Question

Wood energy: the role of women's unvalued labor

Answer 1

Gender issues have been introduced into energy policy considerations as the first round of efforts to mitigate the rural energy crisis (involving noncommercial fuels like wood) with improved technology, such as improved stoves, failed because the specific needs of the users (women) were ignored. Models of household energy use continue to consider the household a unit possessing certain aggregate resources. These models continue to be applied to both rural and urban areas despite the fact that a gender analysis of labor availability in rural households may be necessary to understand the production and consumption of wood fuel and the fact that urban and rural wood fuel use patterns vary considerably. Studies show that the collection, processing, and use of wood fuel is largely a task of women and children who have fewer possible opportunities than men of earning income with their available time. Rural households that collect their own fuel will not have an incentive to invest in an improved stove or more efficient commercial fuels if the time saved by the women from such an investment would not result in more income to the household. Thus, while income plays an important role in sparking a transition from biomass fuels in urban areas, it fails to play such a role in rural areas. Thus, attempts to increase fuel efficiency or fuel switching should focus on increasing women's income-earning opportunities outside of the homestead. Studies of leisure also indicate that sustained underinvestment in women's labor-saving devices also reflects a bias towards male rather than female leisure. A transition up the energy ladder is desirable not only to save women's time and improve the environment but also to improve the health of women and children and calls for village-level solutions.