Evidence of gender inequality in energy use from a mixed-methods study in india

ABSTRACT Prior studies suggest that women particularly stand to benefit from increased electricity access. Yet, few have empirically tested this implicit linkage between energy access (SDG

7) and gender equality (SDG 5). More specifically, few explore how female household members use electricity once it is made accessible. Using India as an illustrative case, we conduct a

mixed-methods study. We first inductively assess household appliance use by gender in Gujarat (_n_ = 31). We then assess the generalizability of the use patterns identified through a

representative six-state household survey (Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, _n_ = 8,563). In including use, we find that women are neither the sole

nor primary beneficiaries of electricity access, even when appliances that would particularly benefit them are affordable. While energy access could improve gender equity, our study

highlights intra-household power dynamics as an important boundary condition on realizing more equitable energy access. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of

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INEQUALITY IN ENERGY SERVICES FROM A LARGE-SCALE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY IN INDIA Article 16 June 2022 FRAMEWORKS, METHODS AND EVIDENCE CONNECTING MODERN DOMESTIC ENERGY SERVICES AND GENDER

EMPOWERMENT Article 06 April 2023 ELECTRICITY SUPPLY QUALITY AND USE AMONG RURAL AND PERI-URBAN HOUSEHOLDS AND SMALL FIRMS IN NIGERIA Article Open access 12 May 2023 DATA AVAILABILITY The

data for the generalizability study conducted in six Indian states are publicly available at Harvard Dataverse (https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/IndiaAccess). CODE AVAILABILITY The

code used to generate the results is also made available here: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/DRVBZY. The data for the inductive study in Gujarat (questionnaire data, interview data and

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Sensitivity Analysis Tools for OLS_ Working Paper (2018). Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the Gujarat Institute of Development Research, the School for International Training

(SIT) and ANANDI and its partner organization Mahila Swaraj Munch. We thank J. Andharia, the Executive Director of ANADI, and T. Nair at the Gujarat Institute of Development Research for

their assistance in the planning and execution of this study. We thank V. Parmar for his translation assistance. The inductive study was conducted as part of the M.R’s participation in the

SIT India Sustainable Development and Social Change Programme. We thank G. Morgan and participants of the GAP Conference, Clean Technologies in Developing Countries, at the University of

Pittsburgh for their helpful feedback on earlier drafts of the manuscript. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Hirsch & Associates, San Francisco, CA, USA Meital Rosenberg *

Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Daniel Erian Armanios & Paulina Jaramillo * Department of Political Science, University of

Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Michaël Aklin * Green Design Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Paulina Jaramillo * Kigali Collaborative Research Center, Carnegie

Mellon University African Campus, Kigali, Rwanda Paulina Jaramillo Authors * Meital Rosenberg View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Daniel

Erian Armanios View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Michaël Aklin View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed 

Google Scholar * Paulina Jaramillo View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CONTRIBUTIONS M.R. developed the initial concept for the overall study

and designed, executed and contributed to the writing of the inductive portion of the study. D.E.A. contributed to the research design and the data analysis for the inductive study, to the

research design and the data analysis for the generalizability study, and to the overall writing of the paper. M.A. contributed to the research design and data analysis of the

generalizability study, as well as to the overall writing of the entire paper. P.J. contributed to the research design for the inductive study and contributed to the overall writing of the

paper. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Daniel Erian Armanios. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no competing interests. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PUBLISHER’S

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questionnaire, Supplementary Figs. 1 and 2 and Tables 1–22. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Rosenberg, M., Armanios, D.E., Aklin, M. _et

al._ Evidence of gender inequality in energy use from a mixed-methods study in India. _Nat Sustain_ 3, 110–118 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0447-3 Download citation * Received:

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