Adopting a gender a perspective to renewable energy development is critically important to ensure that
women’s contributions – their skills and views – represent an integral part of the growing industry. Studies suggest that women bring new perspectives to the workplace and improve collaboration, while increasing the number of qualified women in an organisation’s leadership yields better performance overall. In the context of energy access, engaging women as active agents in deploying off-grid renewable energy solutions is known to improve sustainability and gender outcomes.
In recognition of these opportunities, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in 2015 introduced a dedicated goal on gender equality, noting that the “systematic mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the implementation of the Agenda is crucial”. Yet, detailed information on the status and trends related to gender equality in the renewable energy sector remains sparse.
Renewable Energy: A Gender Perspective aims to address this knowledge gap. It analyses the status of women’s participation in the sector in two distinct deployment settings – the modern context (in which renewables displace or complement conventional energy) and the energy access context (which is characterised by efforts to expand access to modern energy services).
