Stories
Success story: We can do it! Building gender justice in the energy democracy movement
Community energy is key to action on the climate crisis. It can empower people, boost local economies, and reinvigorate communities. Community-led initiatives play an important role in the transition towards a 100% renewable and just energy future. Success stories of community energy projects can be found all over Europe. At REScoop.eu, we want to highlight these stories to further accelerate the movement towards a cleaner and democratic system.
As per our annual tradition, we celebrate International Women’s Day by putting energy communities contributing to a gender-just energy transition in the spotlight. This year we spoke with women of our network in Spain, Greece, Italy and Germany to hear about their efforts to promote gender justice in the movement for energy democracy.
Women and energy: intersecting inequalities
In 2022, at the height of the energy crisis, a European survey found the share of women in energy poverty had surged. Some of their findings were staggering: 44% of single mothers were struggling to pay their energy bills. Women’s heightened vulnerability to energy poverty is due to income inequality, caused by the gender pay gap (13% in the EU) and women’s over-representation in precarious, and/or part-time work.
At the same time, women are often under-represented in the field of energy. The latest data shows that women represent only a third of the workforce in the renewable energy sector. While energy communities mirror society and its inequalities, their democratic structure offers potential to change things, and many initiatives are in motion to develop structures and processes to close the gender gap.
Opening conversations, changing the culture
Work on gender always begins with small steps to open conversations, change perspectives, and start shifting the internal culture. In REScoop.eu, these conversations started in earnest in 2017, and eventually led to the creation of a Gender Power and Inclusion working group. An ambition statement was published in 2022, in 8 languages, recognising gender efforts as relevant to energy democracy. Sara Tachelet, coordinator of REScoop.eu, summarised: “Advancing gender equality goes beyond fairness—it can strengthen the cooperative movement and the energy transition.”
In the working group, members can identify needs and challenges, exchange best practices, and discuss tools to help energy communities diversify their membership base and governance structures. Through experimentation, organisations learned some surprising lessons, like how small details can make all the difference. In REScoop.eu for example, using more inclusive language in the recruitment process led to more women than men applying to vacancies for the first time.
Removing barriers to governance and participation
Representation is often the first area of focus for energy communities who want to increase their inclusivity. These efforts can start with simple steps. In Spain for example, when Goiener is invited to an event, they ask how many male and female speakers are planned. If there is no parity, they propose solutions, and may refuse to participate if women are under-represented or absent.
Achieving parity in governance is often a key objective. In Greece, Sandy Fameliari, Environmental Physicist, from Hyperion shared their process to achieve this: “We signed a gender equality declaration, aiming for a 50-50 gender balance in our members and we actively encouraged women to run for internal elections, resulting in a 60% representation of women in the Board of Directors and 66% in the Supervisory Board.”
Many cooperatives are adopting similar guidelines. In Italy, ènostra approved an electoral rule in 2025, imposing a representation of a minimum of 33% of gender minorities on the Board. Marianna Usuelli, who works in communications in the energy cooperative, noted:“While women are currently well represented on the Board, we didn’t want that to be an exception to the current mandate.”
In Spain, trainings to promote gender parity in the Board of Directors helped Som Energia achieve gender parity. Mònica Gifreu, from the technical team, explained the approach:“It’s important to inform women on the role requirements, so that they have a clear understanding of the commitment. In non-mixt spaces, we have honest discussions on their fears and doubts linked to the role.”
Work on representation often raises the question of availability, as studies continue to show that women bear the brunt of house work and childcare in households. This has prompted many energy communities to propose concrete solutions to ensure women’s participation. Sandy from Hyperion shared a tool to achieve this:“We always make sure a carer is present in our assemblies, so women who are usually the primary childcarers can join and bring their kids.” During one event, volunteers from Greenpeace Greece even used the opportunity to organise eco-themed activities with the children.
Hands-on for system change: trainings by women, for women
On a more practical level, Lara Track, senior project manager at Netzwerk Energiewende Jetzt e.V., shared a new series of solar energy workshops for women, facilitated by SoLocal Energy. Lara explained the idea: “Certain areas of the energy transition, like technology, economy, and construction are often viewed as male fields. We wanted to create a space where women could learn from other women, and emerge empowered and ready to start their own projects.”
The training combined theoretical sessions on technical aspects of solar power systems, with on-site workshops where participants spent two days building a photovoltaic system. Space was also given for deeper reflection and connection between participants, enabling them to start building a strong community of women for the energy transition.
These trainings proved a huge success: organisers had to turn applicants away, and a new series will be announced in 2025. Lara shared: “We got extremely positive feedback both during and even long after the workshops. Women pursued their own projects, like do-it-yourself construction of photovoltaic systems, and even formed groups in their hometowns to do so.”
The road ahead
Through our exchanges, we noted shared perspectives emerging from these experiences. First, the road to gender equality will be long. Marianna expressed this openly: “Successes don’t mean your work is done. Gender inequality is a rooted, cultural problem that requires a constant, determined fight.” This long-term view also underpins Sandy’s practical advice: “Don’t be afraid to fail – progress comes through trial and error. Listening to feedback and continuously improving was instrumental in shaping Hyperion’s unique community.”
Pragmatism co-exists with a shared optimism, as efforts pay off and things begin to change. Looking back on years of work, Sara told us, “Over the past decade, I’ve seen this movement grow and mature, and one observation is clear: when diverse voices are included in decision-making, energy communities become more innovative, democratic, and resilient.”