Power Inequality Runs Deep
When we talk about energy access, we usually discuss it in terms of infrastructure, electrification, and renewable transitions. What often gets missed is how deeply energy poverty intersects with gender inequality. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), more than 700 million people globally lack access to electricity, and a disproportionate number of them are women and girls living in rural or low-income households.
This disparity isn't just about comfort or convenience—it's about safety, health, education, and economic opportunity. Energy access, or the lack of it, shapes lives. For women, it can determine how early they wake, how safely they cook, and whether their daughters go to school or stay home.
🔥 Cooking with Danger: The Health Burden
One of the clearest examples of gendered energy poverty lies in the kitchen. Across many parts of India, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia, women still cook using biomass fuels like firewood, dung, and charcoal. The World Health Organization reports that exposure to smoke from cooking fires causes 3.2 million deaths annually, with women and young children most affected.
Case in Point: In rural Jharkhand, 45-year-old Sita Devi still uses a traditional chulha for cooking. She often suffers from chronic coughing and eye irritation, a price she pays for lack of access to clean cooking fuel.
🚤 Time Poverty: Hours Lost to Fuel Collection
The burden of collecting firewood falls almost exclusively on women and girls. In many rural areas, women spend 2 to 4 hours daily gathering wood. This time burden translates to missed educational opportunities and fewer income-generating activities.
“I walk nearly 3 km every day to collect firewood. That time could be spent at my sewing machine, but we have no alternative,” says Meenakshi, a self-employed tailor in rural Rajasthan.
By improving energy access, especially with decentralized renewable systems like solar home kits or biogas digesters, women reclaim their time and autonomy.
🚡 Lights On: Education and Safety for Girls
Energy access also has profound implications for education and safety. Electrified schools attract more students and help retain teachers. For girls, lighting means they can study after dark—often the only time available after daily chores.
In addition, lack of street lighting or home lighting contributes to a higher risk of gender-based violence. Simply walking home from school or fetching water at night becomes dangerous.
📈 Women as Energy Entrepreneurs
Energy access isn't only about consumption—it's also about economic empowerment. Across India, women are leading decentralized solar projects, managing microgrids, and distributing clean cookstoves and solar lanterns.
Example: The "Solar Sahelis" in Uttar Pradesh are a group of rural women trained to sell and maintain solar lighting systems. Supported by SELCO Foundation and other NGOs, they earn livelihoods while transforming their communities.
These roles not only increase women's income but also shift gender norms, establishing them as local leaders.
🌎 Energy and SDGs: A Gendered Path Forward
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (universal energy access) is tightly linked to SDG 5 (gender equality). Ignoring the gender dimension in energy policy means failing to address structural barriers that keep women in poverty.
Gender-inclusive energy programs have shown better outcomes:
More reliable distribution
Higher adoption of clean energy
Better maintenance due to community ownership
🤝 Recommendations: Making Energy Policies Gender-Inclusive
To ensure energy access is equitable:
Target women in energy distribution programs: Make them direct beneficiaries.
Support women entrepreneurs: Provide training, credit, and technology access.
Include gender audits in energy policy planning.
Invest in data collection disaggregated by gender.
Promote gender-sensitive design for energy products (e.g., ergonomic stoves).
🏙️ Conclusion: Lighting the Way Forward
Access to energy is a human right, but it's also a gender justice issue. By ensuring that women are at the center of energy policies—as users, producers, and decision-makers—we don’t just light up homes, we transform futures.
The path to an equitable energy future is powered not only by solar panels and clean fuels but by gender-aware policies and the resilience of women who have waited too long in the dark.
