The clean energy transition is an opportunity to advance gender equality and social inclusion, but policies must be grounded in the lived reality of women and under-represented groups.
A System That Excludes Women by Design
Too often, the models used to finance and implement energy transition projects are designed around a formal economy—one that assumes business registration, credit history, and institutional connections. This leaves many women, especially informal workers and entrepreneurs, locked out.
As Linet Miriti, Chief Gender Officer at the African Development Bank noted in
As the global clean energy transition gains momentum, one principle becomes increasingly clear: we cannot talk about equity without addressing gender. Yet, for many women in South Africa—especially those in coal-affected regions like Komati in Emalahleni—the energy transition feels divorced from their everyday realities.
Women and underrepresented groups are among the most vulnerable to climate change and tend to face higher rates of energy poverty. As economies and communities transition away from fossil fuels, marginalized groups could be disproportionately impacted if governments depend on top down policy-making and overlook lived realities.
Yet, the energy transition is also an opportunity to help level the playing field. With a fair share of government resources and a voice in decision making, communities can shape their own futures—and evidence shows that this has shared benefits for the whole economy.
During a Think 20 convening hosted by Oxfam South Africa and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)—held in recognition of South Africa’s G20 presidency and putting the spotlight on the role of women in the energy transition during women’s month—the message was clear: climate justice is gender justice. If the energy transition is to be truly just, it must centre the voices, needs, and leadership of women and underrepresented communities.
A System That Excludes Women by Design
Too often, the models used to finance and implement energy transition projects are designed around a formal economy—one that assumes business registration, credit history, and institutional connections. This leaves many women, especially informal workers and entrepreneurs, locked out.
As Linet Miriti, Chief Gender Officer at the African Development Bank noted in remarks on gender and just transition, even with progressive initiatives like Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa, systemic barriers persist—from gender data gaps to rigid eligibility requirements and male-dominated value chains. Still, progress is possible. In Mpumalanga, 25 women farmers are leading the way in climate-smart agriculture, supported by AfDB-backed initiatives that combine financing with skills development.
Women are not just energy consumers. They are innovators, producers, and community leaders—and yet they’re structurally locked out of the very solutions meant to empower them.
Linet Miriti, African Development Bank
Decision-making power also demands much-needed attention. Women, youth, and persons with disabilities must have the power to inform and decide on the solutions that will actually work for them. Placing those affected in charge of decision making can have a multitude of benefits for governments and communities supporting inclusive solutions and community buy-in of energy transitions.
If there’s no childcare, no transport, no stipends, women won’t access skilling programs. It’s not about availability. It’s about accessibility.
Lebogang Mulaisi, Presidential Climate Commission
Participation That Is Not Just Performative
Recent research on community participation in Mpumalanga’s energy transition demonstrates that while institutions insist that consultation has occurred, community members often feel otherwise. The issue is not whether draft policies have been shared with communities—it is about the relevance of those policies and the respect shown for community input in their formulation.
Often when communities say, “We haven’t been consulted,” it does not mean they are not aware of the consultations, but rather that they “weren’t heard.” Presentations offered at town halls are often pre-packaged, focused on what has already been decided. When community members ask about schools, water, safety, or children’s well-being—questions central to their lives—there are no answers.
This disconnect is rooted in how problems are defined. Policy-making still operates from the top down, with experts diagnosing problems and designing solutions before communities are brought in—if at all.
Researchers from the Public Affairs Research Institute, in partnership with IISD, adopted a different approach: ethnographic research. Listening to stories, rather than distributing questionnaires, uncovered critical, overlooked issues, such as
- vanishing community infrastructure (e.g., water, roads, sports fields) previously provided by coal companies,
- a lack of child care and support for children with learning difficulties,
- a lack of qualified psychologists in regions dealing with intergenerational disadvantage, and
- the essential role of informal care and local networks in community survival.
These findings underline the urgent need to move beyond performative participation in the just transition process toward the genuine co-production of solutions and policies. When women are included from the outset, they are not just beneficiaries of new programs but active creators, leaders, and decision-makers. This leads to more equitable participation in training, access to resources, entrepreneurship, and leadership in the green economy for sustained, long-term social transformation.
Rethinking the Role of the G20 and the Energy Transition
South Africa’s G20 presidency offers a unique platform to push an equitable energy transition forward. Yet for many citizens, the G20 still feels like a distant diplomatic process. As Bertha Chikoro from GenderCC-Southern Africa noted, “It’s happening here—but to most South Africans, it’s happening out there.”
It’s very important that government support for clean energy and just transition doesn’t exacerbate or perpetuate disadvantage as we move through the energy transition.
Tara Laan, IISD
The just energy transition is not just about megawatts and solar panels. It is about transforming entire economic systems, reshaping value chains, and redefining who drives development. As Mmathebe Zvobwo from True Caller South Africa put it, we should view this transition like the steam engine in the first industrial revolution or AI in the current digital era—it’s a moment to rebuild the economy from the ground up. That means
- integrating energy transition jobs and skills into local economies;
- rethinking value chains so that women and marginalized groups are not merely included, but centred; and
- creating local economic ecosystems where renewable energy becomes a driver of both public and economic good.
A Call to Action
Lebogang Mulaisi of the Presidential Climate Commission warned: If we don’t act now—with urgency and accountability—we risk repeating the failures of the past.
This transition is not just about technology or emissions—it is about who holds the power to shape the future.
Without a mindset shift that sees underrepresented people as solution-holders, not just “vulnerable groups,“ we’re not transitioning—we’re reinforcing old systems.
Nkateko Chauke, Oxfam South Africa
If we get it right, this moment could be a turning point—not just for clean energy, but for equity and justice. If we get it wrong, we risk deepening the very inequalities the transition promises to address.
To make the energy transition truly just, governments in South Africa and across the G20 have a powerful opportunity: to design policies and investments that put women and marginalized communities at the heart of the new energy economy—not on the sidelines.
This article is based on expertise and insights shared at the T20 side event, Powering Equality.
