On 22 September 2021, GI-ESCR jointly with key partners launched the multi-stakeholder Gender and Energy Compact engaging government, private sector, finance, academia, civil society, youth, and intergovernmental organizations. The compact aims towards an acceleration of and ambition to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment to achieve a just and inclusive energy transition.

Jointly the parties in the coalition commit to:

1.      Recognize the importance of SDG 5 to achieve SDG 7, and vice versa.

2.      Enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment, and challenge the discrimination faced by women and girls — regardless of background and identity — to facilitate the transformation of social norms and gendered power relations.

3.      Foster enabling policies and an inclusive and safe institutional and working environment, that enables women to enter, retain and advance in the energy workforce, to take on leadership roles, and receive due recognition for their contributions.

4.      Combat gender blind planning, financing, execution and implementation of projects, increase investment and implement programmes that integrate gender mainstreaming in a crosscutting manner.

5.      Recognize that women and girls in both rural and urban areas are significantly and often disproportionately affected by energy poverty and that targeted actions are required to strengthen women and girls’ own agency and meet their household, productive and social energy needs.

6.      Address gender inequalities, barriers and challenges within the energy sector and harness women’s full potential as economic agents of change and leaders, both in energy production and consumption, thereby transforming economies and generating inclusive green growth.

7.      Engage and sensitize men as gender champions to advance SDG 7 and a just and inclusive energy transition.

8.      Recognize the Clean Cooking Principles presented to the HLDE by the Global Champions on energy access.

9.      Build and expand transformative local and global partnerships and initiatives that foster strong political will, as well as private sector engagement, and individual and collaborative actions for closing gender gaps in the energy sector.

The Compact was launched in light of the High-Level Dialogue on Energy which takes place on 22-24 September 2021. The dialogue aims at accelerating action to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 on affordable and clean energy by establishing a global roadmap and collecting Energy Compacts from all stakeholders. Achieving SDG7 is essential for achieving other SDGs, including those related to gender equality, poverty reduction, health, job creation, climate and environment. Vice-versa, gender equality and women's empowerment are fundamental to achieving sustainable energy for all.