Feminisation of energy poverty in the city of Madrid

Abstract

Almost 23% of households in the city of Madrid are at risk of energy poverty according to the Technical Study on Energy Poverty in Madrid. Women are the main breadwinners in over half these households, and may either be pensioners or heads of single-parent families, highlighting the existence of gender inequalities in relation to energy poverty. Recent studies have noted that women are more sensitive to extreme temperatures, which may place women suffering energy poverty at a greater risk. These worrying data point to the urgent need to analyse the incidence of energy poverty from a gender perspective.This study focuses on the feminisation of energy poverty in the city of Madrid using various statistical databases and Geographic Information Systems to perform an exploratory analysis on its distribution. The aim is to characterise women’s different deprivation conditions within the city, and the geographical distribution of this unequal access to energy. This research is expected to contribute to an overhaul of public policies for housing, energy and public health in Madrid.