The role of women’s networks in the German energy transformation

In light of the ever-more present climate crisis and increased efforts to decarbonize the energy sector, it is important to pay attention to the intersection of gender and energy, that feminist energy literature describes, in order to create a truly sustainable energy system. One proposed tool to enhance women’s participation are women’s networks, however, literature on their work and impact remains limited. This thesis thus aims to analyse the role of women’s networks in the German energy transformation. For this purpose, the following research questions were developed: 1.1. Which women’s networks are active in the German energy sector?; 1.2. How do those women’s networks function?; 1.3. What are they working for?; 1.4. Do they have an impact on the German energy transformation? And if yes, which impact do they have and how do they achieve it? To answer those questions a content structuring qualitative content analysis was applied to data collected from the websites of selected women’s networks and from five semi-structured interviews. Results revealed that the fourteen identified women’s networks collectively achieved their main impact on the energy transformation indirectly through their members and by increasing the share of women in the sector. Through a variety of tools, women’s networks challenge stereotypes and traditional gender roles, achieving an impact beyond the realm of the energy workforce. More research is needed to assess how important their influence is and which individual networks and specific tools are most impactful.