Women as creators of energy through personal empowerment Anita - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Women as creators of energy through personal empowerment

Anita Shankar, PhD Executive Director, SEE Change Initiative Department of International Health

2 Photo sources: The Clean Cooking Alliance, Oxfam, Intl, IBD.org and Nic Bothma/EPA

Challenges of energy poverty

3 Photo sources: Solar Sisters, Betty Ikalany and LaML

Engage in design of new technologies Participate in production of energy solutions Help to scale distribution Provide key after-sales service

Women are critical along the value chain:

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Types of energy needed to transform communities

Physical sources of energy

►Electricity ►Clean fuels ►Solar technologies ►Clean Cookstoves

Psycho-social sources of energy

►Beliefs ►Values ►Inter-personal relationships ►Personal agency

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Ecosystem Support Framework

Types of Capital

Economic

• Cash,

resources

• Financial

assets

Time

• Household

work

• Family care

work

Social

• Networks
• Information

Symbolic

• Social

status

• Credibility

Cultural

• Mindsets

(Habitus)

• Education,

training

Source: Shankar, Elam and Glinski, 2020

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The MINDSET is the physical embodiment of culture

Ø Gender ideology is socialized in individual mindsets (i.e. ways of

thinking, feeling and doing)

To break the cycle of inequality, mindsets need to shift

Source: Bourdieu, P. 1986

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Shifting Mindsets Through Personal Agency-Based Empowerment Training

Definition of Empowerment Ø External supports that allows one to take action

• Skills, education, opportunity, money

Ø Internal ability to make decisions and take action

• Related concepts include self-efficacy, self-

respect, self-reliance, personal agency

Ø Personal agency-based empowerment enhances

• ne’s capacity to create and focus on his/her

goals

Increased personal agency more likely to take advantage of opportunities when they arise

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Personal Agency-Based Empowerment Training

ü Cognitive behavioral

approach

ü Draws on positive

psychology, mindfulness

ü Focus on self-awareness

and reflection

ü Capacity building

grounded in individual context and experiences

Shankar, Siddhu and Smith, 2018

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Testing the impacts of personal empowerment training in Kenya

► If given equal opportunity, can women

sell improved cookstoves as well as men?

► Does the agency-based empowerment

training improve the effectiveness of improved cookstoves entrepreneurs when compared with standard entrepreneurial training?

► Does the gender of the improved

cookstove seller affect adoption practice?

Photo source: ManiStudioWorks; Envirofit

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Results: Randomized controlled trial in Kenya (2015)

► Nine months after the training,

those in the empowerment training group were twice as likely to have active businesses than those with standard business training

Shankar, Onyura, Ojode, Milliam, 2015: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25839204

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Results: randomized controlled trial in Kenya (2015)

► Empowerment training

group had more than double the sales and higher business growth rates than standard business training group

► Women outsold men 3:1

Standard business training group Empowerment Training Group 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1 5

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4 Units Sold

Total Unit Sales by Type of Training

Participants received either empowerment training OR standard business training

Shankar, Onyura, Ojode, Milliam, 2015: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25839204

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Kenya Cookstove Study Conclusions

► Women sold cookstoves more effectively

than men, if given equal opportunity in the Kenyan context

► The agency-based empowerment training

improves the effectiveness of cookstove entrepreneurs

► If a woman sells cookstoves, adoption and

perception of the value of the cookstoves is significantly better

Shankar, Onyura, Ojode, Milliam, 2015 Photo source: Envirofit

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Empowered Entrepreneur Training Handbook

Developed with funding from the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Lead authors: Dr. Anita Shankar & Genevieve Smith

► Part 1: Human Centered Design Handbook ► Developing customized trainings for each

• rganizations using human-centered design

principles

► Part 2: Empowered Entrepreneur Handbook ► ~50 hours (or 6 days) worth of business,

empowerment and leadership training curricula

► Part 3: Participant Packet ► Available in English, Swashili, Bengali, Tamil,

French, and Spanish

Accessible: http://cleancookstoves.org/resources/342.html

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Evaluation of training results

71% 16% 10% 3% 50% 15% 15% 20% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% < KES 2400 ($24) Lowest quartile KES 2400-6000 ($25-$58) 2nd KES 6000-18000 ($60-$180) 3rd KES > 18000 ($180) Highest quartile

Quartile Rank in Sales at Month 6

Untrained Trained

RR = 1.8 (CI:1.7-2.0)

Training Evaluation Results

Trained entrepreneurs tend to earn more

Practical Action / SCODE entrepreneurs (n=169 trained, 147 untrained)

Mar ‘16 Apr ‘16 May ‘16 Jun ‘16 Jul ’16 Aug ’16

Untrained Trained

Retention over 6 months Untrained: 10% Trained: 52%

Training Evaluation Results

Briquette sales over time

Practical Action /SCODE entrepreneurs (n=56 trained, 20 untrained)

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Self-Empowerment and Equity for Change (SEE Change) Initiative

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Photo Source: Solar Sisters

Current Research and Training Activities Ø Integrated Clean Cooking and Empowerment in a Refugee camp in Rwanda Ø Empowered Employee Training in Energy utilities worldwide Ø Training of global social businesses involved in agricultural and water for food programs

SEE Change mobilizes global research and training solutions grounded in behavioral science and positive psychology to promote equity and prosperity.

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THANK YOU