An Intersectional Gaze on Energy and Ecotechnologies

Abstract

There is an increase in scientific productions that seek to incorporate the concept of gender in the field of energy studies. This article aims to analyze the different nuances that arise from this approach, starting from the fact that the "gender" category does not emerge as "a datum of reality", but is built from definitions resulting from complex social networks. The paper first investigates the background of the appearance of the notion of gender in the field of energy studies and eco-technologies. Subsequently, it characterizes and discusses the most common reasonings that are built in the chosen academic corpus by grouping them into 3 thematic axes: the supposed empowerment of women through access to energy; the construction of tropes of women from the global north and south; and the flattening of the heterogeneity of the concept of gender. To identify relevant literature, a search for the notions of "gender", "energy", and "ecotechnologies" was carried out using the Open Knowledge Maps free software and 100 open access scientific articles published in the last 30 years were selected and analyzed. Finally, two suggestions that emerged from this debate are proposed: the continuous inclusion of feminist academics in interdisciplinary energy research teams and the need of a critical intersectionality gaze as a research paradigm in this field.