WOCAN hosted this working session during the Sustainable Energy for All Forum with ENERGIA, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Solar Sister, and Value for Women on 3 May in Lisbon, Portugal.
As the primary managers of energy, women offer tremendous potential in extending sustainable energy access, including at the last mile. Over the last few years, several organizations have started working in this area. However, for a significant scale-up of gender-responsive approaches in the energy sector, all elements of energy planning, policy-making and financing need to factor in gender dimensions and advance women’s leadership.
Women need to be involved and empowered from start to finish in the design and delivery of modern energy access technologies and services. Within the energy industry, barriers to women’s engagement as executives, entrepreneurs and employees must be brought down. Investment in skills and leadership development need to increase and women’s representation on energy sector institutions needs to grow.
This working session made the business case for women-centric and gender-informed business models in the energy sector. The participatory session will share experiences, data and new resources around working with women in energy access initiatives. It will engage practitioners, INGOs, investors- focused on the nexus of SME, energy and gender – government ministries, women’s associations/networks, other energy access practitioners, to identify concrete pathways for enhancing women’s participation in increasing energy access.
