Gender and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform

There is a significant and growing body of research regarding the impact and benefit of energy subsidies and reform with regards to the poor, but there is very little information or research regarding the impact and implications from energy sector reforms on gender equality. [...] As part of its Energy Sector Reform work stream, this research aims to look at the impacts and opportunities from energy sector reform and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies on gender, especially from the perspective of women in low-income households. [...] In 2015, the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) coordinated and undertook research through in-country research partnerships with the national research institutes Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) in India and Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) in Bangladesh, and the non-governmental organisation ( [...] In turn, this review informs the methodology for the next phase of work—the primary research phase—which is described in Section 4. Section 3.1 sets out the state of knowledge on the gender dimensions of energy use and the state of knowledge on energy sector reform, focused specifically on fossil fuel subsidy reform. [...] For example, a study of the impact of household appliances on women in the United States in the 20th century found that the diffusion of appliances contributed to increased participation in the labour force in the 1960s (Coen- Pirani et al., 2010).