In this phase, it is recommended that information is gathered on the situation of women and men in a particular area. This means looking for sex-disaggregated data and gender statistics, and checking for the existence of studies, programme or project reports, and/or evaluations from previous periods.
Did you know that EIGE has a Gender Statistics Database? Check whether there are relevant statistics to feed into your analysis.
Examples of gender and energy statistics
The European Union labour force survey (EU-LFS) provides the main aggregated statistics on labour market outcomes in the European Union. It provides disaggregated statistics on employment by sex, age groups, economic activity, education attainment and field of education, from which it is possible to measure the presence of women working in the energy sector.
The European Union living conditions survey (EU-SILC) is an instrument seeking to collect comparable data on income, poverty, social exclusion and living conditions. It contains, among other data, information on housing deprivation that is relevant for measuring energy poverty by sex.
The IEA energy outlook includes comparable world statistics on energy access, efficiency and renewable energy. However, access to the latest data and reports is not free of charge. The 2011 edition includes a section called Energy for all which covers data on access and investments in electricity and clean cooking facilities that are relevant from a gender point of view.
Examples of studies, research and reports
The study assesses the impact of the sector restructuring on women’s employment in this sector, presenting data on women employed in the sector.
The study includes, among others, data on women employed in the energy sector.
The report analyses gender aspects in the energy field. It is based mostly on German sources and examples. However, findings are also suitable for the other EU Member States.
This paper explores whether links between gender and energy and MDG 3 shown in the literature exist in real-world practice. It does that by looking at empirical evidence from studies on the subject and presenting an overview of the results, as well as more detailed findings.
The report provides information on gender in sustainable development, including an analysis of gender in the energy field.
This study analyses energy consumption patterns by gender in four European countries (Germany, Sweden, Norway and Greece).
The report presents the main findings of the WiRES project (Women in Renewable Energy Sector) co-funded by the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities under budget heading 04.03.03.01, industrial relations and social dialogue.
the occupational impact for women in the renewable energy sector in Europe.
the role of social dialogue in women’s access to employment in the renewable energy sector and the relative working conditions.
best practices of social dialogue in the renewable energy field and policy recommendations.
This study aims to increase international attention on the gender equality dimensions of energy access in the run-up to Rio+20, and to contribute to the sustainable energy for all (SE4ALL) initiative and its goal of ensuring universal access to modern energy services by 2030. It conceptualises gender and energy in development from a gender and rights perspective and presents an analysis of energy system governance at household, national and global levels.
The report prepared by the EIGE reviews the progress made by the European Union Member States in the implementation of 1 of the 12 areas of concern of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for Equality, Development and Peace (BPfA), namely of Area K: Women and the environment. It is the first EU-wide report on gender equality and climate change which provides comparable data at the EU level. Furthermore, it introduces the first indicators to support policy makers in measuring progress in climate change policies from the perspective of gender equality. It includes specific sections on energy e.g. energy needs, energy consumption.
The study provides an outlook on green jobs in the EU, including information on women employed in green sectors such as the energy sector.
This report provides an assessment of the employment and labour market impacts of the scenarios in the Energy Roadmap 2050. It also provides estimates of the current level of employment in energy supply sectors in the EU, also providing information on women employed in the energy sector and future projections.
This paper provides insights on women’s participation in the green economy, including the energy sector.
The report includes a snapshot of the status of more than 170 countries with respect to energy access, action on energy efficiency and renewable energy, and energy consumption. It also provides information on women’s access to energy.
The report contains evidence and policy analysis to foster an equitable shift to greener economies and more sustainable societies, including data on gender and skills/education and employment in the green sectors.
This focuses on the role of women in providing energy products and services to the poor and ‘difficult to reach’ consumers. It also explores the impact that women-led micro and small enterprises selling energy services can have, with respect to household spending, poverty, gender equality and local markets and economies.
One of the first steps to take when defining your policy/project/programme is to gather information and analyse the situation of women and men in the respective policy area. The information and data you collected will allow an understanding of the reality and assist you in designing your policy, programme or project. Specific methods that can be used in this phase are gender analysis and gender impact assessment.
Examples of gender analysis
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Union, 2008
This report presents the main results, conclusions and recommendations on how to integrate gender in the sub-priority 6.1 of the specific programme 1, integrating and strengthening the European research area (2002 – 2006): Sustainable energy systems. The report also provides a set of recommendations for making further steps towards gender equality in framework programme activities.
This toolkit, drafted by ETC/ENERGIA to support Norad’s Energy Department provides information on available tools for gender analysis in the energy field.
This practical handbook, drafted by ENERGIA, seeks to provide guidance, practical tools and examples for energy projects that show how to undertake gender analysis systematically.
This is a toolkit and resource guide that targets development practitioners, energy planners, community groups and gender experts. It provides information on ways to address gender in energy issues at the project and policy levels.
This guide aims at providing practical guidance on how to systematically address gender inequalities specific to UNIDO’s energy and climate change projects, through a gender analysis.
The paper presents describes the approach to gender mainstreaming in the energy sector undertaken by ENERGIA in selected countries in Africa. The paper includes a framework for engendering energy projects and policies in both the design and implementation phases.
Examples of stakeholders that can be consulted
ENERGIA - International network on gender and sustainable energy.
GenderCC – Women for Climate Justice - global network on gender and climate justice.
For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, click here.
Plan
In this phase, it’s appropriate to analyse budgets from a gender perspective. Gender budgeting is used to identify how budget allocations contribute to promoting gender equality. Gender budgeting brings visibility to how much public money is spent for women and men respectively. Thus, gender budgeting ensures that public funds are fairly distributed between women and men. It also contributes to accountability and transparency about how public funds are being spent.
Example of gender budgeting in energy
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, in cooperation with ENERGIA, has developed a gender budgeting framework in the energy sector. Gender equality in financing energy for all, drafted in 2011, provides insights on gender-responsive budgeting in financing energy.
Examples of indicators for monitoring gender and energy
Lack of sex-disaggregated data in the energy field is a major problem in adopting gender oriented policy in this field in the EU: No data – no visibility; no visibility – no interest. According to Clancy, the lack of gender disaggregated data has been partly attributed to policy makers and planners who aren’t aware of the gender effects of energy policies. On the other hand, it is also attributable to the weak communication of existing gender tools for gender mainstreaming in the energy field.
While the European Commission undertook efforts in collecting data disaggregated by sex for some energy-related indicators (e.g. home heating, skills and education, employment by sector of activity), much of the indicators used to monitor progress on the advancement towards the 2020 energy targets are not disaggregated by sex.
However, the following are useful indicators for measuring gender inequalities in the energy sector.
Participation of women in the energy sector is quite low. The figure may be derived from the percentage of women employed in electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply activities, based on Eurostat data (Eurostat, LFS, table Employment by sex, age groups and economic activity, from 2008, NACE Rev. 2, 1000, lfsa_egan2.
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is a goal of the 2015 UN position paper Monitoring gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. The suggested indicator is percentage of population with primary reliance on non-solid fuels, by income/wealth, urban/rural location. The indicator can monitor some key gender dimensions on lack of access to energy sources. This includes the time women and girls spend in the collection of firewood and other fuel sources, as well as the health impacts of indoor household pollution. It can be calculated through household surveys.
When preparing calls for proposals as part of funding programmes, or terms of reference for public procurement procedures, do not forget to formalise gender-related requirements. This particularly affects contractors to be hired for policy support services. This will ensure the projects and services which the European Commission will fund are not gender-blind or gender-biased.
Example of procurement
This guide aims to raise contracting authorities’ awareness of the potential benefits of integrating social considerations in public procurement. It also explains in a practical way the opportunities offered by the existing EU legal framework for public authorities to take social considerations into account in their public procurement. This means they pay attention not only to price, but also to the best value for money. The guide follows the procurement procedures step by step. Energy efficiency and gender equality represent two of the social responsible criteria included in the guide.
The 2014 Recommendations for the federal procurement offices in Switzerland includes recommendations for sustainable procurement. Energy efficiency and gender equality, e.g. equal pay for women and men, represent two of the criteria to be considered by sustainable procurement.
The programme provides a series of examples of terms of reference for involving consultants in different stages of the energy policy cycle.
For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, click here.
Act
In the implementation phase of a policy or programme, ensure that all who are involved are sufficiently aware about the relevant gender objectives and plans. If not, set up briefings and capacity-building initiatives according to staff needs. Think about researchers, proposal evaluators, monitoring and evaluation experts, scientific officers, programme committee members, etc.
Examples of capacity-building initiatives about energy
The gender toolkit, a training module on energy funded by the European Commission within the FP7 programme, takes a closer look at how gender is relevant in the specific field of energy in FP7. It points out the relevance of gender within the field, discusses the topics that have been put forward by the European Commission in the field’s work programme. It provides suggestions on gender-relevant issues which may be taken up by the research teams. To illustrate how planned research in energy can be made gender sensitive, examples of projects are included based on project summaries found on the CORDIS FP7.
The 2010 UNIDO Guidance note on sustainable energy for all: the gender dimensions provides a brief overview of issues related to gender equality. It serves as a starting point in working with policy makers and other stakeholders in developing programmatic and policy activities in energy.
ENERGIA has developed a training course entitled The gender face of energy, which includes the following training modules available online:
concepts in gender and energy.
gender tools for energy projects.
engendering energy policy.
gender and energy advocacy.
engendering energy project proposal development.
capacity-building of organisations.
There is also a sub-module on the communication of the project result.
The UNDP has developed a series of gender and climate change training modules and policy briefs directed at practitioners and policy makers, in particular in the Asia-Pacific region. The themes covered focus on climate change issues such as adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk reduction, energy and finance.
Example of gender language in energy
ENERGIA has produced a series of fact sheets on gender mainstreaming in the energy field, providing definitions and examples from real-world programmes, including developing countries. Some examples of issues tackled are:
gender mainstreaming in rural electrification programmes.
gender mainstreaming in biogas programmes.
institutionalising gender mainstreaming processes in energy organisations.
gender, energy technology and climate change.
building a framework for gender-responsive energy projects and policies.
A policy cycle or programme should be checked both during – monitoring, and at the end – evaluation, of its implementation.
Monitoring the ongoing work allows for the follow-up of progress and remedying unforeseen difficulties. This process should take into account the indicators delineated in the planning phase and realign data collection based on those indicators.
At the end of a policy cycle or programme, a gender-sensitive evaluation should take place. Make your evaluation publicly accessible and strategically disseminate its results to promote learning potential.
Example of monitoring and evaluating gender in energy
The 2004 UNDP gender and energy for sustainable development: A toolkit and resource guide includes indications on monitoring and evaluation of gender issues in energy.
The 2014 UNIDPO guide on gender mainstreaming energy and climate change projects provides information on the formulation of gender outcomes, outputs and indicators in the energy field and on their monitoring and evaluation.
The 2003 Monitoring and evaluation in rural electrification projects: A demand-oriented approach report, drafted by ESAMP, develops a methodology for measuring the socioeconomic impacts of rural electrification projects, with a focus on poverty and gender.