Co-producing gender knowledge in energy transitions: A grey literature perspective

Abstract

This paper explores how the issue of gender is co-produced within the context of energy transitions, and how gendered framings in grey literature actively shape both policy and research directions in the energy field. Drawing on Sheila Jasanoff's concept of co-production and building on critical examinations of energy and sustainability transitions within capitalist and Western frameworks, we analyse how gender is not simply added onto existing energy systems, but is entangled with the epistemic, institutional, and technological configurations that underpin those systems. Based on a purposive sample of 138 grey literature documents published between 2018 and 2023, we examine how gender is framed across energy subsystems (political, economic, socio-ecological, and technological) and across multiple levels of analysis—from household to global. Our findings show that while economic and socio-ecological concerns are commonly addressed, technological domains remain largely gender-blind. Gender is often reduced to “women”, with limited intersectional analysis. Nevertheless, grey literature plays a key role in stabilizing certain visions of gender equality, contributing to the co-production of policy logics, intervention strategies, and research] agendas that define the contemporary energy transition.