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Why Climate Change Is A Gendered Issue and What Solar Sister Is Doing About It

By Catarina Morais, Grants Manager, Solar Sister

The year is 2023. It’s the dead of night. The heavy branches of wood weigh you down as you make your way back to your village. You pointlessly zigzag in the dark to avoid the stones you cannot see. You hear noises in the night and wonder if a stranger is lurking to grab you. You whisper under your breath, praying once more that you make it home safely. This is a new reality. The trees used to be closer, now, you venture out further and further until you reach the indispensable wood for cooking fuel once again. Without it, you and your family starve. There’s no light in sight. There’s no end in sight. You wonder which branch will be the one that breaks you.

The narrative above is a daunting reality for a whopping 940 million people across the African continent who lack access to clean cooking fuels and technologies. Many will also be living in the dark in 2023, as 43% of the population – 600 million people – still lack access to energy. Population growth is already outpacing energy access growth. With the African population predicted to increase over the next decade, the challenge of energy access is being exacerbated at a global scale. As a result, the latest UN data indicates that the world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 on affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030.

Prevailing gender roles in the communities Solar Sister operates mean that women remain the primary household energy managers. As such, they bear the brunt of energy poverty. Women and children are disproportionately impacted by energy poverty. Women can spend up to 20 hours a week collecting fuel for energy use, and young girls are often removed from school for firewood collection. This prevents women from participating in income-generating activities. Additionally, walking great distances for fuel leaves women vulnerable to physical attacks, and while cooking with these fuels, inhaling the toxic smoke endangers women’s and children’s health. 

For women, climate resilience is not a choice but a NEED, now as fundamental for survival as food and water. 

Despite progress in the female labor force participation rates across Sub-Saharan Africa, meaningful gender gaps in earnings, development opportunities, and productivity remain. While women represent more than half the African population, they generate only 33% of the continent’s collective GDP. The 600 million girls and women living in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly more vulnerable than men to the impacts of climate change and energy poverty, mainly because women:

• Represent the majority of the world’s poor, as 60% of the global poor are women and girls;
• Are proportionally more dependent on threatened natural resources;
• Have differential roles, decision-making, access to land and natural resources, opportunities and needs, and
• Face restrictions in accessing resources such as land, credit, decision-making, technology and funding.

Despite the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women and girls, they are often underrepresented in climate action and decision-making. 

Excluding women from climate action not only undermines their rights and opportunities but also hinders the effectiveness of climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. At Solar Sister, we’re addressing the misrepresentation of women in climate action through several strategies:

• Promote gender equality and challenge gender stereotypes: Educate communities and policymakers about the importance of gender equality and address gender stereotypes that discourage women’s participation in climate action.
• Increase women’s access to resources and opportunities: Provide women with access to education, training, credit, digital literacy, and networking opportunities to enhance their participation in climate action.
• Support women’s leadership: Encourage women to take on leadership roles in their communities to drive climate action initiatives and provide them with mentorship and support.
• Collect gender-disaggregated data: Collect and analyze gender-disaggregated data on the impacts of climate action and energy access efforts to identify and address gender inequalities.

By implementing these strategies, we can ensure that climate action is inclusive and equitable, harnessing the full potential of women and girls in addressing the climate crisis.

When women are empowered and have access to resources and opportunities, they can reinvest in their families and communities, creating a ripple effect of positive change. Solar Sister Entrepreneurs report a ripple effect of benefits to their social and economic well-being, and evidence supports Solar Sister’s impacts on women empowerment indicators. External assessments, including studies by the International Center for Research on Women and the Miller Center for Entrepreneurship, have validated Solar Sister’s results and found that our work has contributed to women’s increased autonomy and leadership development, improved household health and education, and spurred economic mobility and business growth. Historical data and yearly energy impact metrics make it possible to conclude that SolarSister’s model has the intended effects on improved market supply and demand, connecting last-mile beneficiaries to clean energy.

Solar Sister’s theory of change is that through the development of women’s entrepreneurship, impact can be achieved in energy access, climate justice, and gender equity. 

Join Solar Sister’s Mission to Empower Women and Light Up the World.

Every action makes a difference!

Today, December 4th, is Gender Equality Day at COP28.