Female, male, sustainable - genanet - Leitstelle GENDER ...

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EXAMPLE: CLIMATE AND ENERGY
And what do you wish for when it comes to policy making?
I wish that at some point, the integration of aspects related to gender justice and environmental policy with
all its successes and impediments would be analysed and evaluated. Take the International Conference for
Renewable Energies 2004 in Bonn: genanet was lobbying strongly for the consideration of gender aspects. This
at least led to a 28 per cent proportion of women in the International Steering Committee of the Conference,
which is unusually high for the energy sector. Eventually, at the conference, a small delegation of female experts
from all regions of the world was represented. They managed to make government representatives aware
of the specific situation of women in the energy domain. And governments listened, especially with regard to
the situation of women in developing countries.
We made an influential ally, Germany’s Minister for Development Cooperation, Ms Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul.
Unfortunately, in the aftermath of the Conference, the input that these women gave has had hardly any
impact on policy formulation. This must be pursued.
What do you wish for, what are your demands regarding gender mainstreaming?
I wish for the consideration of gender aspects to not only be initiated, but to be permanently continued
and financed, namely in the area of renewable energy. In the future, this will be one of the most important
sectors – including with regard to climate protection. To ignore gender justice in this context is, in my
opinion, not just a shame, but also truly a lost opportunity.
Interview by Dr. Corinna Hölzer, GreenMediaNet.
Printed in: Frauenansichten 2007. Ein Lesekalender zu den erneuerbaren Energien. (Women’s perspectives 2007. An almanac
for reading about renewable energies). Published by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and
Nuclear Safety. Berlin 2006. For a free copy, please contact service@bmu.bund.de Reprint of the interview by courtesy of
the Federal Ministry for the Environment.