Women, equality, and energy access: Emerging lessons for last-mile rural electrification in Brazil

Abstract

The inaccessibility to clean and affordable energy, as well as large gender inequalities are two of the greatest challenges faced by rural areas of the Global South. However, the gender approach is still very lacking in energy access literature. This work aims to bridge this gap, by answering two questions: “How do gender inequalities limit women's access to energy benefits, and how can this be counteracted to ensure equal benefit from energy access for both genders?” and “To what extent do energy access initiatives reduce or increase the gender gap and how can these initiatives be improved to correct gender inequalities?”. To respond to these questions, field research has been carried out in 19 remote traditional communities in the semi-arid region of Bahia (Brazil), where a last-mile rural electrification program was launched a decade ago. The collection of mixed empirical evidence permitted a multi-criteria analysis of the impact of energy at the residential, community and productive levels. The results highlighted that, to benefit both genders equally, there is a need for higher energy capacities, capable of running household electrical appliances and electrifying community services where women play a fundamental role. In addition, the incorporation of energy affordability mechanisms for women and the continuous local provision of gender-sensitive services are transformative vectors in reversing gender inequalities through energy access initiatives.