Celebrating International Women's Day

Women disproportionately make up the 1.1 billion who don’t have access to electricity and the 2.9 billion people who don’t have access to clean cooking.

This International Women's Day, we are doubling down on our efforts to support women's organizations, women owned businesses and women investors to speed progress in ending energy poverty – and bring electricity and clean cooking to everyone.

Around the world the quickest, cheapest, easiest way to close the energy access gap is to focus on what women need. From women's voices in determining solutions for clean cooking, to access to finance for women entrepreneurs with off-grid energy businesses, to women's organizations linking women's health to reliable clean energy, to women investors seeking out smart, long-term investments that will provide jobs and opportunity to women in the clean economy, success on SDG7 is succeeding for women.

This is good, but it’s only a start.

We need women as clients and consumers of new integrated energy systems to be heard and their insights used to build solutions. We need more women in the management and leadership of current energy companies and the energy services organizations of the future if we are to truly achieve sustainable energy for all.

Across all three days of the Sustainable Energy for All Forum – being held on April 3 – 5 in New York City – we will be marshalling the evidence of where we see progress, where we don't and how we can work together to speed and scale solutions. We will also be bringing groups together to discuss how to work more closely together for results.

Sustainable Energy for All proudly celebrates International Women’s Day by committing to use the Forum as platform that will support women to accelerate the fight against energy poverty.