Gender Mainstreaming the European Union Energy Transition
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This article considers how gender issues are raised in academic studies on energy transition in the EU, as well as how gender is integrated into EU policies on energy transition. While the focus on the intersections of gender and energy transition is novel and significant, the organization of the study needs to be improved.
-- To begin with, energy transition needs to be clearly defined in the Introduction. Does energy transition refer to shift to renewable energy sources, or shift to non-polluting sources? While the 4 (or 5) Ds is an attempt to define energy transition [lines 23-24], it is not clear whether this is how energy transition is officially defined by the EU.
-- It is not clear why the SDGs are mentioned in the Introduction, when the focus is on energy transition and gender in the EU? Are the SDGs mentioned to build support for gender inclusion in energy transition? This may not be needed since it is mentioned that the EU already has gender equality as a core principle [line 46].
SDGs can be mentioned if EU policies are being compared to UN policies on energy transition?
-- In terms of the research questions, why are both academic papers on gender dimensions of energy transition in the EU as well as gender in EU energy transition policies being considered [lines 71-74]? Will academic articles and EU policies be compared? It would be useful if these two sets of literature were compared in the Discussion. Or some reason for why this comparison is being attempted should be provided. Otherwise the research questions seem disconnected from one another.
-- In Table 2, it is not clear what (less than or equal to) 2017 means. The time period for the study becomes somewhat vague given this, and it would be useful if actual dates were mentioned for all studies.
-- In Sections 3.1.1-3.1.4, all academic papers are discussed one by one. This summary of each study seems akin to a bibliographic essay, rather than a research article. It would be useful if the various references were grouped together in terms of similarities or differences, or some other criteria.
-- It would also be useful if a Table were provided listing each reference [maybe author and year), the EU countries it studies, its method (e.g. quantitative, qualitative), what kind of energy type or transition it focuses on, how gender is included, and when data was gathered. This could be in the text or in an Appendix. A descriptive table would enable a quick comparison across studies, and show which countries and issues are being most discussed.
-- Why were studies that were not in English not included [lines 105-106]? Will this not bias the review?
-- If 18 papers were identified for review, why are only 14 papers mentioned in Table 3?
-- The 'grey literature' being utilized needs to be listed in Section 3.2. Are specific policy documents related to energy transition being considered, or policy documents related to gender?
-- Relatedly, the keywords used to search grey literature also need to be provided [lines 101-103].
-- The focus of Section 3.2 on EU policy seems to be on women's education and employment related to the energy transition, rather than on household-level gender issues. While this focus is justified to some extent in the Discussion [paragraph beginning on line 107], there needs to be some more discussion on why the energy transition is about women's participation in energy transition jobs and energy research. Will presence of women in high-ranking positions be a sufficient form of gender inclusion?
-- The Discussion section is well written, and maybe the authors could consider how to include some of these points in the Results section.
-- The questions raised at the end of the Conclusion seem to be the questions that the article should address, rather than being future directions. Delete this last paragraph [lines 581-583]?
Author Response
Please see attachment
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Referee Report on “Gender Dimensions of the Low Carbon Energy Transition in the European Union”
Summary: In this paper, the author sets out to examine the gender dimensions of the energy transition in the European Union by summarizing the existing literature. The paper identifies the existing literature that is related to the topic. In addition, the author then explores, based on previous literature, the integration of gender equality in clean energy transition policies in the EU. The literature that is written using the English language and related to the topic is made of 17 papers in total. These papers were obtained from two databases, Scopus and Science Direct. The different gender dimensions explored are energy citizen engagement, attitudes and willingness to pay, social justice and sustainability, and the energy use of households. The author then uses the findings of the existing literature to reflect the existing gender inequality and misrepresentation of women in STEM and legislative positions related to energy transition in the EU. Finally, the author suggested further research that focuses on the impact of gender on the progress of the European energy transition and vice versa.
In my opinion, the paper needs improvements.
Major Comments:
1. Unrelated paragraphs
Section 3.1.2, paragraph 7, the paragraph reflects that Lithuanian consumers do not want to pay more for renewable electricity. It is not related to the gender dimension in the energy transition.
After explaining the four gender dimensions that are related to the topic the author goes through labor inequality and wage differences in section 3.2.1 of the results. Such a paragraph is not related to the topic; it is better to remove it.
In section 3.2.2, paragraph 7, the author shares results about gender differences in education. The information is not related to the main topic.
Section3.2.4, paragraph 7, percentages of gender inequality in research work are shared. The information is not related to the main topic.
The aim of the paper as mentioned at the end of the introduction is: “Which academic papers address gender dimensions of the energy transition in the EU? Which gender dimensions do these paper address? How is gender integrated into EU policies on the clean energy transition”
Hence, to reach the aim of the paper either mention the relation between labor income, education, and research with gender dimensions and energy transition or remove the above paragraphs.
Specific comments:
1. Table 1 contradicts the paragraph that explains it
Table 1 reflects the academic papers that are relevant to the topic from three databases. IEEE is a database that did not include any relevant papers. In the paragraph, it is mentioned that 35 papers were identified in Scopus database where 17 were in English and relevant. Table 1 however, shows that 19 out of 35 were relevant. The dismissal of 2 papers of the 19 is not mentioned. Moreover, Scopus contains all the database of Science Direct, hence there’s a duplication in the search for publications.
2. Language needs revision
Multiple grammatical mistakes are found throughout the paper. Proof read the paper to correct all grammatical mistakes. The following are some examples highlighted in bold:
“The UN SDGs on gender, energy, and climate intersect, and challenge us to find..” “At the core of these challenges is the our dependency”, “are imprtants” “requres”, “Care needs to be taken that addressing…” needs clarity ,“Care needs to be take to maintain…”, typo on line 128, etc.
3. Remove the label “Low Carbon” from the title since it is not mentioned in the paper.
4. Clarify in the introduction that the paper is a summary of all previous related literature.
Such action will clarify the idea for the readers and may attract more readership if it is mentioned in the title, for e.g. “Gender Dimensions of Energy Transition in the European Union, Literature Overview”.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The author has addressed satisfactorily all my comments.
