Energy consumption by gender in some European countries. Energy Policy (2009), doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2009.08.010

Women's major group protests at Nairobi UNEP GC

Supported by other Major Groups, the Women's Major Group organized a manifestation at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi to call on delegates at the 25th UNEP Governing Council (GC) meeting in February to keep nuclear energy out of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other UNFCCC mechanism. For more information, please see the WECF press release or visit the WECF website.

Women, Men and Energy. A study of power distribution in energy companies and women's and men's energy use

This study (English abstract | Swedish full text) examines how women and men in Sweden use energy and the degree to which they decide over its production and distribution. The study forms part of an ongoing larger project within three different EU countries where Sweden, Germany and Spain are being compared. The results from Sweden showed that women are heavily under-represented on the board of energy companies, in fact equally under-represented as in Swedish companies at large. However large variations occurred, with the proportion of women on the board being more than 40% in 11 of the 165 companies studied and zero in 52 companies. The only significant explanation found when these extremes were examined was company size, in that that larger companies had a higher proportion of women on the board. Board size bore no relation to the number of employees in the company or the turnover. Complementary material from interviews with specific companies confirmed the impression derived from current debate and research, namely that companies tend to cite lack of qualified women as the main obstacle to change. Other common arguments against the inclusion of women were that women are often seen as inadequate when judged by male norms and that male networks tend to preserve current structures.

Calculations of energy consumption by single women and men, including direct and indirect energy use, showed that single men with no children used 20% more energy than women with a similar family situation and that men used substantially more energy in transport than women. For men, 40% of total energy use was attributible to transport, while the corresponding figure for women was 25%. These results are discussed against the background that men tend to be less receptive than women to lowering emissions of greenhouse gases from transport activities. Similar differences in energy levels between men and women were observed when single parents with children were analysed, but the differences were less pronounced. The level of expenditure was the most important variable for total level of energy use for both women and men, a finding also in line with previous research. The differences observed between single young women and men regarding energy for transportation indicate that gender differences within this sector and within the population at large will persist in the future.

Suggestions for further research include longitudinal studies of the composition of company boards, investigations relating emissions of carbon dioxide to the consumption patterns of women and men and studies of how policy instruments that influence women and men in an effective way could be devised.

Campaign to end firewood-related dangers for women and girls

The  Women's Refugee Commission is adressing a pressing energy-related issue that threatens the lives and security of millions of refugee women and girls worldwide. Living in refugee camps in deserted areas, they risk being raped or otherwise violated on a daily basis when leaving ever further into insecure zones to collect scarse firewood resources for cooking and other household purposes. This is because aid agencies deliever food that needs to be cooked before eating while ignoring the issue of fuels for doing so. Goal of the campaign "get beyond firewood" is to further the introduction of clean-burning fuels, fuel-efficient stoves, solar cookers and other new technologies to end this unbearable situation. The ecological side-effect would also be a considerable decrease of carbon emissions.

Where energy is women's business

In preparation for discussions on energy and climate change at the 14th and 15th sessions of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, ENERGIA commissioned regional reports, as well as national consultations in countries where there are significant linkages between dependence on biomass for energy, women¹s roles as energy suppliers, and poverty, especially in rural areas. The national consultations included representatives from government ministries, academic and research institutes, non-government organisations, women¹s groups, and energy experts. They were held in 19 countries, 11 in Africa (Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and 8 in Asia (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam). Results and studies are now compiled and published by ENERGIA.

Biofuels: A disaster in the making

On the occation of the UNFCCC COP12 the Global Forest Coalition developed a position regarding the boom of biofuels and their negative impacts. The position paper is looking at impacts on women's lifes too.  Until the beginning of December it was endorsed by more than 100 organisations and individuals. LIFE/genanet signed the position too.

Women & Energy in the North

The background paper "Gender and Energy: A perspective from the North" has been prepared bei Ulrike Roehr/ genanet for an intaernational workshop held in the run-up to the 9th session of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). There papers were presented for the three main issues energy, transport and information for decision-making both from a Northern and from a Southern perspective. The other papers you can find at www.earthsummit2002.org/workshop/