03/07/2024
Research is intriguing, and when I have to provide gender consulting service for a client, it makes it even more exciting and heightens my curiosity. I get to acquire new knowledge in an unfamiliar industry/field.
I've spent time reading a research on "Ecofeminism in Architecture: How Green Buildings Can Facilitate Gender Equality" as part of gathering data for a client's project.
Buildings contribute to about 40% of global energy consumption and about one third of greenhouse gas emissions, figures that are predicted to continue increasing. Research has shown that men and women use energy in different ways, thanks to the way labour is traditionally divided between them. Yet women are responsible for at least 2.5 times more unpaid domestic work than men. They undertake the majority of household chores and care work, including cooking, cleaning and laundry, child nurturing and elderly care – which is where most of their energy use at home usually goes.
According to geographers Sylvia Chant and Cathy McIlwaine, cities around the world are still “overwhelmingly designed by and for men”. Without explicitly designing energy systems to benefit women as well as men, we often end up with situations where, for example, limited domestic electricity connections and scheduled power cuts have greater impacts on women’s daily routines.
When it comes to urban planning and development, gender also plays a significant role in achieving sustainability. Energy, gender and space are closely interlinked. Only by investigating how they intersect can we truly begin to move towards creating sustainable societies.
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