The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), through its Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), has validated a pioneering Gender Equality Index (GEI) specifically tailored for the clean energy sector, marking a critical step toward addressing deep-seated gender disparities across West Africa’s energy transition. Concluded at a regional workshop in Cotonou, Benin, this initiative was done in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and focused heavily on integration within Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The validation resulted in three key outputs: a standardized evaluation framework, an evaluation study report detailing current gender inclusion, and a regional recommendations and action plan for implementing the GEI across ECOWAS.
The validated index provides a practical, measurable tool to guide policymakers and businesses in achieving a just and sustainable energy transition, building upon the decade-long efforts of the ECOWAS Programme on Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access. The framework directly tackles persistent barriers for women at both the supplier (entrepreneur/employee) and consumer levels, including the educational gap, challenges in accessing credit, and low agency in adopting new energy solutions. ECREEE’s related Women and Clean Energy in West Africa (WOCEWA) project will work directly with energy sector SMEs to help them adopt inclusive solutions. The immediate next phase involves the dissemination of the GEI framework to all member states, capacity building for national energy ministries, and the systematic integration of gender indicators into project approval and monitoring processes to ensure sustained progress toward equality goals.
