Every girl deserves an education. Every woman deserves the chance to pursue her dreams. But our world today remains unequal, with gender inequality persisting in many forms—differences in unpaid labor, wages, healthcare, and basic safety. 

Sustainable Development Goal 5 aims to achieve gender equality. What does this have to do with energy? Where energy poverty is present, inequalities are exacerbated. Women work more unpaid hours, suffer greater health disparities, and experience higher rates of gender-based violence. 

Electricity alone won’t achieve SDG 5, but it can alleviate burdens placed on women and girls and foster greater equality within communities. 

An Overview of Goal 5 

When women are given the tools to succeed, they become trailblazers and world changers. That’s what Sustainable Development Goal 5 recognizes, with a mission of “achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.” 

Women make up half of the planet’s political, social, and economic potential. Their talents and perspectives hold an invaluable say in the quest fora more peaceful, prosperous world. 

Here’s where we stand on achieving Goal 5. 

• Women around the world have just 75% of the same rights of men, meaning that discrimination remains present. 
• As many as 1 in 3 women experience some form of gender-based violence within their lifetime. 
• Every year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18. Early marriage harms children’s futures, and many never get to go to school again. 
• Women perform 2.5 times more unpaid care and domestic work compared to men, often tasked with undertaking time-consuming and dangerous responsibilities. 
• Women only comprise 22% of global legislative seats. To meet the targets of Goal 5, this number needs to rise to 50% by 2030. 

What could happen if girls are empowered with the knowledge and opportunities to succeed as women? One of the most powerful ways to shape a story is to electrify it. That power exists high in the sky. And we can capture it. 

4 Ways Solar Energy Improves Gender Equality 

Around the home, around the well, around the stove, women and girls benefit most from energy access. Solar energy offers new opportunities to overcome gender disparities and break the cycles of poverty. By connecting the dots between solar energy and gender equality, we can elevate women in diverse ways, including: 

• Eliminating time poverty. Every day, women and girls around the world spend 200 million hours of their collective time fetching a basic element of survival—water. That’s equivalent to starting with an empty bucket in the ice age and coming home with it filled today. Solar water pumps offer an innovative solution to this ancient challenge by providing access to clean water sources close to home. With the time saved, girls can attend school and experience brighter futures. Women are free to pursue more productive activities, such as starting a business or attending night classes. 

• Improving health and wellbeing. When women use polluting fuels to cook three meals a day, they sustain the equivalent lung damage of 20 packs of cigarettes. When it comes to childbirth, 300,000 women die every year from complications. And when women and girls are tasked with finding resources in the darkness, they risk facing sexual violence. But when communities are powered by the sun, all that can change for good. Electric stovetops reduce indoor air pollution. Reliable lighting and medical technologies help prevent maternal mortality. And streetlights create safer environments after dark. 

• Achieving prosperity. When entrepreneurs have access to electricity, a remarkable transformation occurs. They earn twice as much as their counterparts and are empowered to lead lives filled with greater productivity and purpose. From powering a sewing machine to cooling a commercial refrigerator, solar energy helps women prosper, tearing apart the cycle of poverty and contributing to global economic development. 

• Reshaping community planning. Ninety-four percent of individuals involved in shaping energy policies and programs are men. But that must change. When women actively participate in decision-making processes, they bring with them unique perspectives and creative ideas that can shape the future of renewable energy in communities around the world. In doing so, women become the agents of change that fabricate a cleaner, fairer planet. 

Case Study: A Story that Inspired a Partnership 

One dark night, Hellen Lunkuse Tanyinga was returning with a bucket of water from her village’s well. She had nearly finished her last chore of a long day, finally able to rest for the next one. As she took the final footsteps towards her home, something horrific happened that changed her life forever. And for many years after, her cries for help remained unanswered. 

In that year, 39,000 people were sexually assaulted in Uganda, and Hellen was one of them. These victims were called the perpetrators. Justice was not served. Many such crimes were forgotten by everyone besides their survivors. 

Today, the Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF) is Hellen’s legacy and life’s purpose. The organization strives to support survivors, with a focus on rural women and children in Uganda. The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) and RHF work together to establish an electrified safe haven in Bukyerimba, Uganda, for survivors of sexual violence. 

By harnessing the power of sunshine, SELF has installed solar streetlights and solar water pumps within the heart of the village. By providing well-lit streets and water right in the village center, the number of sexual assaults Bukyerimba has dropped dramatically. 

Looking Forward: Solar Energy and Gender Equality 

When we work together to stand up for fundamental rights, we uplift each other and contribute to a world that empowers women and girls to live authentically. When women and girls are equipped with the opportunities to learn, work, play, and live, we’re one step closer to a future where possibilities are not defined by gender, but by talent and passion. 

The intersection of solar energy and gender equality offers promising solutions for a more empowered world. The sun is a true source of hope, for the global energy transition, for women and girls, and the world at large.