Reconsidering the gender-energy nexus: A novel framework for understanding how and why electricity access influences gender relations

Abstract

It has long been assumed that delivering UN SDG 7 (access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all) will also help deliver UN SDG 5 (gender equality and empowerment). But empirical evidence on the gendered impacts of electricity access is mixed: in some cases transformative, in some cases reinforcing, or worsening, existing unequal gendered power hierarchies. This paper responds to calls for the emerging literature on gender and electricity access to integrate insights from the Gender Studies literature and to better explain why, not just how, electricity access impacts gender in different ways in different contexts. It achieves this by developing a novel, performative theoretical framework, which combines and extends insights from Gender Studies on the performative, intersectional and power-laden nature of gender, and insights from Social Practice Theory on how electricity access becomes meaningful through its intersection with the performance of everyday practices. This theoretical framework is refined through an in-depth empirical analysis of the gendered impacts of electricity access in patriarchal societies in rural Guatemala and matrilineal societies in rural Colombia. The paper also develops a novel methodology, including an 8-step approach for applying the theoretical framework in practice. It concludes by articulating how these contributions can facilitate more targeted policy interventions with greater potential for positive impacts on gender equality in specific contexts.