There can be
NO GENDER EQUALITY
without CLEAN COOKING

Gender inequality is increasing in the face of compounding global crises, but increasing access to clean cooking is key to empowerment, and women are driving the solutions.

^{Gender equality is 300 years away}

and gender disparities are worsening in the face of compounding global crises such as climate change, conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one disparity often goes unnoticed and unaddressed, increasing the burden and vulnerability of women around the world: the way they cook.

Cooking is an inescapable and fundamental part of life. It carries immense cultural and social significance and brings families together. But billions of people do not have the luxury of cooking their food safely.

Instead, they rely on polluting open fires or inefficient, climate-harming stoves to prepare their daily meals. Providing clean energy to households is critical to achieving global climate and sustainable development goals. Yet, we are unacceptably off track. Globally, 2.3 billion people lack access to clean cooking solutions, costing the world more than $2.4 trillion in damage to the climate and local economies and contributing to more than 3 million premature deaths each year.

Lack of access to clean cooking is the most under-invested health and environmental problem in the world.

One gigaton (1 billion tons) of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions is released annually from cooking over open fires and inefficient stoves, accounting for 2% of global emissions.

Clean cooking is an immediate and cost-effective means of reducing harmful carbon emissions.

More than half of human-generated black carbon emissions come from burning solid fuels for cooking and heating in homes, making household energy the most significant controllable source of black carbon.

It is impossible to overstate the urgency for action, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to clean cooking is low and the absolute number of people relying on polluting fuels and stoves continues to rise.

_{^{© Michael Benanav}}

THE COST TO WOMEN AND GIRLS

Women and girls bear a disproportionate share of this cost in the form of poor health and safety, lost productivity, and diminished well-being. Not only does cooking endanger their health from inhaling toxic smoke, but they also may be removed from school because of domestic work such as collecting firewood, walking ever-greater distances due to forest degradation.

They face increased vulnerability to physical attack when leaving their communities to search for fuel, especially in settings where conflict and displacement exist. 

Women bear a disproportionate share of this cost in the form of poor health and safety, as well as lost productivity and diminished well-being.

This burden on women costs the world $0.8 trillion each year. Despite this enormous impact, cooking is often overlooked as one of the drivers of gender inequality.

_{^{“The State of Access to Modern Energy Cooking Services.” (2020). World Bank.}}

_{^{© Climate Impact Partners}}

GENDERED IMPACTS OF LACK OF ACCESS TO CLEAN COOKING

_{Traps Women in Time Poverty}

In developing economies, women and girls can spend up to 10 hours each weekcollecting firewood and up to 4 hours each day cooking on traditional stoves, trapping women into a cycle of time poverty and leaving them with limited resources to improve their circumstances.

_{Reduces Women’s Productivity}

The global cost of women’s lost productivity because of lack of access to clean cooking is estimated at $0.8 trillion annually. This conservative figure accounts for women’s time spent on fuel collection, food preparation, cooking, and stove cleaning.

“My daughter knows that the firewood collected last week is still at home because this stove saves fuel. She is not worried while reading because she will not have to go and collect firewood, so she is doing her studies in peace while concentrating.”
_{^{–MERCY, MOTHER IN KENYA}}

_{Restricts Women’s Resources & Agency}

Sociocultural norms and gender roles can impede women’s decision-making power. For instance, limited access to finance and credit can restrict women's abilities to afford clean cooking solutions like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or electric stoves, which have higher upfront costs.

_{Increases Unpaid Care Burden}

Women and girls undertake more than 75% of unpaid care work in the world. In low-income countries, women in rural areas can spend up to 14 hours a day doing unpaid care work, including collecting fuel and cooking. This burden undermines their health and well-being and limits their economic prosperity by driving gender gaps in employment and wages.

_{^{© Romana Manpreet}}

_{Increases Indoor Air Pollution & Poor Health}

60% of all premature deaths from household air pollution globally are among women and children. Prolonged exposure to smoke from cooking can result in the development of various types of cancers and respiratory illnesses.

_{Adverse Impacts on Women’s Mental Health}

In sub-Saharan Africa, women relying on charcoal and wood for cooking have a 50% higher risk of developing depression than those cooking with gas. The negative impacts of traditional cooking on women’s mental health stem from lost productivity, fewer job opportunities, and reduced food security.

_{Increases Gender-Based Violence}

Food insecurity and the absence of reliable cooking fuels can force women and girls to travel long distances to collect firewood, increasing their risk of being assaulted, raped, or even killed. This risk is exceptionally high for women and girls in displacement settings: 81% of refugees and internally displaced people rely on firewood and charcoal to cook, limiting their quality of life and exacerbating environmental degradation around settlements.

“My new stove is clean, burns with no smoke, and cooks all our meals quickly. I can now spend more time with my children, and my family is happier and much healthier.”

_{^{–NATALIE, COOKSTOVE USER IN HAITI}}

BEYOND A NARRATIVE OF VICTIMHOOD: WOMEN ARE CENTRAL TO THE SOLUTION

Accelerating access to clean cooking is critical for empowering women and advancing gender equality. Women are essential to the widespread adoption and use of clean cooking solutions. Through their networks and community relationships, women play a critical role in increasing awareness and generating demand for clean cooking solutions, and their agency as household decision-makers and consumers should not be underestimated.

Women have shown themselves to be active agents of change.

Their resilience and resourcefulness have often been overlooked, but those are the very qualities that can drive the success of clean cooking initiatives. When women are provided with the tools and resources they need, they become advocates, educators, and leaders in their communities. Their stories of overcoming challenges and embracing new technologies inspire others to do the same. By highlighting these stories, we shift the narrative from one of victimhood to one of strength and empowerment.

The clean cooking value chain also offers pathways for women’s economic empowerment, providing opportunities for women entrepreneurs and employees to contribute to a thriving global industry for clean cooking.

Women's unique insights and understanding of local needs can help tailor clean cooking solutions to specific contexts, making these solutions more accessible and appealing to users.

The clean cooking sector presents opportunities for women to contribute to a growing market. Their involvement as employees and entrepreneurs helps businesses thrive.

As women take on the roles of manufacturers, distributors, and service providers in the clean cooking sector, they challenge traditional gender norms and pave the way for a more inclusive and diverse industry.

Moreover, the economic empowerment of women in this sector has a multiplier effect on communities, as women tend to reinvest their income in ways that benefit not only their families but also the broader social fabric. In this way, clean cooking becomes a catalyst for sustainable development, where women are both the driving force and the beneficiaries of positive change.

Read more about the amazing women leading the clean cooking sector in the Clean Cooking Alliance’s Women Energizing Change Series.