Gender mainstreaming in the energy sector is taking place from national policies, to institutional reforms and project development, increasing energy access and providing a low emission development pathways for many around the world. It has been a central pillar of the commitments towards achieving universal access to modern energy and recognized as a cornerstone within the Sustainable Development Goals.

However, there is still a significant gap when it comes to addressing gender considerations in large-scale renewable energy projects. For example, there is little discussion on the differentiated impacts that expansion of large-scale renewable projects are likely to have on women and men, including differentiated impacts through direct benefits -such as job opportunities or access to electricity- and indirect impacts including access to resources –whether land, water, etc. In addition, large-scale infrastructure projects, whether renewable energy or otherwise, are expected to develop compensation and resettlement plans which should address the social and gender differentiated impacts derived from their construction. This webinar is tasked with deepening the understanding of the social and gender considerations that surround the design, implementation and financing of large-scale energy infrastructure as well as highlight good practices in the sector.

The webinar will be moderated by Ana Rojas, IUCN GGO, and will include the following presentations:

Designing gender-responsive energy regulatory instruments: how and why ECOWAS is developing a regional directive for mainstreaming gender in large-scale energy infrastructure with Monica Maduekwe, ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE)

Addressing social and gender considerations in project design: learning from MCC’s institutional requirements, policies and project development and implementation experiences with Jozefina Cutura, Millennium Challenge Corporation

Mainstreaming gender in large-scale energy infrastructure: lessons learned from the AfDB with Rachel A. Aron, African Development Bank

The Gender Equality for Climate Change Opportunities (GECCO) initiative is a five-year program launched by USAID and IUCN in 2014. GECCO’s overall goal is to leverage advancements in women’s empowerment and gender equality through, and for, the benefit of climate change and development outcomes. Through its series of webinars, GECCO aims at increasing knowledge and sensitization of key stakeholders in the energy and mitigation sectors as a means to advance women’s empowerment.