Page 3 - A Case Study on The Value of Engaging Women in the Energy Provisioning Process
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The Value of Engaging Women in the Energy Provisioning Process
The energy sector has largely been viewed and approached as a capital-intensive, large-scale,
and commercial space where energy service delivery followed a bullish supply driven approach.
However, in the process, most initiatives treat women as merely recipients of the intervention and fail
to factor in the ‘female’ gender’s dimensions that may actually influence and reveal the effectiveness
and sustainability of the solution. Policymakers in most countries remain gender blind as well,
failing to include women in the development of energy policies or to draw on their local knowledge
and influencing capacity to drive adoption within households and communities (Maria Robinson
Foundation, Climate Justice 2012). Therefore despite their enormous potential, in the absence of
active consultations with local women, many clean technologies fail to succeed simply because
women’s needs and interests have not been considered (Kirrin Gill 2012). For instance, in the case
of Shramik Bharti,2 the first clean cookstove model introduced into the market, a top loading improved
steel stove, was expected to be a market changer as a sophisticated, durable, attractive, and efficient
cookstove. However, because the manufacturers developed the stove in isolation of the end user
perspective, failing to take into account usage patterns and preferences of the end user who were
primarily women, they misfired on key technical and economic aspects that rendered the cookstove
a complete failure.
Another factor that inhibits or limits women’s mainstreaming into the energy sector is the lack of
awareness on how to plan and implement clean energy services in a manner that actually address
women as more than mere recipients (Clancy 2010). By employing women in the delivery of energy,
a traditionally male sphere can change perceptions of their capabilities and potentially challenge
existing norms surrounding the gendered division of labour.
This study therefore seeks to demonstrate the value of engaging women actively in the energy
provisioning process, such that each aspect of the role played by them not only has a favourable impact
on women’s empowerment socially and economically but also enables the overall intervention to be
more effective and far reaching. For example, training local women in promoting and demonstrating
clean lighting and cooking technologies not only enhances information dissemination and awareness
generation but also brings in familiarity and a level of trust in the prospective end user community,
leading to faster sales conversions and higher adoption rates. The model recognizes that women
and girls are disproportionately and more severely affected by the lack of access to energy, and
specifically works to include them as active participants in the delivery of clean energy solutions. In
Shramik Bharti’s case, women SHG groups are engaged to involve women as consumers as well as
diffusion agents in reaching a larger end user mass and to accelerate the last mile delivery of clean
energy solutions. The case also reinforces that for microfinance as a means of lending, women are
generally better credit risks and have better repayment rates than men—making them well suited
to be part of a sustainable collection system that supports a continuous and expanding energy
provisioning process (Kathleen O’Dell 2014).
2. Barriers to Adoption
Even though renewable energy-based solutions have enormous potential, realized over time at
reasonable costs, most initiatives and commercial ventures in energy access face significant market
2 Shramik Bharti is a Kanpur-based NGO that works for the upliftment of rural and urban communities in Kanpur
and Kanpur Dehat. The NGO collaborated with TERI in 2012 to deliver clean energy solutions to its member
communities.
3
The energy sector has largely been viewed and approached as a capital-intensive, large-scale,
and commercial space where energy service delivery followed a bullish supply driven approach.
However, in the process, most initiatives treat women as merely recipients of the intervention and fail
to factor in the ‘female’ gender’s dimensions that may actually influence and reveal the effectiveness
and sustainability of the solution. Policymakers in most countries remain gender blind as well,
failing to include women in the development of energy policies or to draw on their local knowledge
and influencing capacity to drive adoption within households and communities (Maria Robinson
Foundation, Climate Justice 2012). Therefore despite their enormous potential, in the absence of
active consultations with local women, many clean technologies fail to succeed simply because
women’s needs and interests have not been considered (Kirrin Gill 2012). For instance, in the case
of Shramik Bharti,2 the first clean cookstove model introduced into the market, a top loading improved
steel stove, was expected to be a market changer as a sophisticated, durable, attractive, and efficient
cookstove. However, because the manufacturers developed the stove in isolation of the end user
perspective, failing to take into account usage patterns and preferences of the end user who were
primarily women, they misfired on key technical and economic aspects that rendered the cookstove
a complete failure.
Another factor that inhibits or limits women’s mainstreaming into the energy sector is the lack of
awareness on how to plan and implement clean energy services in a manner that actually address
women as more than mere recipients (Clancy 2010). By employing women in the delivery of energy,
a traditionally male sphere can change perceptions of their capabilities and potentially challenge
existing norms surrounding the gendered division of labour.
This study therefore seeks to demonstrate the value of engaging women actively in the energy
provisioning process, such that each aspect of the role played by them not only has a favourable impact
on women’s empowerment socially and economically but also enables the overall intervention to be
more effective and far reaching. For example, training local women in promoting and demonstrating
clean lighting and cooking technologies not only enhances information dissemination and awareness
generation but also brings in familiarity and a level of trust in the prospective end user community,
leading to faster sales conversions and higher adoption rates. The model recognizes that women
and girls are disproportionately and more severely affected by the lack of access to energy, and
specifically works to include them as active participants in the delivery of clean energy solutions. In
Shramik Bharti’s case, women SHG groups are engaged to involve women as consumers as well as
diffusion agents in reaching a larger end user mass and to accelerate the last mile delivery of clean
energy solutions. The case also reinforces that for microfinance as a means of lending, women are
generally better credit risks and have better repayment rates than men—making them well suited
to be part of a sustainable collection system that supports a continuous and expanding energy
provisioning process (Kathleen O’Dell 2014).
2. Barriers to Adoption
Even though renewable energy-based solutions have enormous potential, realized over time at
reasonable costs, most initiatives and commercial ventures in energy access face significant market
2 Shramik Bharti is a Kanpur-based NGO that works for the upliftment of rural and urban communities in Kanpur
and Kanpur Dehat. The NGO collaborated with TERI in 2012 to deliver clean energy solutions to its member
communities.
3
