At care economy webinar, PEP highlights barriers to women’s clean energy adoption

PEP Executive Director Prof. Jane Mariara presented evidence from PEP-supported research during the online webinar, Clean Energy Transitions: A Care Economy Lens, held on 16 September 2026.  

The event brought together researchers and practitioners from the Clean Energy for Development: A Call to Action initiative and the Africa Cares Together community of practice. Discussions explored how clean energy technologies can reduce unpaid work and expand opportunities for women and young people.  

Prof. Mariara drew on research conducted in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Uganda and Vietnam. The projects examine the factors affecting smallholder farmers’ adoption of solar irrigation and other low-carbon agricultural technologies. 

Although the projects were not designed as care-economy studies, their surveys included questions on time use, labour allocation and household decision-making. This made it possible to examine the findings through a care lens, considering unpaid work, women’s time burdens and the distribution of responsibilities within households. 

Energy constraints increase women’s workload. 

Because rural women carry most of the farm labour and unpaid care work, a lack of reliable energy falls hardest on them,” Prof. Mariara said. “It turns directly into lost time and longer, more exhausting working days, so energy access is a gender issue as much as an infrastructure one.” 

Solar irrigation could reduce some of this physical work, and women identified it as one of the labour-saving technologies they would most value. However, results available from three countries show that information alone did not increase adoption. Access to finance remained the main barrier. 

The findings from Vietnam also point to the importance of household decision-making. Training increased wives’ valuation of solar irrigation but had no effect on husbands’ valuation or household adoption. Women’s increased interest did not translate into an investment decision. 

In Burkina Faso, information improved knowledge among women and men without increasing adoption. Researchers also found no effect on the women’s empowerment measures included in the study. 

Together, the findings show that knowledge or interest is insufficient when women lack the financial means or authority to influence household investments. 

What a care lens reveals 

Applying a care lens showed that energy constraints are not only agricultural productivity problems. They also affect how women divide their time between farming, household tasks and unpaid care. 

It also raised an important question about who benefits when a technology saves time. Where women remain responsible for care but have limited control over household resources, greater efficiency may lead to additional work rather than more time for rest, education or income-generating activities. 

The webinar drew on the report Clean Energy Transitions: A Care Economy Lens, co-authored by Prof. Mariara and researchers from participating organisations. The report examines how clean energy access affects women’s time and opportunities, while warning that efficiency gains alone may not change how work is shared within households.  

Questions for further research 

Prof. Mariara identified the need to understand what stands between a change in women’s knowledge or valuation and a household’s decision to invest. Possible factors include household bargaining, financing arrangements, access to suppliers, and local water governance. 

Further research should also examine whether households continue using these technologies after adoption. Solar irrigation can only reduce women’s workload if the technology remains accessible and in regular use. 

The findings point to the need for clean energy programmes that address affordability and women’s role in household decisions alongside access to technology. 

The webinar was organised by the Institute of Development Studies through the Clean Energy for Development: A Call to Action initiative, in collaboration with the Africa Cares Together community of practice.