Gender and Energy Research Programme (SE4All) Gender & Energy Research Programme
Globally, over 1.1 billion people do not have access to reliable and affordable electricity services, and over 2.7 billion people do not have access to clean cooking facilities (see World Energy Outlook 2016).  In poor rural and semi-urban areas in developing countries, female-headed households are less likely to have access to energy services than male-headed ones. Further, when energy services are available, the same services have different outcomes for men and for women. Despite this, energy policies and projects rarely address gender issues explicitly.

At the international level, there is a growing recognition that the goal of energy for all will not be achieved unless women’s energy needs are better understood and addressed in both policy and action. Being able to address women’s needs and tapping into their potential in energy interventions will contribute to achieve SEforALL’s goal and the Social Development Goal (SDG) of achieving universal access to energy by 2030.
ENERGIA believes that evidence can have a strong influence on policymaking.

Our Gender and Energy Research Programme will provide the evidence base for improving the effectiveness of energy investment by understanding and addressing women’s needs for modern energy services through empirical research.

The programme is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and covers five areas:

Electrification through grid and decentralised systems
Productive uses of energy
The political economy of energy sector dynamics
Energy sector reforms and regulation
The role of the private sector in scaling up energy access
Unlocking the economic benefits of rural energy
Key socio-economic trends influence gendered uptake and outcomes of energy access services