Imperatives for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Sector Regulation in Africa

Evidence abound to show that African women, especially those who are poor and tend mostly to live in rural areas, are more disadvantaged with respect to energy access as compared to their male counterparts. Overall, women tend to exercise less influence than men at the household level regarding energy purchase and usage for domestic use, and typically, their preferences are also not considered when these decisions are made. Addressing this imbalance would enable the energy sector to benefit from having a better balance in terms of contributions to decision-making as numerous studies have shown that institutions that have better good gender balance tend to do much better than those dominated by one gender given the advantage that comes from effective decision-making through broader consultation forums.