Veeramani is a member of the Lakshmi Milk Producer Group of Kulumai Diary Producer Company (KDPC) at Thiruvalluvar Nagar, in India. She successfully manages one of the 16 automated milk collection centers operating under KDPC, run on solar power and consisting of a fat analyzer, weighing machine, printer, and an inverter. In the Kanniwadi region, as in many of the neighboring areas, there is limited access to opportunities for women, whose role in the milk value chain mostly stops with production.
Working in a male-dominated sector is still a challenge but Veeramani, 25 years old and mother of two children, with the support of KDPC is committed to break these gender barriers. The flexibility of this productive activity allows Veeramani to split her time between work and household responsibilities.
“I spend in total about 3 hours a day at the milk collection center. I have two very small children and a physically handicapped husband, who need my attention. I also have milch animals at home, which need to be tended to,” says Veeramani.
With her savings from the milk collection center work and the rice retailing business of her husband, her family was able to buy a mixer and grinder, together with a TV, a fan, and other household appliances supplied through various government schemes. All appliances that make her daily work easier.
Her husband’s support was crucial in undertaking her new business activity, but changes in gender norms in a patriarchal society require time. Her income from the milk center is still put into her husband’s savings account, and he is still the main decision-maker in all matters related to the household, especially those related to buying and selling.
This is not a barrier to Veeramani’s ambition, who is planning to grow professionally and run other milk collection centers in the future. Her story shows that being engaged in productive work or being able to access clean energy for productive work is extremely important for promoting women’s rights by strengthening their role and participation in paid employment.
But women’s economic participation does not automatically imply control over resources. Additional interventions are also needed to reduce gender differences and reinforce women’s voice and economic independence. To ensure that no one is left behind, a holistic approach is needed.
Energy access for all requires a deep understanding of gender dynamics
With 11 years left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), energy access is recognized to be pivotal to the achievement of many other SDGs, including gender equality, poverty reduction, and improved education. Girls and women are often left behind, being responsible for the majority of unpaid domestic and care work, which is time consuming, physically hard, and harmful to health. Providing women and girls with access to energy services could free up their time and reduce the burden of work, thus allowing them to seize economic opportunities, invest in their education, and participate in economic, political and social life.
To achieve energy access for all, a gender-aware approach that includes policy, institutions and organisations is a must. The journey towards this approach requires a complete understanding of gender dynamics in the energy sector, evidence on linkages between energy interventions and gender-equitable outcomes, and sex-disaggregated data. The latest report published by ENERGIA’s Gender and Energy Research Programme confirms that a multi-faceted approach that goes beyond access to resources is needed. For example, affordability, reliability, capacity and convenience of modern energy services play a critical role in achieving gender-equitable outcomes, along with the inclusion of women in energy institutions and in policy processes.
When given equitable opportunities and with a comprehensive package of support, women can drive the change. Another case to show that is Mrs Sarita Dagaura Chaudhary’s story, a 42-year-old Nepali mother of three children and a grandmother of three grandchildren, who is a “tempo” driver. Where she lives, tempos, a three-wheeled battery-powered vehicle used as a taxi, are primarily driven by men. After being left by her husband, she took a loan from the bank and learnt to drive the tempo from her brother.
“If there is some support I would like to brush up my driving skill. So far the only training I had is a one day training from Bajaj, it was more of an introduction to the vehicle.”With her income she has been able to purchase an improved cook-stove, which allows her to save time from household chores and be on the road before the other drivers.
Thanks to her ambition, she has successfully stepped into this male-dominated sector in one of the least developed regions of Nepal, Kailali District, where gender differences, deep-rooted traditions and patriarchy hinders women’s advancement.
“The government should give more facilities for women, so they have easy and affordable access to learn to drive and be in this growing profession. The women in the driving industry are a testimony to the empowerment of women in this country where women have been discriminated in many ways. If people accept women in as tempo drivers more easily, then this can encourage women to enter into many other fields where women have traditionally been excluded,” Sarita says.
Conclusions
The achievement of the SDG 7 goes hand-in-hand with the advancement of women’s rights and gender equality, as stated in the SDG 5 on gender equality. A just and equitable energy shift cannot be achieved without both addressing women’s energy needs and pushing progress on gender equality.
A fair energy transition includes women’s engagement in the design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of energy policies and programs, their involvement in energy-system value chains and employment, and a well-rounded support from third parties and within the households which could lead to a transformation of gender roles and relations. To leave no one behind, the international community must step up action on multiple levels beyond mere access to energy.
Note: Featured case studies are taken from the report The Gender Factor in Political Economy of Energy Sector Dynamics.This publication has been realized within the scope of ENERGIA’s Gender and Energy Research Programme, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). A detailed analysis of messages can be found in the report, Gender in the transition to sustainable energy for all: From evidence to inclusive policies.