LocationsClean energy drives real impact for women’s empowerment
Powering gender equality
June 18, 2025
Photo: UNDP
“I'm starting to shine and make my community shine."
For Zandry Armandine in Madagascar, lamps powered by renewable energy were everyday objects that lit up her home, but nothing more.
This changed after she saw the business opportunities in installing and repairing solar home systems, acquiring new skills that are making new futures possible for her and her community.
Zandry’s story shows how clean energy can ignite change in women’s lives—powering their businesses, improving health and education, reducing time spent on domestic chores and opening up economic opportunity. But building a system that advances gender equality means going beyond the individual: it requires shifting community attitudes and reshaping the systems and policies that define what’s possible.
Since 2023, UNDP has been ‘Powering Gender Equality’ with funds through the Funding Windows in Ethiopia, Malawi, Madagascar, and Eswatini—boosting women’s economic empowerment, enhancing gender-responsive energy governance, and supporting energy policy frameworks that align with national gender equality objectives.
From personal breakthroughs and norm shifts to system-wide change, Powering Gender Equality has helped foster new pathways for accelerating gender equality and a future powered by clean energy.
Status quo: Time poverty and exclusion
Despite being critical household managers and users of energy, women are often unable to reap the full benefits in their daily lives, or for their futures.
Women are disproportionately exposed to hazardous cooking fuels, lack access to jobs in the energy sector, and are underrepresented in energy policy and governance discussions.
From energy-efficient ovens to solar lighting, energy plays a key role in addressing the time poverty of women.
Photos: UNDP Ethiopia
First pathway: Boosting economic opportunities for women-led businesses
The Mtende Women’s Cooperative in Malawi uses clean energy to power their businesses.
Photos: UNDP Malawi
In Malawi, the women’s cooperative ‘Mtende’ turned entrepreneurship training into community-wide success. The women expanded their bakery production, tested promising new business ideas in their local markets and beyond, and increased their livelihoods, in some cases by 90 percent.
Powering Gender Equality, together with local partners, has supported more than 750 women in the four countries with training in clean energy, entrepreneurship, and running businesses.
In turn, these women have used their new skills to boost their businesses and venture into new paths in clean energy, increasing their income and economic independence. Women from six cooperatives in Malawi have also shared their knowledge, mentoring and training an additional 150 women to empower them on their entrepreneurship journey.
Women in Ankazombalala, Madagascar building their entrepreneurial skills and familiarizing themselves with photovoltaic equipment.
Photos: UNDP Madagascar
Second pathway: Engaging whole communities and shifting norms toward gender equality
Women are not always seen as solar technicians, energy-powered entrepreneurs and breadwinners for their families. Imagining new possibilities and moving beyond certain limiting social and gender norms is something that communities can do together.
The communities involved in Powering Gender Equality proved that this is not only possible but happening – showing trust, willingness to learn and genuine openness to women’s participation in the energy sector, for everyone’s wellbeing.
In Madagascar, UNDP worked with local leaders to nurture this shared, community-owned understanding and support for the women and their new roles.
"Through dialogues and trainings with men, we were able to garner their support for women attending the sessions. Women often have too many responsibilities at home, so we encouraged men to step in and help with household tasks to enable women to fully participate."Mino Rakotobe, Specialist in Women's Empowerment, UNDP Africa Minigrids Programme
Encouraging women’s participation in the energy sector and challenging traditional gender norms is not only a job for women. Men have important roles to play as allies.
The role of whole communities is key for women’s expanded participation in the energy sector.
Photos: UNDP Madagascar
Third pathway: Strengthening partnerships, governance arrangements and policies
Women’s access to energy and skills-building are vital for their economic empowerment. However, governance and policies that foster inclusion and equality are also needed for women to have their say in shaping the energy sector and in ensuring equitable opportunities and benefits from it. Strengthening cooperation across sectors and ministries is also key.
In Eswatini, UNDP has worked to create an enabling environment for women’s participation in the energy sector through driving more inclusive policies.
Leveraging the convening power of the Gender and Family Issues Department under the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, UNDP helped bring together 109 women in politics and sensitize them to the linkages between women, energy and policy. In addition, building connections between ministries, private sector, and civil society helped bridge knowledge gaps and fostered more inclusive decision-making.
Candice Stromvig, Principal Energy Officer, Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, Eswatini.
Photo: UNDP Eswatini
“The partnership between UNDP and MNRE has led to greater awareness of energy technologies and their potential impact on women’s livelihoods. Key initiatives, such as capacity-building and the development of policy frameworks, are essential in bridging the gender gap in the energy sector.”Candice Stromvig, Principal Energy Officer, Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, Eswatini
A Gender and Policy Forum in Ethiopia gathered ministries and organizations to discuss increasing women’s participation in renewable energy investments.
Photos: UNDP Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, collaboration with government institutions and the Ministry of Water and Energy has led to the establishment of a Gender Energy Working Group and a review of the gender energy policy. Policy dialogues provided opportunities to discuss integrating gender strategies into energy transition policies.
In Malawi, UNDP has supported integrating gender equality in Malawi’s National Energy Policy. A wide range of stakeholders helped to amplify the efforts through a new gender and energy advocacy network.
“The [Powering] Gender Equality project has also greatly helped men to better understand the importance of fully engaging women in all societal activities. The project is also playing a pivotal [role] by involving different stakeholders at different levels to advocate for change in cultural, social orientations that provides a glass ceiling for either women and other vulnerable members of the community.”Partner survey feedback from a representative of the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare of Malawi
Lighting the way for gender equality and a clean energy future
Communities are showing trust, willingness to learn and genuine openness to women’s participation in the energy sector.
Photos: UNDP Malawi & UNDP Madagascar
Clean energy can be a gamechanger for women’s empowerment and gender equality, and women’s participation and influence are likewise necessary for the shifts required of a more sustainable future.
Achieving these twin goals requires investment, from supporting women’s leadership to bringing governments, civil society organizations and communities together to dismantle structural barriers.
“Transforming systems requires new approaches. Powering Gender Equality enables countries to learn together how to address the roots of inequality and co-create new knowledge and tools that can be applied beyond the initiative to supporting women in the energy sector. Flexible funds received through the Funding Windows have been crucial in making this possible.”Raquel Lagunas, Global Director Gender Equality UNDP
Funding Windows provide UNDP with flexible funds pooled under four thematic windows, crucial to building strategic and catalytic initiatives and responding to emerging development challenges and crises.
Powering Gender Equality has been possible thanks to support from Luxembourg and the Republic of Korea through the Funding Window on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.
Read more on our website.
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