Women, men and energy. A study of power distribution in energy companies and energy use by women and men

This study examined how women and men in Sweden use energy and the degree to which they decide over its production and distribution. The study forms part of an ongoing larger project within three different EU countries where Sweden, Germany and Spain are being compared. The results from Sweden showed that women are heavily under-represented on the board of energy companies, in fact equally under-represented as in Swedish companies at large. However large variations occurred, with the proportion of women on the board being more than 40% in 11 of the 165 companies studied and zero in 52 companies. The only significant explanation found when these extremes were examined was company size, in that larger companies had a higher proportion of women on the board. Board size bore no relation to the number of employees in the company or the turnover. Complementary material from interviews with specific companies confirmed the impression derived from current debate and research, namely that companies tend to cite lack of qualified women as the main obstacle to change. Other common arguments against the inclusion of women were that women are often seen as inadequate when judged by male norms and that male networks tend to preserve current structures. Calculations of energy consumption by single women and men, including direct and indirect energy use. For women and men alike there is a string correlation between level of expenditure and levels of energy use, also found in other studies. The results also showed that single men with no children used 20% more energy than women with a similar family situation and that men used substantially more energy in transport than women. Men have a higher energy intensity (MJ per SEK) for their expenditures than women in all income groups. For men, 40% of total energy use was attributible to transport, while the corresponding figure for women was 25%. These results are discussed against the background that men tend to be less receptive than women to lowering emissions of greenhouse gases from transport activities. Similar differences in energy levels between men and women were observed when single parents with children were analysed, but the differences were less pronounced. The level of expenditure was the most important variable for total level of energy use for both women and men, a finding also in line with previous research. The differences observed between single young women and men regarding energy for transportation indicate that gender differences within this sector and within the population at large will persist in the future. Suggestions for further research include longitudinal studies of the composition of company boards, investigations relating emissions of carbon dioxide to the consumption patterns of women and men and studies of how policy instruments that influence women and men in an effective way could be devised.