Lighting the way to gender equality

Panel: 4. Monitoring and evaluation for a wise, just and inclusive transition

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Giulia D’Angiolini, Econoler USA, USA
My Ton, Econoler USA, USA
Amandine Gal, Econoler, Switzerland
Silvia Puddu, AFD, France
Sébastien Carreau, AFD
, France

Abstract

Advances in technologies, planning and implementation of urban public lighting projects have addressed many significant issues related to street and outdoor public lighting such as improving driver and pedestrian safety while reducing energy consumption, associated greenhouse gas and other emissions affecting urban air quality, as well as light pollution. However, one area that the current street and public lighting illumination projects have not taken into account or been able to address is the situation of inequality with respect to gender and vulnerable individuals, especially in developing economies, including in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. The main focus of this study is the analysis of the interaction between gender and street lighting to define what gender responsive street lighting is, what are its long-term benefits and what are the methodologies to mainstream them in into the project cycle.

This paper summarizes the findings of a study commissioned by the French Development Agency (Agence française de développement, AFD) and financed by the European Union (EU) in the framework of the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) initiative. It presents a state-of-the-art review of existing literature and analyses of recently completed and ongoing lighting projects regarding the correlation between gender inclusion and street and outdoor public lighting services. It is the first of a series of assessments that are being performed for AFD and the CoM SSA initiative on gender inclusion.

The paper first details the research methodology, next it discusses, the criteria, methodologies and long-term benefits that were derived for a gender responsive street lighting system (SLS) and references the experience of gender responsive SLS projects in four cities. This analysis enabled us to develop a definition of gender responsive street lighting, which encompasses resilient and sustainable systems that (1) use an intersectional gender approach to consider the gender-differentiated lighting needs of both motorized road users and pedestrians, (2) address women’s and girls’ urban safety needs by promoting natural surveillance and social integration, and (3) actively enable women’s economic, social, and political empowerment. A series of methodologies was proposed to deliver this outcome at all stages of the development and implementation of energy-efficient street lighting programs (preparation, planning and design, procurement, construction, operation and maintenance, monitoring and evaluation).

One of the key findings on street lighting, gender and safety by this paper is the fact that street and public lighting have two main impacts on the perception of safety: natural surveillance (which encompasses someone’s capacity to see around them and be seen by other people) and social integration (when positive impacts derive from community confidence that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, cohesion, and informal social control). While both are essential to increase women’s feeling of safety in urban settings, “natural surveillance” fulfils mainly practical needs for gender equality (i.e., need for better visibility, decreased hiding places, and limited entrapment), whereas “social integration” fulfils strategic needs (i.e., addressing the root causes of gender-based violence and crime by strengthening community cohesion and informal social control). Thus, to effectively address women’s and girls’ safety issues in urban settings, a gender responsive street lighting system must address both practical and strategic gender needs.

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