Integrating gender in transitions to renewable energy in the Lower Mekong Region

The document examines gender imbalances in the energy sector of the Lower Mekong Region, noting that women are under-represented in technical roles and often excluded from energy decision-making. It highlights how gender norms, limited access to education, and siloed policy environments hinder women's participation in the transition to renewable energy. The briefing recommends promoting equal workforce opportunities, exploring community energy models, and developing gender-responsive national policies to ensure a just transition.

• The energy sector is heavily male-dominated globally and within the Lower Mekong Region, with women significantly under-represented in technical and leadership roles. In the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, all eight executive officers are men, and women make up only 23% of the staff, primarily in administrative positions.
• Barriers to women's entry into the science and technology sectors include gender norms that assign domestic obligations to women, as well as limited access to capital and education. In the Lao labour force, 33% of female employees have education to secondary school level or above, compared to 45% of male employees.
• Women are often overlooked in centralized energy systems and face disproportionate energy insecurity due to domestic responsibilities, such as collecting fuelwood. In Cambodia, women's business ownership in the energy and agriculture sectors is less than 1%, and female-headed households have limited electricity access.
• Social norms and language barriers limit women's ability to influence energy infrastructure decisions. During the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Truong Son hydropower project in Vietnam, women's participation in public consultations was hampered by norms regarding public behaviour, with ethnic minority women further constrained by limited Vietnamese language skills.
• While some women lead renewable energy businesses in the region—including the leader of Thailand's largest solar power operator and some of the 35 local developers in Vietnam—expansion is often limited by domestic obligations and a lack of resources for low-income women.
• National energy policies in the Lower Mekong Region frequently fail to integrate gender dimensions. For example, Laos' 8th Five-Year National Socio-economic Development Plan 2016-2020 and Cambodia's National Strategic Development Plan 2014-2018 do not mention gender equality or gender-responsive approaches in the context of energy development.

APA

Mortensen, S., & Boyland, M. (2019). Integrating gender in transitions to renewable energy in the Lower Mekong Region. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/gender-and-renewable-energy-sei-discussion-briefing.pdf

Chicago

Mortensen, Sofie, and Michael Boyland. Integrating gender in transitions to renewable energy in the Lower Mekong Region. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2019. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/gender-and-renewable-energy-sei-discussion-briefing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mortensen |first1=Sofie |last2=Boyland |first2=Michael |title=Integrating gender in transitions to renewable energy in the Lower Mekong Region |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/gender-and-renewable-energy-sei-discussion-briefing.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mortensen2019integrating, author = {Mortensen, Sofie and Boyland, Michael}, title = {{Integrating gender in transitions to renewable energy in the Lower Mekong Region}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/gender-and-renewable-energy-sei-discussion-briefing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }