2025 JFIPP Research Fellow - Divya Singhal

Project Summary

Women in Green Transitions: Leadership for Just Energy Futures in the Indo-Pacific is a multi-country research initiative that investigates how women are leading and participating in renewable energy transitions in India, Japan, and Australia; the three key Quad countries with shared climate goals and diverse socio-political and energy contexts.

Despite increasing global recognition of gender equality in climate discourse, women remain significantly underrepresented in energy governance, green workforce planning, and technology design—especially in rural and underserved communities. At the same time, past research and other evidence shows that countries with greater gender equity and a robust STEM workforce transition more rapidly and cost-effectively to green economies. This project addresses a critical gap by exploring women’s roles not only as beneficiaries, but as active leaders and innovators in clean energy initiatives.

The project will answer key questions related to how women lead at both grassroots and entrepreneurial levels, what structural and cultural factors enable or constrain their leadership, how their contributions can be integrated into policy, and what forms of regional cooperation can support the scaling of gender-inclusive energy solutions. Using a combination of literature review, semi-structured interviews, and stakeholder roundtables, the project adopts an intersectional and collaborative methodology. By generating cross-country insights and co-creating a genderresponsive toolkit, this study aims to inform regional strategies and policy frameworks aligned with SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). It contributes to a more just, inclusive and resilient vision for climate action and energy governance across the IndoPacific .