Gender in Solar PV Market Systems of Nepal: Policy Implications

• 3. Rationale to Gender Considerations in the Energy Discourse

Limited access to clean, modern energy and reliance on traditional fuels have significant consequences, including drudgery, adverse health effects from exposure to air pollution, deforestation, time poverty, and missed opportunities for economic and personal growth (see Box 1). At the household level, women are disproportionately affected by the lack of modern energy access due to their primary role in household tasks such as cooking, farming, collecting firewood, and gathering water. Gender norms and varying responsibilities mean that women and men often have different energy needs and unequal access to energy services and technologies. To ensure equitable access and benefits from energy services for both women and men, it is essential to make the energy sector gender-responsive and gender-transformative through supportive policies, inclusive projects, and gender-sensitive services. Additionally, encouraging women’s active participation in the energy sector as decision-makers, entrepreneurs, business owners, and employees is crucial. Research shows that gender diversity, especially in leadership roles, can enhance the sector’s performance and drive greater social and economic gains.

Box 1. Social Implication of access to clean and modern energy solutions:

• • 4. Current Status of Women in the Solar PV and the Energy Sector at Large
  • • a.Energy sector employments and energy value chain

Women remain significantly underrepresented in Nepal’s energy sector. At the Nepal Electricity Authority (nodal agency responsible for electricity supply), for instance, only 12.6% of the total 8,884 employees and 6.2% of the 5,664 technical staff are women. Practical Action Consulting’s 2023 Gender Audit Study, conducted at 11 solar PV companies, revealed that women make up only 19% of the workforce in the solar PV sector, and predominantly hold non-technical roles. Only one company employed women in technical roles, where two out of six technical staff were women, while women held just 22% of senior positions across the companies studied.

In terms of economic participation and educational attainment, Nepal ranks low globally, placing it at 136th rank in the 2023 Gender Gap Index with a 47.6% gender gap in economic opportunity, and 127th for gender disparity in education. Despite efforts by solar PV companies to encourage women to apply for technical roles, they reported that they receive only few female applicants. This may be partly attributable to low enrollment rates of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. According to the 2021 National Population Census, only 15% of engineering graduates and 34% of science and technology graduates were women, with similarly low participation in technical training programs.

• b. Energy sector employments and energy value chain

A comprehensive review of Nepalese energy and solar PV policies reveals they are largely gender-aware, acknowledging gender in policy frameworks and programs. However, these policies often lack in-depth strategies to integrate gender considerations effectively into energy initiatives,7. While Nepal has set SDG 5 targets, aiming for 30.3% women’s representation in decision-making roles in the private sector and 28% in professional and technical roles, there is no specific energy policy to ensure equal opportunities for women in the private energy sector. Current energy policies focus heavily on production and supply, with minimal emphasis on social inclusion, women’s empowerment, gender equity, equality, and intersectionality. Some policies, like the Renewable Energy Subsidy Policy 2022 and the National Energy Strategy of Nepal 2013, include provisions for marginalized groups but lack robust gender-responsive measures to achieve GESI objectives. Significant efforts are still needed across various levels to enhance the participation of women and marginalized groups in managing, planning, designing, and implementing energy policies and programs.

• c. Common barriers to women’s participation in the energy sectors

• • • • Gender biases and stereotypes often hinder women from pursuing challenging roles outside the home. Technical jobs are typically seen as men’s work, while women are associated with roles in the care economy and support work. This is reflected in the power sector, where women employees are largely concentrated in administrative rather than technical positions.
      • Household chores and unpaid work are often seen as women’s responsibility, regardless of employment status. This additional burden can discourage women from pursuing demanding roles or leadership positions outside the home.
        Limited access to resources, particularly finances, poses a major challenge for female entrepreneurs in energy businesses and for women consumers seeking energy technologies and services.
      • A lack of gender considerations in energy project and product designs has been cited by many studies as one of the reasons why women are disproportionately affected by a lack of access to clean and reliable energy sources.
      • Wage discrimination and unequal distribution of resources/services (appropriate size safety gears, toilet, water and sanitation, and childcare services, etc.) between men and women are also seen as factors discouraging women to seek power sector jobs7.
        Absence of gender and social safeguarding policies and transparent hiring processes can also affect the employment and retention of women staff in any company.
      • A lack of capacity building, leadership development, technical training opportunities and mentoring support also affect women employees’ self-confidence, sense of security and belonging in the technical fields within the energy sector.
      • Limited access to information and professional networks impedes professional growth of women and marginalized groups.

The absence of gender-disaggregated data and the limited ability of energy professionals to incorporate gender into policies and programs hinder the creation of gender-responsive energy plans and market systems. Socio-cultural contexts create informal barriers to the empowerment and participation of women and marginalized groups, while formal barriers, such as gender-blind policies and practices, reinforce the status quo. This brief will not cover all barriers but will highlight gender considerations and best practices, focusing on gender equality and social inclusion in the energy workforce and access to energy solutions.

• 5. Way Forward – Policy Implications

• • • • The development and implementation of GESI policies and strategies (e.g., Nepal Electricity Authority GESI Strategy and Operational Guidelines 2020; Alternative Energy Promotion Centre GESI Policy 2018) are essential first steps toward removing barriers to the participation of women and marginalized communities in the energy sector. However, changing organizational culture requires internalizing these policies by i) building the capacity of both managerial and implementation staff to integrate GESI considerations into energy-related activities, and ii) incorporating GESI policies into the key performance indicators of all departments and projects. Effective policies must be supported by institutional capacity and robust monitoring systems.
      • It is important to acknowledge that women and marginalized groups are not just energy users, but they can also become employees, social change agents, entrepreneurs and participants in the energy value chain, and decision makers in energy project planning and implementation. Nevertheless, a very low participation of women in the technical education and employment is a frequently cited challenge in achieving gender equality across the energy sector and the energy value chain. Several measures can be adopted to increase women’s participation in the STEM education and employment – targeted scholarships in STEM programs; internship opportunities for female STEM graduates; targeted recruitment of women staff; addressing gender pay gaps; adopting transparent hiring and promotion processes; setting organizational gender equality goals; compulsory courses on Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse (SHEA) and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) at workplace for new recruits and Human Resource team of the organization; mentoring and leadership programs for women staff alongside their male counterparts; reorientation programs for mothers returning from maternity leave; and flexible work hours for parents of young children.
      • To create a gender-inclusive business model for energy products and services, it is vital to consider the needs and aspirations of women and marginalized communities in project design and delivery. Each component of a business model—goals (economic and social), products/services, target demographics, and delivery methods—offers opportunities to foster a gender-responsive energy value chain system.
        
        • Business goal: While profit-making is crucial, to create social impacts and set gender equality goals are as crucial for a solar company or any energy company to improve its gender profile and to be able to tap into opportunities created by development programs (such as Green Climate Fund, Energy Catalyst Program, etc.)
        • Products and services: Energy interventions, technologies, energy services and other support services (financing, repair, and maintenance, etc.) are more likely to address gender equality and energy poverty issues when women and marginalized groups’ needs and purchasing power are considered in their designs.
        • Demand or target group: Social impacts of energy solutions can be maximized when they are delivered to the population for whom the energy solutions have the greatest marginal utility – at household and community level, it is often women and low-income families.
        • Delivery model: Engaging women in the energy value chain, enabling women and low-income households to access energy services (which may not necessarily mean the ownership of the energy system), using women networks/organizations and gender-responsive mechanisms to deliver energy products and services, and relevant information to last mile markets are some of the tested and proven strategies to make delivery model of energy solutions gender-inclusive.
      • Evidence shows that if training contents and tools are adapted to match the needs of women, they (regardless of their educational qualifications) can effectively learn skills and take on technical roles and responsibilities such as installing and operating renewable energy technologies (see box 2. for an example). While experts suggest that women’s participation in technical trainings is usually low, practitioners suggest that targeted trainings and quota systems can increase their participation in such trainings enabling them to become a change agents and value chain actors.

Box 2. Case story – ‘Solar Mamas’ lighting a remote village of Nepal

• • • Availability of gender-disaggregated data on the impacts of energy projects and the energy workforce, and the analysis of these data and GESI performance indicators in impact reports are important to track progress of the sector towards gender equality and social impacts, and to inform actions and strategies towards gender-equality goals and a gender-responsive energy sector.