Knowledge Note: Gender-Inclusive Energy Solutions for Rural Pakistan

In Pakistan’s rural areas, women shoulder nearly five times more unpaid care work than men. Limited access to electricity and clean cooking facilities intensifies this time poverty, curbing opportunities for education, income, and leadership. By addressing these challenges, energy access becomes not just a technical achievement but a driver of social equity and sustainability, directly linked to SDG 5 (gender equality) and SDG 7 (energy access).

Dialogue for action

In July 2025, a multi-stakeholder roundtable on Powering Progress: Gender-Inclusive Energy Solutions for Rural Pakistan took place in Islamabad. One of the highlights was the launch of the study “Light Lightens the Burden on Women”, carried out by INTEGRATION. Policymakers, civil society, researchers, and development partners examined how decentralised renewable energy can empower women and strengthen inclusive energy governance.

From study to Knowledge Note

To extend the dialogue beyond the study, a new Knowledge Note has been produced. It distils insights from the roundtable and offers actionable recommendations for development actors, policymakers, and donors. The publication bridges research with practice, emphasising that clean energy must be paired with gender-responsive design, governance reforms, and sustainability planning to deliver long-term empowerment.

The study revealed that electrification can reduce women’s domestic workload by 3–4 hours daily. Participants noted that when paired with childcare, vocational training, and market linkages, these time savings create pathways into education and livelihoods. At community level, the discussion spotlighted that only 9% of women currently participate in local energy governance—and often symbolically. The roundtable helped reframe this gap as an urgent governance issue, sparking agreement among stakeholders to pilot more inclusive community energy groups and women-led O&M teams.

“Energy projects often focus on supply, but saved time does not automatically become opportunity for women.” – Roundtable participant

A participant also noted: “Despite no written bans, women hold only 2–4% of leadership roles in energy sectors locally, showing that entrenched mindsets, not policy absence, block equity.”

These insights underline that the impact of the dialogue was not only knowledge-sharing but also agenda-setting—aligning actors on the need for gender-responsive audits, targeted financing, and integration of women’s voices into national energy policy debates.

The Knowledge Note provides concrete recommendations and pathways to strengthen gender-inclusive energy solutions. Readers can also access the full study through the QR code embedded in the publication.

Go to the Download section below to download the Knowledge Note.