Towards a feminist energy justice framework

This paper explores a feminist energy justice approach in the context of women’s participation in energy transition decision-making in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the lowest energy access rate in the world, with only half of the population having access to modern forms of energy. A key challenge in the region is to provide modern energy services to combat poverty and foster development. As part of addressing this challenge, many countries in the region have been working to increase renewable energy capacity in recent years.

The energy transition in Sub-Saharan Africa is a gendered issue. Research shows that women are deeply affected by the development of renewable energy projects as they are often responsible for critical energy-intensive activities in households and communities. In many Sub-Saharan African communities, women are caretakers, domestic workers and subsistence providers who are responsible for gathering traditional fuels, such as charcoal and firewood, for household chores and cooking. As such, they are frequently at the frontline of energy insecurity and the health and safety risks related to traditional energy sources.

Despite this, women are often not involved in environmental management and energy-related decision-making, be this at the local, national or regional level. Consequently, if attention is not given to gender inequalities and dynamics in the energy transition, efforts to increase access to renewable energy could maintain, increase or even create new gender inequalities, rather than diminish them and their subsequent socio-economic, environmental and financial repercussions.

Matters of concern

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