Gender roles and domestic power in energy-saving home improvements

Abstract

The importance of considering gender aspects in studies on residential energy consumption has been acknowledged. However, an important topic is still ignored in gender and energy transitions research: domestic power for men and women differs depending on the type of couple to which they belong. According to Pierre Bourdieu, the chances of each spouse to exercise legitimate power in domestic affairs depend on their respective economic and symbolic capital. In other words, spouses-matching matters, and practices, gender domestic roles and social representations on energy-saving home improvements are influenced to a great extent by the type of union that matches both spouses’ respective socio-economic characteristics into homo- or heterogamic unions. This mixed-method research is based on extensive data collected in multiple efforts over 18 years, comprising: (1) several sets of in-depth interviews with adults married or in union realised between 2006 and 2021; and (2) three large quantitative surveys realised in 2004, 2014 and 2016. Results indicate that traditional gender roles and male domestic power are mostly challenged in hypogamous unions both in considering and in carrying energy-saving home improvements. <em><strong>Practice relevance</strong></em> A one-size-fits-all retrofit framing and energy policy does not work. In this case, it is not the technical conditions but rather a couple’s power relationships in the home. The male territory of energy-saving home improvements is being eroded, especially by wives who are more educated than their husband. Domestic power is key to apprehend the marital dynamics around retrofit. Recognising these marital dynamics, a variety of values can be mobilised to support the execution of energy retrofits, including, for example, more feminine values such as equality, and care for children. Policy instruments and media messages should be designed accordingly, and not mainly as financial benefits. Practitioners would be well-advised to take a more gender-neutral attitude with less stereotyping of male and female potentials. This also means treating homeowners in couples as a team rather than interacting only with the male partner: gender-neutral interactions would better avoid causing or reinforcing embarrassing situations for one partner or for the couple itself in their marital struggle for domestic power in deciding on or executing energy-saving home improvements.