EmPOWERing All: Gender in policy and implementation for achieving transitions to sustainable energy
Synopsis
The EmPowering All Task will gather researchers from the fields of gender and energy in a global network to analyse energy policy and technologies from gender perspectives and provide recommendations for policy design and implementation.
Overview
Task Duration:
Phase 2: March 2025 to 31 December 2027
Participating Countries:
Austria, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden
Contact:
For more information on the Task, please contact Camilla Andersson
camillaa@kth.se
Latest from EmPowering All
Gender & Energy Task Newsletter #5
The final Newsletter from Phase 1 of the Empowering All Task (Gender & Energy) is now available with highlights, new publications and announcement of Phase 2.
Gender just lens to analyse energy policies
Gender inequality, social injustice and unequal access to energy is a global concern embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that call for action at the national policy level.
”Solar Mamas” on the cover of Nature Energy
The case study on Barefoot College/Solar Mamas projects in Zanzibar resulted in an article published in Nature Energy. It even made it to the cover, which was the first time a photograph of people was featured on the cover.
EmPowering All Publications
Making an inclusive and gender aware energy policy
This paper presents a synthesis of three case studies carried out within the sub-task 2 of the Gender and Energy Research Programme with some supporting evidence from other sources. The sub-task set out to gain an understanding of the systematic inertias in the sociotechnical energy system hindering the formation of gender aware policies and interventions and then to identify ways of countering the inertias.
Policy Brief – Gender Just Energy Policy
The overarching aim of the EmPOWERing All task is to bring science-based evidence on how to formulate and implement clean, effective and inclusive energy policy and technological interventions, building on perspectives from gender research. This policy brief provides an introduction on how to address and assess energy policy using the gender just energy policy framework.
Case Study – Smart Energy Systems: How to Achieve More Inclusive Technology Development?
Austrian Case Study: Smarte Energiesysteme: Wie eine inklusivere Technologieentwicklung erreicht werden kann (in German)
Subtasks & Deliverables
Introduction
The role of gender in energy systems has been undervalued in the past. Yet, research has shown that norms and practices linked to gender have an impact on the development of policies, user systems and energy technologies, and that this can lead to the implementation of inefficient and excluding energy solutions. One central issue is that, often energy policies and technologies are assumed to be gender neutral when, in fact, they are gender blind. This means that they neglect the differential impacts on genders as well as socio-economic and cultural groups. Consequently, policies and technologies are less effective and may have unintended effects, hindering transitions to more sustainable energy systems.The aim of this international collaboration is thus to apply gender perspectives to support the participating countries in their work to design a more efficient and inclusive energy system, and through this also support ongoing efforts to foster energy transitions. This is particularly pressing now, as countries develop measures to mitigate the social and economic costs of the current COVID-19 crisis.
Although the assumed gender neutrality of energy policy and energy institutions has been questioned by researchers over several decades, the problems of gender-blind energy policies persist. In addition, social science research on user adaption of energy technologies, including gender research, is often ignored when designing new energy interventions. This new international collaboration sets out to bridge this gap between research and practice.
We will do this by carrying out comparative studies between the participating countries starting from three main questions: What research has already been done in the area, and what “best practices” can we learn from that research? What cultural and material barriers exist within today’s energy institutions that hinder the formulation and implementation of inclusive and gender-aware policies and technologies? How can we use gender perspectives when designing energy technologies and user solutions to ensure they are inclusive and effective? In addition to case studies and research overviews, we will publish educational materials, design new evaluation methods, and develop models and prototypes for new technology and user support. We also plan to organise workshops together with stakeholders in the energy policy and industry communities, to find ways to solve the problems that are identified during the course of the project.
Main task: Formulating country-specific briefs for clean, effective and inclusive energy policy, implementation and technological interventions.
Aim: The Task will bring science-based evidence on how to formulate and implement clean, effective and inclusive energy policy and interventions. This main task will gather, synthesize and distribute knowledge created in three subtasks. These subtasks are intended to be mutually reinforcing and contribute to the main task.
Deliverables: Country-specific policy briefs for the Task members focusing on how to practically formulate and implement inclusive user energy policy (where applicable), Repository of case studies and best practices, Educational material, Policy design workshops, Technology design workshops.
Subtask 1: Pathways to change: Learning across regions and best practices
Aim: Gather existing research on energy, gender and use. Review state of the art, identify best practices and study these further. In this task, we will focus specifically on how energy policy and planning, directives for funding and energy interventions shape energy use, and compare research done in different countries
Deliverables: Scoping study review, Academic case studies, Report on selected best practices from cases.
Subtask 2: Understanding and countering systematic inertias in the sociotechnical energy system hindering gender aware policies and interventions
Aim: To analyse the values and norm systems underlying energy policy making and planning in governments, as well as the logic of energy interventions by the private sector and identify how these norms and values become inertias in the energy transition processes. Develop ways to counter these inertias.
Deliverables: Academic case studies, Tool for comparative assessment of national user policies, Report synthesizing and comparing case studies and presenting the tool.
Subtask 3: Designing inclusive and efficient technological interventions
Aim: To collaborate with designers within the energy sector as well as with user organizations to develop guidelines and prototypes for more gender aware and efficient technologies and interventions. This includes methods for collecting user data and user engagement.
Deliverables: Educational materials and guidelines for developing gender aware and efficient user technologies and interventions, New templates for gathering user data, Models and prototypes for inclusive technology.
Publications
Subtask 1 – Pathways to change: Learning across regions and best practices
- OECD Environment Working Papers No. 247: Household energy choices : New empirical evidence and policy implications for sustainable behaviour | OECD Environment Working Papers | OECD iLibrary
- Helene Ahlborg, Kavya Michael, Samuel John Unsworth, Sylvère Hategekimana, Olufolahan Osunmuyiwa, Anna Åberg, Martin Hultman, “Thirty-five years of research on energy and power: A landscape analysis”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 199, 2024
- Osunmuyiwa and Ahlborg: ”Stimulating competition, diversification, or re-enforcing entrepreneurial barriers? Exploring small-scale electricity systems and gender-inclusive entrepreneurship” in the journal Energy Research & Social Science. There is also a news item on the publication in Nature Energy.
- Subtask 1 is producing a state-of-the-art review on research in the nexus of energy use, policy and gender. This article is in progress.
A short summary of the German language state of the art, written by the ÖGUT team, is available: State of the art: Engendering Energy policy - Chalmers University has reported on the case study made by Kavya Michael and Olufolahan Osunmuyiwa on the Solar Mama’s programme in Zanzibar: länk The women who tear down power structures with solar energy | Chalmers
- The case study also resulted in an article by Kavya Michael and Helene Ahlborg published in Nature Energy: A conceptual analysis of gendered energy care work and epistemic injustice through a case study of Zanzibar’s Solar Mamas | Nature Energy
- The Chalmers task team as well as Duneworks were asked to give a comment on the recent special issue in Buildings & Cities on Energy, Emerging Technologies and Gender in Homes.
The Chalmers comment is published here: Dismantling Power and Bringing Reflexivity into the Eco-modern Home – Commentaries (buildingsandcities.org))
And Duneworks comment here: What is the Problem that Smart Home Technologies Solve? – Commentaries (buildingsandcities.org)
Subtask 2 – Understanding and countering systematic inertias in the sociotechnical energy system hindering gender aware policies and interventions
- Factsheet, Austria: Die Nutzung im Fokus: Smarte Energiesysteme (English translation: Factsheet – Focus on Usage: Smart Energy Systems) by Beatrix Hausner, Samira Karner, ÖGUT
- Case Study: Smarte Energiesysteme: Wie eine inklusivere Technologieentwicklung erreicht werden kann (English translation: Smart Energy Systems: How to Achieve More Inclusive Technology Development?) by Beatrix Hausner, Samira Karner, Janne Wanner (ÖGUT)
- Lianne Nijland has finished her master thesis on women working in SME’s under the supervision of Marielle Feenstra at 74inQ
- Netherlands Case study by Joy Clancy, Marielle Feenstra and Hanna Kreuger
- Refracted Reflections: Perceptions of Gender Inequality in Dutch Energy Organisation, Mallant, K., master thesis done as part of the UserTCP work.
- Mapping the Mindsets of Dutch Municipal Workers on Mitigating Energy Poverty in the Gender-just Transition: An exploratory Q study. Kreuger, H., master thesis done part of the UserTCP work. This work was also presented at a public seminar.
- “Sweden’s Integrated Energy and Climate Plan: An analysis” by Kavya Michael and Martin Hultman, Chalmers University of Technology
- Austria’s Integrated Energy and Climate Plan, Mission 2030, Langfriststrategie 2050, and Regierungsprogramm 2020-2024: A critical analysis, by Azadeh Badieijaryani, Beatrix Hausner, Samira Karner, David Horvath (ÖGUT), 2022
- Mariëlle Feenstra (75inQ) has written a policy brief for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) as input for the the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66). The policy brief focussed on gender and climate change, emphasising women’s role in the energy transition and the gender face of energy poverty. Feenstra’s recommendations were mentioned by the Minister in his speech to the general assembly. A follow up meeting to discuss these recommendations will be planned with the Minister of Energy and Climate. The policy brief can be found in the report “Klimaatverandering & Gender”.
- Joy Clancy was asked by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM Committee) of the European Parliament to make a gender impact assessment of the FITfor55 Package make a gender impact assessment of the FITfor55 Package (the package of legislation proposed by the EU Commission to meet the EU’s 2030 climate goals). Kavya Michael from Chalmers is a reviewer and Marielle Feenstra is contributing as an expert. This work is a part of bringing the results and research of the task to the EU policy makers.
The report was discussed at a workshop 8 December 2022. - Publication: Wågström Angelica and Michael, Kavya: Caring for energy, energy to care: Exploring the energy-care nexus through examples from Sweden and India, Journal for Energy research and Social Science (Science Direct)
- Publication: Hauser. B, Badieijaryani, A. et. al.: Austria’s Integrated Energy and Climate Plan. A critical analysis This is a first case study on Austria’s Integrated Energy and Climate plan, published by ÖGUT in German
Subtask 3 – Designing inclusive and efficient technological interventions
- Report by Katharina Merl and Kalle Ekdahl (BOID), 2024: Developing a household energy planner through norm creative design
- Case study by Beatrix Hausner, Samira Karner, Hannah Tomasi, Azadeh Badieijaryani (ÖGUT), 2023 Energy consulting: A tool for inclusion?
- Fact sheet: “Creating energy technologies, that are meaningful and usable for all” (in English and in German). The ÖGUT research group has developed a fact sheet with advice for technology developers for how to include gender perspectives when designing user technology. The fact sheet has been developed through workshops with practitioners.
- Reihana Mohideen (University of Melbourne) leads the working group within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) developing GESI standards for digital technology development. Anna Åberg is also a member of this working group, in order to help integrate the work of the task to the IEEE GESI work. A white paper was published by the working group in the fall 2022, and is now available on the IEEE SA DIITA website.
The White paper was presented at the ISTAS conference Ethics day ETHICS DAY @ ISTAS 2022 – ISTAS 22 - ECEEE Summer Study, Hyeres, France. Sylvia Breukers & Marten Boekelo “Gender, expertise and control in Dutch residential smart grid pilots” (paper & ptt). (6-9 June 2022)
- ECPR Conference, Innsbruck, Sylvia Breukers & Marten Boekelo: “Revisiting the smart grid promise: Residential smart grid experiments as sites of contestation”. (paper &ppt) (24-29 August 2022)
- Boyle, E., Galvin, M., Revez, A., Deane, A., Ó Gallachóir, B., Mullally, G. (2022) Flexibility & structure: Community engagement on climate action & large infrastructure delivery, Energy Policy, 167, 113050.
- Dunphy, N. P., & Lennon, B. Whose Transition? A Review of Citizen Participation in the Energy System. Routledge Handbook of Energy Transitions, 2022 (taylorfrancis.com)
- Foulds, C., et. al, including Dunphy N. from the Gender & Energy task: An agenda for future Social Sciences and Humanities research on energy efficiency: 100 priority research questions. Humanities and social sciences communications, 9(1), 1-18. (Nature.com)
Conference papers
2023
The BEHAVE conference 2023 was held in Maastricht on 28-29 November.T he conference proceedings are published here: Proceedings: BEHAVE Conference 2023 (behave2023.eu). The following papers were presented by Task participants:
- Alexandra Revez and Niall Dunphy: Emerging sites of citizenship – do they support transformative practices or merely reproduce old sites of socialisation?
- Marielle Fënstra: Designing a gender-just energy policy: mapping the mindsets of Dutch municipal policy workers on mitigating energy poverty
- Sylvia Breukers, Katharina Merl and Kalle Ekdahl: Towards more inclusive and gender-sensitive designs of residential smart energy management systems
2022
- Two sessions organised by the task at the ERSS in Manchester, with participation form the majority of our task members. (20-24 June 2022)
ERSS session 10: Closing the gender gap in energy policies for a just transition:
- When smart energy technologies meet everyday household labour: gendered practices and negotiations. Sylvia Breukers*, Aggeli Aggeliki, Marten Boekelo, Toke Haunstrup
- Care Labour as Energy Transition: Ethnographic Accounts from Sweden. Angelica Wågström
- When energy turned intersectional. Analysing the women lead call for a small-scale renewable decentralised energy network in Sweden 1971-1981. Martin Hultman
- Energy, sense-making and gender: exploring public perceptions of new technologies. Alexandra Revez, Niall Dunphy
- Barriers and Enablers of Gender Just Transitions in India: A comparative case study analysis. Kavya Michael, Swati Pillai, Arunima Hakku
- A gender just energy policy framework to engender the energy transition in Europe. Mariëlle Feenstra, Gül Özerol
ERSS Session 25: Gender in Energy Transitions: Mapping the conceptual and methodological landscapes. Organised by the task with external speakers.
- ECEEE Summer Study, Hyeres, France. Sylvia Breukers & Marten Boekelo “Gender, expertise and control in Dutch residential smart grid pilots” (paper & ptt). (6-9 June 2022)
- ECPR Conference, Innsbruck, Sylvia Breukers & Marten Boekelo: “Revisiting the smart grid promise: Residential smart grid experiments as sites of contestation”. (paper &ppt) (24-29 August 2022)
- Conference presentation: Velasco-Herrejón, P., & Dunphy N.P. (conveners) (2022) ‘Understanding the lived experiences of energy poverty in the Global North and South’ at the DSA Conference Just sustainable futures in an urbanising and mobile world. (Online 6-8 July 2022)
- Martin Hultman and Kavya Michael presented the task at the Nordic Energy Equality conference. Nordic Energy Equality Conference 2022 – Nordic Energy Equality Network (neen.network)
2021
- Energy & Society Conference (Trento/online) “Integrating gender into energy policy design: the Rwandan approach” Marielle Feenstra (presenting), Joy Clancy, Helene Ahlborg, Samuel John Unsworth, Sylvere Hategekimana (11 February 2021)
- Panel participation at the BEHAVE-conference “Is energy efficiency (fe)male? The role of gender for sustainable energy use”, including Joy Clancy and Martin Hultman (21 April 2021)
- European Consortium for Political Research General Conference. Marielle Feenstra presented joint case study for Subtask 1 and Subtask 2 (31 August 2021)
- Gender in the Green New Deal”. Conference participation highlighting UsersTCP work by Joy Clancy (2 September 2021)
- Participation by Marielle Feenstra and Joy Clancy in the SIET conference organised by TU Delft, the Netherlands. Presentation of Executive Game and the Gender Just Energy Policy framework. (November 2021)
Newsletters
2023
Workshop: The Gender Dimension and Impact of the Fit for 55 Package for members of EEA & Norway Grants Committee, Brussels and online (February)
International Research about the energy transition in the built environment. Organised by RVO. Marielle Feenstra speaking. Utrecht, NL, and online (April)
International Conference on Gender and Energy: Session on task work, Joy Clancy. April, Academic, Derry, Ireland Joy Clancy organised a session on gender and energy at the International Conference on Gender and Energy held in Derry, Ireland (April). International Conference on Gender Research (academic-conferences.org)
Joy Clancy participated in the IEA’s online workshop: Addressing the gender dimensions of clean energy transitions, (April)
Applied workshop on future-oriented engagement tools feeding into co-created interactive tool kit. UCC, Online (May).
Workshop on gender and users with the Gothenburg municipal energy company (Göteborgs Energi), Anna Åberg, Kavya Michael, Katharina Merl, Kalle Ekdahl, Gothenburg, Sweden (June)
Paper presentation: Michael, K. Zanzibar Solar mama’s case study and Subtask 1 qualitative review paper. Facilitator of Co-creation workshop: Reimagining Energy Transitions through a Feminist Lens. Nordic development conference NORDEV, Academic, Uppsala, Sweden (23 August)
Invited presentation: Clancy, J, “Gender and Energy Research – A historical overview and suggestions about where we need to go.” at Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Workshop held at the University of Sheffield, UK (September)
The BEHAVE conference 2023 was held in Maastricht on 28-29 November. Anna Åberg, Joy Clancy, Marielle Feenstra, Katharina Merl, Kalle Ekdahl, Sylvia Breukers, Camilla Andersson, Alexandra Revez and Niall Dunphy participated:
- Alexandra Revez and Niall Dunphy: Emerging sites of citizenship – do they support transformative practices or merely reproduce old sites of socialisation?
- Marielle Fënstra: Designing a gender-just energy policy: mapping the mindsets of Dutch municipal policy workers on mitigating energy poverty
- Sylvia Breukers, Katharina Merl and Kalle Ekdahl: Towards more inclusive and gender-sensitive designs of residential smart energy management systems
Conference proceedings are available.
On December 7-8, in connection to Joy Clancy’s farewell address at the University of Twente , a symposium was held entitled Gender and Energy research: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? Researchers from the IEA Users TCP Gender and Energy Task presented work and participated in panels.
Recordings of the sessions and the closing panel discussion are available:
Session 1 – Gender and energy in the South: Looking back and moving forward
Session 2 – Energy and Women’s empowerment
Session 3 – What are the benefits of promoting interdisciplinary gender and energy research?
Session 4 – Gender and Energy in the North: Looking back and moving forward
Anna Åberg and Martin Hultman have held two workshops at the Swedish Energy Agency as a part of the Agency’s competence week in October 2023. The aim of the workshops was to support the SEA employees in their work on integrating gender and user perspectives in their work, using input from our Task work. The feedback of the SEA participants was positive, and will be used to develop similar workshops as well as to develop a possible future phase 2 of the Gender and Energy Task.
On 16 May, several task participants (Anna Åberg, Kavya Michael, Marielle Feenstra and Niall Dunphy) took part in an Online Workshop: “Who’s got the power? – Sex and Gender in Energy Research”, organised by the German ministry of Education and Research.
2022
ECPR conference, Sylvia Breukers and Martin Boekolo “Revisiting the smart grid promise: Residential smart grid experiments as sites of contestation”, August. Innsbruck, Austria, ECPR General Conference, University of Innsbruck, 22 – 26 August 2022
The Gender Impact of the Fitfor55 Package: Presentation of initial finding of report to a special session FEMM Committee European Parliament. Brussels, Belgium (October).
Feedback workshops Factsheet: Creating energy technologies, that are meaningful and usable for all. October, ÖGUT, Vienna, Austria/online
Norm-creative technology workshop with Boid. October, online
Deliberative Futures Workshop: Scanning the Horizon for Green Public Procurement in UCC, With Alexandra Revez and Niall Dunphy. (October).
UNIC CityLab Workshop Socio-economic participation & benefit in renewable energy infrastructure in Europe. UCC. (November).
Workshop on The Gender Dimension and Impact of the Fit for 55 Package, Brussels and online (December)
Contribution to SECAD Sustainable Communities Training Programme (webinar), ‘Energy Poverty – a growing social issue’ by Dr Niall Dunphy (January)
Dr Olufolahan Osunmuyiwa and Dr Helene Ahlborg: “Reframing power and gender struggles in energy projects as territoriality and place-making” Presentation in on-line lecture series on Energy, Gender and Space, organised by the UK’s Royal Geographic Society’s Energy Geographies and Gender Group (EnGRG). (21 January)
Contribution to SECAD Sustainable Communities Training Programme (webinar), ‘Overview of energy behaviour change initiatives’ by Dr Alexandra Revez, Cork, Ireland (February)
Reihana Mohideen (University of Melbourne, Leader of the IEEE Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Workstream) and Anna Åberg (Chalmers University of Technology) participated in the UsersTCP academy webinar “How can energy standards help to promote Gender Equality and Social Inclusion?” (9 March)
Sylvia Breukers(Duneworks) presented in the UsersTCP webinar #32 Gender, expertise and control in Dutch smart grid pilots. Interoperability of smart energy management and household management – Sylvia Breukers (DuneWorks, Netherlands) Recording https://youtu.be/s0W09CDmXeA
2021
ASSET EnergyTransition Webinar GIRL POWER: the role of women in the energy transition, including Joy Clancy (24 March 2021)
Webinar Horizon 2020 project SCCALE “Engendering the energy transition: what’s in it for municipalities” including Joy Clancy and Marielle Feenstra (26 April 2021)
Including gender: policy choices towards a just energy transition. Presented by MariëlleFeenstra – University of Twente, Joy Clancy – University of Twente and Martin Hultman – Chalmers University. Presentation Slides. (12 May 2021)
Joy Clancy: “Have we got the measure of gender and energy?” Presentation in on-line lecture series on Energy, Gender and Space, organised by the UK’s Royal Geographic Society’s Energy Geographies and Gender Group (EnGRG), (2 November)
All UsersTCP academy webinars are available from the Leonardo ENERGY YouTube channel: User-Centred Energy Systems Academy
