This brief is part of the series that provides tools for infrastructure and natural resources companies to benefit from gender equality. The briefs highlight key challenges, business cases, and operational entry points to enhance gender equity in power, transport, cities, water and sanitation, and mining projects
Globally, the power industry is expected to invest $2.20 trillion in energy generation between 2017 and 2012.1 The sector is experiencing one of the most profound transformations of the past 100 years, driven by technological and market disruptions, but 13% of the global population still lacks access to modern electricity—predominately in Africa and South Asia. Without electricity, women and girls spend more hours fetching fuelwood and water; and it is more difficult for clinics to refrigerate vaccines, schoolchildren to do homework at night, and businesses to be run competitively.
As the sector responds to the challenges of clean, reliable, and affordable energy services—there are emerging pathways to close gender gaps and bolster performance across the energy value chain—by including women as potential employees, owners of SMEs, and as consumers. Women also comprise another important market segment for the power industry— as community members living around the footprint of power projects, they could be powerful distribution agents to help reach last-mile connection customers and/or behavior change catalysts to help improve the adoption of new energy technologies and products.
