A gender-just energy transformation

Given the increasing ecological, social, and geopolitical problems accompanying the use of fossil and nuclear energy sources – ranging from climate change and the mining of uranium to the storage of "nuclear waste" and conflicts driven by resource shortages – the need to transform our energy supply into a more sustainable one has become apparent.

After the catastrophe in Fukushima, the German Federal Government decided to make the energy transition one of its main priorities. The goal is to shift away from a non-sustainable energy supply, that is, away from risky technologies and fossil fuel sources, towards a more future-oriented, low-carbon, sustainable one. Part of this transition is the expansion of renewable energy and a commitment to increase the share of renewables to at least 50% by 2030, 65% by 2040, and 80% by 2050. The government’s energy transformation strategy also involves energy savings and increases in energy efficiency, with plans to reduce energy consumption by 20% by 2020 and 50% by 2050, compared to 2008 levels. However, it is clear that technical innovations alone will not deliver enough to reach these targets. Instead, a participatory process including all members of the population is required – women and men, old and young, migrants, along with those who have been living in Germany for many generations. Everyone needs to work together to find shared solutions.

Gender-disaggregated data are very difficult to come by in the energy sector. Yet, the limited data available suggest that gender aspects are indeed relevant and should be taken into account when conceptualising and conducting an energy transition.

 

Care economy / care work

The gender division of labor, reflected in career preferences but also in the attributed responsibility for utility work, has implications for the level of energy consumption, demand (what is the energy used for), and all related issues. For example, male household members are still more likely to be responsible for technical energy issues (e.g., decisions about and repairs to heating and water heating), while behavioral energy conservation is more likely to be the responsibility of female household members. That there is a valuation associated with this division can be assumed to be known (see gender dimension androcentrism).
Policy interventions for efficient energy use in the household can affect the distribution of tasks. Any change in behavior inevitably affects the workload of residents; depending on how household tasks and other necessary work are allocated between the sexes or how they are distributed, this extra work can either be gender neutral or fall disproportionately on women.

 

Labor economy

The employment of women and men in the energy industry has been studied relatively well, especially in terms of gender parity. Data on shares and work sectors of women in the energy industry (in public service, industry, associations, and nongovernmental organizations), including shares of women in leadership positions, are compiled fairly regularly and show the significant underrepresentation of women in the energy sector overall and especially at leadership levels.
Income and tenure affect not only energy consumption - the higher the income, the higher the energy consumption - but also the ability to afford newer, more efficient energy technology. Poor population groups, including a disproportionate number of women (single parents and the elderly) tend to live in poorly insulated rental housing and, as tenants, also have no influence on energy efficiency in the building (e.g. thermal insulation). At the same time, the poorer groups have fewer opportunities to benefit from renewable energy systems through financial participation.

 

Symbolic order (cross-cutting dimension)

Gender identities and gender roles affect different consumption patterns in the energy sector as well, and are primarily reflected in attitudes, preferences and the way risks are handled. For example, women show a comparatively higher risk awareness, which is also reflected in their rejection of risk technologies such as nuclear power. Furthermore, they place less trust in technical solutions to ecological problems or the climate crisis and are more willing to change behavior and lifestyles that are harmful to the environment/climate. Accordingly, they rate the responsibility and influence of each individual higher. Thus, more women than men also think the goal of the energy transition is right and also support its implementation correspondingly more strongly.
However, socio-cultural norms and behavior patterns are not only implemented within households, but are also taken up by product manufacturers when marketing products or - more implicitly - in much energy-saving information.

 

Shaping Power at actor’s level

Both the public and private energy industries are one of the last distinctly male domains. The higher up on the corporate level of influence, the lower the proportion of women. One reason for this is that access to this sector is often through technical training programs, in which women are underrepresented. Craft trades relevant to the energy sector, such as building trades, electrical, gas and water installation, are also correspondingly male-dominated. Because of this underrepresentation, women have less ability to influence planning, conceptualization, and policy in this extremely powerful sector of the economy, and their attitudes, preferences, and solution options are marginalized.

 

Institutionalized androcentrism/power of definition

Androcentrism is clearly evident in the definition and evaluation of solution approaches in the energy sector: technical solutions, energy efficiency measures are strongly preferred and highly valued, while measures in the area of sufficiency - i.e., reducing energy consumption through behavioral changes - are neither particularly valued nor adequately promoted or rewarded. Unsurprisingly, the former tend to have a male connotation, the latter a female one.

 

Body, health, self-determination and privacy ('intimacy')

Finally, it should be mentioned that there are definitely biological aspects in the energy sector. This is especially true of the higher comfort temperature in women. Causes for this lie in the circulatory system, in the lower proportion of muscle mass in women, but hormones also seem to play a role here. Studies show that a higher room temperature also has a positive effect on women's cognitive performance, which decreases significantly at lower temperatures. In contrast, men, whose cognitive performance is highest at lower temperatures, show only a very slight decrease in performance at higher temperatures. Therefore, an orientation towards the heating requirements of women (this applies to both space heating in winter and cooling in summer) is recommended in the interest of the performance of both sexes.

Networks

Selected Publications

  • Energy poverty and gender – data and arguments
    Womxn and female led households are disproportionately affected by energy poverty, in all European countries. A condition that is exacerbated when gender inequality is compounded by age, class, and racial attributions, among other factors. This may be related to their physiological and health situation as well as to their economic and social status, as all these dimensions – especially in combination – put women at higher risk of energy poverty. It is critical to take a closer look at the relationship between energy poverty and gender. This 2021 report by EmpowerMed provides that perspective.
  • Study on community energy in Germany and Japan: Shareholders predominantly male
    In both Germany and Japan, the proportion of female shareholders is below 30%; in Germany, it is 29%, who hold 27% of the shares. Furthermore, it is found that not only women, but also people with an immigrant background or with lower incomes tend to be underrepresented in community energy.
    The survey also revealed that so far only a smaller proportion of community energy companies - whether in Germany or Japan - have begun to actively increase the participation of women. However, this is seen as an important link to better implement the energy transition. The complete study by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and the Landesverband Erneuerbare Energien NRW (LEE NRW) will soon be available in English. The German version can be downloaded here.
  • EIGE-Study
    On behalf of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and together with the Belgian organisation Milieu Ltd., in 2012 we conducted a study focusing on the implementation of Area K of the Beijing Platform for Action in the (at that time) 27 member states of the European Union. Areas examined included the state of research on gender and energy in the EU member states, gender aspects in energy consumption and production, and the participation of men and women in energy-related policymaking and planning. You can download a short and a longer version of the study in English.
    The short version is also available in French, German and Danish.
  • The energy consumption of men and women - a European comparison
    Numerous studies have attempted to estimate total household energy use over the past decades, and differences have mainly been explained by levels of income/expenditure. Yet, studies of consumption patterns which address gender reveal that men eat more meat than women and drive longer distances, potentially leading to higher total energy use by men. In this study the total energy use for male and female consumption patterns was calculated in four European countries (Germany, Norway, Greece and Sweden) by studying single-person 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 were revealed to use much more energy than women. We suggest that these findings are relevant for the EU’s policies, given that the EU aims to mainstream gender issues into all activities and lower its total energy use. Rät R. and Carlsson-Kanyama A. 2010: Energy consumption by gender in some European countries.
  • Renewables2004: Gender Equity and Renewable Energies
    The outcomes of the International Conference for Renewable Energies in 2004, the "Renewables2004" in Bonn continue to provide an important basis for discussions on gender and energy. You can find several documents prepared by genanet for the conference in our Infopool. One of them is the Thematic Background Paper Nr. 12 which we published together with ENERGIA.
  • Gender and Energy in the North
    The Background Paper "Gender and Energy in the North" was conducted by Ulrike Röhr/genanet for an international workshop in the run-up to the CSD-9 (9th session of the UN Commission on sustainable development) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannisburg in 2002. You can download the English version here.

Networks

Selected Publications

  • Energy poverty and gender – data and arguments
    Womxn and female led households are disproportionately affected by energy poverty, in all European countries. A condition that is exacerbated when gender inequality is compounded by age, class, and racial attributions, among other factors. This may be related to their physiological and health situation as well as to their economic and social status, as all these dimensions – especially in combination – put women at higher risk of energy poverty. It is critical to take a closer look at the relationship between energy poverty and gender. This 2021 report by EmpowerMed provides that perspective.
  • Study on community energy in Germany and Japan: Shareholders predominantly male
    In both Germany and Japan, the proportion of female shareholders is below 30%; in Germany, it is 29%, who hold 27% of the shares. Furthermore, it is found that not only women, but also people with an immigrant background or with lower incomes tend to be underrepresented in community energy.
    The survey also revealed that so far only a smaller proportion of community energy companies - whether in Germany or Japan - have begun to actively increase the participation of women. However, this is seen as an important link to better implement the energy transition. The complete study by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and the Landesverband Erneuerbare Energien NRW (LEE NRW) will soon be available in English. The German version can be downloaded here.
  • EIGE-Study
    On behalf of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and together with the Belgian organisation Milieu Ltd., in 2012 we conducted a study focusing on the implementation of Area K of the Beijing Platform for Action in the (at that time) 27 member states of the European Union. Areas examined included the state of research on gender and energy in the EU member states, gender aspects in energy consumption and production, and the participation of men and women in energy-related policymaking and planning. You can download a short and a longer version of the study in English.
    The short version is also available in French, German and Danish.
  • The energy consumption of men and women - a European comparison
    Numerous studies have attempted to estimate total household energy use over the past decades, and differences have mainly been explained by levels of income/expenditure. Yet, studies of consumption patterns which address gender reveal that men eat more meat than women and drive longer distances, potentially leading to higher total energy use by men. In this study the total energy use for male and female consumption patterns was calculated in four European countries (Germany, Norway, Greece and Sweden) by studying single-person 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 were revealed to use much more energy than women. We suggest that these findings are relevant for the EU’s policies, given that the EU aims to mainstream gender issues into all activities and lower its total energy use. Rät R. and Carlsson-Kanyama A. 2010: Energy consumption by gender in some European countries.
  • Renewables2004: Gender Equity and Renewable Energies
    The outcomes of the International Conference for Renewable Energies in 2004, the "Renewables2004" in Bonn continue to provide an important basis for discussions on gender and energy. You can find several documents prepared by genanet for the conference in our Infopool. One of them is the Thematic Background Paper Nr. 12 which we published together with ENERGIA.
  • Gender and Energy in the North
    The Background Paper "Gender and Energy in the North" was conducted by Ulrike Röhr/genanet for an international workshop in the run-up to the CSD-9 (9th session of the UN Commission on sustainable development) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannisburg in 2002. You can download the English version here.