Policy Briefs
Gender and Climate Change in the MENA Region: Would Women’s Participation in MSMEs Accelerate the Transition to Clean Energy?
No.
PB 151
Publisher
ERF
Date
January, 2025
In a nutshell:
- The process of combatting climate change and transitioning to clean energy affects women and men in distinct ways in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a region where there is abundant renewable energy (RE).
- There is heightened awareness about the environment and climate change in the region, especially among youth, women, and high-income groups.
- Although women and women’s organizations in the MENA region are advocating for climate justice, including in global forums, they are underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and in the energy sector.
- Structural inequality, discrimination against women and girls, and the traditional division of gender roles within the household, including the responsibility to often find fuel for cooking, compound the impact of climate change on women. Women spend long hours fetching wood for cooking, during which they face gender-based violence—including sexual gender-based violence (SGBV)—in certain areas such as Darfur in Sudan. The transition to clean and RE would help girls and women save time, enable them to access educational and economic opportunities where available, and aid in protecting them from SGBV.
- Achieving gender equality and recognizing the roles that women play in halting climate change and in the transition to clean energy are important in their own right. A just transition entails women’s participation and a commitment to social justice and gender equality.
- Quantitative research in Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco has shown that the age and education of top managers are key factors in explaining the transition to clean energy. Additionally, the economic and institutional context of the country might play a significant role in the transition to clean energy.
- Women’s organizations and movements play an important role in addressing climate change. There is a need for future research that documents their roles, struggles, good practices, and lessons learned as a result of their mobilization and organization.
Speakers
Nada Mustafa Ali
Assistant Professor, School for Global Inclusion and...
Research Fellows
Racha Ramadan
Professor, Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences,...