Energy justice as a search light for gender-energy nexus: Towards a conceptual framework

Differences between women and men in their access to and use of energy services constitutes the core of gender-energy nexus research. In early 2010s, the concept of energy justice has emerged as a response to the need to address justice issues in energy access, use and policy making. However, the gender-energy nexus research lacks the conceptual basis to analyse energy policies from a justice perspective. This paper aims to bridge this scientific and policy knowledge gap by developing and applying a conceptual framework by juxtaposing the three tenets of energy justice (distributive, recognitional and procedural justice) and the three engendering policy discourses (women empowerment, gender mainstreaming and social inclusion). To develop the framework, we conducted a conceptual review of 56 scientific publications by identifying, examining and synthesising the key ideas and debates in energy justice and engendering energy policy. Then we applied the framework to the current body of scientific knowledge on gender and energy justice and identified future research directions. Given the limited scientific literature on gender and energy justice, the framework contributes to conceptualising energy justice for researchers analysing energy systems in their social, cultural, economic and political contexts. This paper makes a first attempt in doing so, and invites further elaboration and operationalisation of the framework. A comprehensive application of the framework requires further empirical evidence and the development of indicators to assess energy policies from an integrated gender and energy justice perspective.