The Impact of Gender-Responsive Energy Policies on Macroeconomic Outcomes

Abstract

This chapter highlights the importance of gender-responsive national energy policies on macroeconomic outcomes in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In many LMICs, prevailing norms and gender roles lead women to take on the majority of household tasks and responsibilities. Women are often the key energy providers (e.g. procuring firewood) and also the primary users of energy (e.g. through cooking). In LMICs where access to energy is limited, the introduction of policies and legislative frameworks that promote women’s access to affordable, clean energy sources can improve the physical and economic well-being of families and transform livelihoods. Energy policies and planning can foster female entrepreneurship and employment if undertaken with progressive understanding of the connections between energy and gender equality. These things will be essential if development partners are to achieve sustainable development goal (SDG) 7, that is, inclusive access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy. Unfortunately, to date, there has been little research exploring the role of women as energy producers, consumers, and “agents of change,” nor the extent to which investing in gender-aware energy policies in LMICs can have a multiplier effect on national economies. This chapter aims to bridge the research gap, first by identifying whether there are tangible gender equality objectives in the national energy policies and frameworks of selected LMICs, particularly those in East and Southern Africa. This chapter then explores the extent to which gender-responsive national policies are associated with women’s employment in various economic sectors and associated with economic growth in East and Southern African countries. Our research findings conclude that national policies and strategies that include explicit objectives to empower women in the energy sector can unleash women’s economic power and contribute to desirable macroeconomic outcomes for LMICs.