Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

Energy transitions in the Global North are often construed as neutral technological progress. However, they are shown to be deeply constructed by gendered power relations that determine whose knowledge, labor, and interests are valued. This study examined how gender is programmed within energy interpretation in policy, discourse, and practice and how these influence global energy engagements that affect the Global South. How gender analytics can redefine the understanding of energy governance and equity became a major objective of the study. To achieve this, Feminist Political Ecology and Postcolonial Energy Studies, were the theoretical frameworks adopted. On the methodology angle, the study combined discourse analysis, policy review, and semi-structured expert interviews in selected Northern countries. Findings revealed that energy discourses often deploy masculinity in expertise and makes nonexistent, care-based or communitycentered forms of energy interpretation. This gendered programming reintroduces inequalities, even within sustainability energy transitions. The study concluded that without gender-responsive frameworks, global energy systems may reproduce patriarchal and colonial mode of thinking. It therefore, recommended an integration of gendered analytics into energy policy to recognize relational knowledge, redistribute power, and promote equitable, inclusive transitions across global settings.

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