Action Plan for Gender Integration in Energy Activities

For the USAID-NREL Partnership, it is important for the clean energy objectives outlined above to be well aligned with USAID's vision of "a prosperous and peaceful world in which women and girls, men and boys, and gender diverse individuals enjoy equal rights and agency; have equitable access to quality education and health care; accumulate and control their own assets; exercise their own voice; and live free from restrictive gender norms and violence." Since the 1970s, USAID has sought to strengthen the integration of gender concerns across all planning, programs, and policies, including, through its recently released 2023 Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Policy, that includes a section on "energy, mining, and infrastructure," and the Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018, which codifies into law the mandate for gender analyses for all USAID activities. The objective of the USAID-NREL Action Plan for Gender Integration is to assist NREL researchers and practitioners working across the USAID portfolio of activities implemented through the USAID-NREL Interagency Agreement to be more proactive in identifying and addressing critical gender gaps in particular country contexts and/or directing resources where they are most needed to empower women. Specifically, the aim of this Action Plan is to: Increase gender integration across USAID-NREL Interagency Agreement activities to enhance gender impacts and strengthen programs, Increase awareness and capacity of NREL staff on gender integration approaches, Outline specific actions, roles, and responsibilities of NREL and USAID team members, and Leverage USAID and NREL's thought leadership, capabilities, and convening power to increase gender integration in the clean energy sector across the globe.