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| Author: |
UNDP, 2004-12
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| Title: |
Energy and Gender for Sustainable Development: A Toolkit and Resource Guide |
| Publisher: |
UNDP/BDP Energy and Environment Group, 85 pages
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| Type: |
Guidelines
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| Country / Region: |
Global
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| Categories: |
Energy Services,
Women
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| Themes/Issues: |
Access,
Development,
Gender
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| Date Posted: |
2005-02-03 |
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This toolkit and resource guide provides tools to help development practitioners ask the relevant questions needed to bring about better development and energy outcomes that are gender specific and that address the needs of women in particular.
Produced jointly by the Sustainable Energy Programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and ENERGIA, the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy, the publication is designed to help planners and practitioners integrate gender and energy considerations into development programmes, including those focusing on energy improvements as well as other types of development programmes.
In many parts of the world, overall socio-economic development is limited by the lack of availability of modern energy services such as lighting, cooking and heating, refrigeration, pumping, transportation, and communications. The lack of access to energy services is known as “energy poverty,” a condition that often has disproportionate effects on women and girls.
This publication outlines the linkages between gender and energy in the context of sustainable development and provides suggestions and materials on how to address energy poverty by integrating gender and energy sensitivity into development programmes, projects, and policies.
An important reason for the focus on gender and energy is that in many developing countries women are particularly affected by lack of accessible and affordable energy services due to their traditional roles, household responsibilities, and low social and political status. Better understanding of differences in the ways men and women use energy in various cultures and locations can promote greater gender equity and empowerment of women, as well as enhance the effectiveness of energy projects, poverty programmes, and overall sustainable development activities.
UNDP believes projects, programmes and policies that explicitly address the gender and energy nexus will result in better outcomes in terms of the sustainability of energy services as well as the human development opportunities available to women and men.
For many years energy projects were treated as gender neutral based on the assumption that energy bottlenecks and solutions impact men and women in similar ways. In most countries this does not reflect reality and has in fact led to “gender blind” projects which in some cases have not been successful due to the failure to look at the distinct situation of women and men in relation to energy production and use patterns.
The tools presented in this guidebook have been design to help development practitioners ask the relevant questions needed to bring about better development and energy outcomes that are gender specific and that address the needs of women in particular.
To accomplish this, an exclusive focus on “gender and energy” projects is not recommended. What we suggest instead is that all energy projects consider the differing role of men and women in relation to energy systems and that more broadly speaking, development efforts overall consider the role that energy can play in enabling or hindering successful outcomes.
The materials presented here have been peer reviewed and build on regional consultations, pilot projects and field research by gender and energy experts. UNDP remains engaged in gender and energy analysis and programme support as part of UNDP’s overall commitment to gender mainstreaming and hope you will find this publication helpful in your own efforts in energy and development.
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