LEVERS OF CHANGE: HOW GLOBAL TRENDS IMPACT GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION IN ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

The report examines the intersection of global energy trends and gender equality, arguing that universal energy access by 2030 requires moving beyond 'business-as-usual' to address systemic discrimination. It identifies decentralization, affordability, and mobile payments as potential catalysts for inclusion, while urbanization and humanitarian crises present significant hurdles. Through case studies in five countries, the document highlights how barriers such as lack of land tenure, digital gender gaps, and inadequate financial services prevent women from leveraging these trends to improve their livelihoods and health.

• Decentralized renewable energy (DRE) solutions, including off-grid and mini-grid systems, are expected to provide the majority of new energy access connections by 2030. These systems can drive women's economic empowerment by enabling productive uses of energy and reducing drudgery in remote areas.
• A significant gender gap exists in digital access in low- and middle-income countries, where women are 10 percent less likely than men to own a mobile phone, representing a gap of 184 million people. This divide hinders women's ability to use mobile finance for energy products and entrepreneurship.
• Women entrepreneurs often outperform men in selling energy products like solar lanterns and cookstoves due to their social networks and understanding of women's specific energy needs. However, they face greater bottlenecks than men, including lack of financing, discriminatory norms, and limited land tenure.
• In urban informal settlements, energy access is hampered by insecure property tenure and a lack of coordination between housing and energy initiatives. Women in these areas often rely on expensive, unsafe fuels or illegal connections, and a lack of street lighting increases the risk of gender-based crime.
• In humanitarian settings, the reliance on collected firewood for cooking poses severe safety risks for women and girls, including physical aggression and rape. An estimated 20,000 forcibly displaced people die prematurely each year from indoor pollution caused by traditional fuels.
• Tanzania has a thriving off-grid solar market supported by one of Africa's strongest mobile money systems, though gender inequalities in land ownership and decision-making persist.
• Bangladesh is projected to reach universal electricity access by 2030, largely through government-subsidized solar home systems, which have reduced kerosene use and increased schoolwork time for girls.
• In Myanmar, the clean cooking sector is in its infancy and lacks government support, with over 90 percent of the population still relying on biomass for cooking.
• Haiti is the only Latin American country where more than 90 percent of the population cooks with solid biomass, and its national energy sector development plan does not address gender equality.

APA

Pearl-Martinez, R. (2018). LEVERS OF CHANGE: HOW GLOBAL TRENDS IMPACT GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION IN ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY. Sustainable Energy for All. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/gather-content/18_SEforALL_SETrendsReport_0.pdf

Chicago

Pearl-Martinez, Rebecca. LEVERS OF CHANGE: HOW GLOBAL TRENDS IMPACT GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION IN ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY. Sustainable Energy for All, 2018. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/gather-content/18_SEforALL_SETrendsReport_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pearl-Martinez |first1=Rebecca |title=LEVERS OF CHANGE: HOW GLOBAL TRENDS IMPACT GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION IN ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY |publisher=Sustainable Energy for All |date=2018 |url=https://www.seforall.org/system/files/gather-content/18_SEforALL_SETrendsReport_0.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pearlmartinez2018levers, author = {Pearl-Martinez, Rebecca}, title = {{LEVERS OF CHANGE: HOW GLOBAL TRENDS IMPACT GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION IN ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/system/files/gather-content/18_SEforALL_SETrendsReport_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }