{"title":"Doing gender in energy communities: A gendered perspective on barriers and motivators","authors":"Melanie Vogel , Celina Kacperski , Mona Bielig , Florian Kutzner","doi":"10.1016/j.eist.2024.100902","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the transition to a renewable energy system, the European Union champions community-based initiatives like energy communities to promote decarbonization as well as broader societal benefits. Despite these goals, there is a marked underrepresentation of women in energy communities. In 15 qualitative interviews with experts in community-led energy organizations mainly from Germany, our study addresses women specific barriers for participation. The modal organizational setup poses barriers in terms of existing male overrepresentation, technical knowledge as entry requirement, a focus on financial investment, heavy and inflexible time requirements, and the lack of social integration of energy communities. Organizational realities align little with women`s motivators for participation, which encompass environmental enthusiasm and social engagement. The nature of the discovered barriers is compatible with the concept of \"doing gender\", where malleable, socially constructed organizational arrangements perpetuate traditional gender roles and thereby hierarchies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54294,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions","volume":"53 ","pages":"Article 100902"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210422424000923/pdfft?md5=7adeba42b34c37ce643b89c2c55e3c70&pid=1-s2.0-S2210422424000923-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210422424000923","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In the transition to a renewable energy system, the European Union champions community-based initiatives like energy communities to promote decarbonization as well as broader societal benefits. Despite these goals, there is a marked underrepresentation of women in energy communities. In 15 qualitative interviews with experts in community-led energy organizations mainly from Germany, our study addresses women specific barriers for participation. The modal organizational setup poses barriers in terms of existing male overrepresentation, technical knowledge as entry requirement, a focus on financial investment, heavy and inflexible time requirements, and the lack of social integration of energy communities. Organizational realities align little with women`s motivators for participation, which encompass environmental enthusiasm and social engagement. The nature of the discovered barriers is compatible with the concept of "doing gender", where malleable, socially constructed organizational arrangements perpetuate traditional gender roles and thereby hierarchies.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions serves as a platform for reporting studies on innovations and socio-economic transitions aimed at fostering an environmentally sustainable economy, thereby addressing structural resource scarcity and environmental challenges, particularly those associated with fossil energy use and climate change. The journal focuses on various forms of innovation, including technological, organizational, economic, institutional, and political, as well as economy-wide and sectoral changes in areas such as energy, transport, agriculture, and water management. It endeavors to tackle complex questions concerning social, economic, behavioral-psychological, and political barriers and opportunities, along with their intricate interactions. With a multidisciplinary approach and methodological openness, the journal welcomes contributions from a wide array of disciplines within the social, environmental, and innovation sciences.