Katrine Danielsen and Anouka van Eerdewijk, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), the Netherlands
KIT Gender has developed a gender and rights based (G&R) approach to energy access as an analytical framework and strategic tool (Danielsen 2012). This approach recognizes access to energy as a right and acknowledges the institutional barriers women face in realizing energy rights due to unequal gender relations. These institutional barriers concern two types of rights failures: the lack of recognition of women’s energy needs, knowledge and contribution, and the unequal distribution of control over energy resources and benefits between women and men. Our approach identifies different governance channels through which claims that strengthen access to energy services can be made.
In this presentation, we position the Gender & Rights approach to energy access against a set of key principles for the institutionalization of gender that KIT has employed across multiple sectors. We then present the key elements of the gender and rights-based approach to energy access. We end with lessons learned on the integration of gender, largely drawing from our work on the institutionalization of gender and rights in agriculture.
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