Energy is Feminine: Women Are the Key to Successful Energy Communities
Author: Tanja Popovicki
Having worked in the environmental sector across the Balkans and Serbia for over 25 years, I’ve had a front-row seat to a massive shift in how we perceive and discuss our planet. When I started, few people understood what the "environment" even meant. It was often simplified to "ecology", as if the science of living systems were exactly the same as the active protection of our habitat.
Today, public awareness in Serbia is much higher. Unfortunately, it is mostly driven by polluted air, high energy prices, and severe climate events. As a result, everything related to the environment has become "green", those that are, those that are not, and those that merely wish to appear so.
"Green" terms are now frequently mixed, misused, and even abused for promotion, profit, or shifting the narrative. But it’s not just environmental terms. This same shallow, "box-ticking" approach has inevitably spilled over into the social dimensions of the energy transition. Just as environmental terms are co-opted for marketing, social concepts are reduced to empty buzzwords, and one of the most distorted among them is gender equality.
The "Greenwashing" of Gender
We have spent decades under the facade of "gender equality," meticulously counting female ministers, members of Parliament, or workshop participants. But is true equality just a game of numbers? By doing this in the energy sector, are we simply "greenwashing" the gender issue without exploring what equality actually means for a functional energy transition?
The Case of the "Manageress"
Grammatically, the Serbian words for Energy (Energetika), Environment (Životna sredina), and Ecology (Ekologija) are all feminine. But practically speaking, the sector remains masculine.
A few years ago, I worked closely with women holding energy management positions in Serbian municipalities. These are educated, exceptionally talented, and brave women who are transforming their local communities. Yet, despite all the support, they hesitated to use the feminine title for their role: menadžerka (manageress). It was "annoying for their ears." They didn't feel comfortable.
Why? Because when working within the energy sector, we still instinctively expect men. Statistics back this up - in developed countries, women make up only 20% of the energy workforce, mostly in non-technical roles. In our work during that time, we started talking about their needs, attitudes, and expectations instead of just counting how many women were in the room. We discussed the subtle, intuitive differences in how women and men manage resources, differences often left unspoken, as if the only change is the addition of two letters to the word menadžer.
The Invisible Force: 4 Billion Decision-Makers
This feeling of exclusion is a massive missed opportunity for the energy transition, because women are already managing our energy.
Consider this - does a single mother living in the city and a man living alone in a village consume energy the same way? Research shows that a woman living alone can consume up to 22% less energy than a man in the same situation, often adapting her daily habits more consciously to save resources.
Every single day, over 4 billion women make countless decisions about resources, guided by their specific needs, intuitive nuances, or habits. Yet, their differentiated views and consumption practices remain invisible to the energy sector, despite their obvious influence.
Beyond the Panels: What Makes Energy Communities Work?
After decades of fighting for visibility, we have finally arrived at the era of energy communities. This is our chance to democratize the grid and revolutionize how we think about power.
However, like in many revolutions, women are once again being excluded. The mainstream focus is strictly on the energy, the technical solutions, the panels, and the smart meters, rather than on the community.
As we work to establish energy communities, we must realize they are not merely technical distribution points; they are collaborative networks designed to connect people. Their success relies heavily on skills traditionally championed by women:
Cooperation and trust: Building consensus among diverse neighbors.
Solidarity and justice: Ensuring equitable distribution of benefits.
Nurturing and organization: Maintaining the community over the long term.
There is nothing "technical" in those words. No watts or kilowatts. Whether the system is digital or manual is secondary, what matters is that it works for the people using it.
Redefining the Narrative: The Strength in Our Differences
The core principle of energy communities - "one member, one vote", gives everyone a voice regardless of the size of their financial investment. It is the perfect tool to finally integrate women into the energy transition meaningfully.
Therefore, gender equality is not only about the number of women attending an event. It is about recognizing how female and male approaches differ and utilizing that diversity to build resilient, successful energy networks that provide benefit for all.