Gender, Energy, & Society

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Gender, Energy, & Society

Another major program in development is the "Gender, Energy, & Society" project which would organize a multi-disciplinary, public conference that would focus on a range of gender issues present in regions lacking modern energy services.  In these regions, women are denied educational and financial opportunities because they are tied to non-remunerated tasks involving the collection and use of traditional biomass.  Moreover, over 2 million women and children die from illnesses related to the burning of traditional biomass every year. The aim of the conference would be to create much needed dialogue and collaboration among professionals working in energy and development experts specializing in poverty and gender. At an institutional level, it is hoped that the program will forge new ties between development organizations and energy companies that can deliver innovative off-grid energy supply solutions to this neglected sector. Development of a conference report will serve to define an agenda for a future research program on the subject of energy services, poverty and gender led by Rice University's Shell Center for Sustainability, Baker Institute, Rice Humanities and the respected Journal of Feminist Economics which is based at Rice. By bringing together social scientists, industry experts, economists, non-governmental agencies and policy makers we hope to forge a better understanding of the synergies and trade-offs among the three main dimensions of sustainable development: economic efficiency, environmental sustainability and social equity.

Program Description