Title: Women's role in sustainable development project in rural indonesia : A case study of ACCESS project, united nations development programme
Author: Miss Elizabeth Gabriela
Year: 2024
Keywords: Women's Empowerment , Sustainable Energy, ACCESS Project , Gender Equality
Theme: Gender
Advisor(s): Khathaleeya Liamdee
The full thesis available here.
Abstract: This research focuses on the role of women participants in sustainable development projects in rural Indonesia, analyzing intricacies through Ecofeminism and intersectionality. More specifically, it examines the ACCESS Project implemented by UNDP in four provinces, aiming to address women’s engagement in the energy sector. ACCESS is a case study exploring empowerment within an institutionally gendered landscape—bounded by state quotas—for employment. Employing qualitative methods such as document analysis and semi-structured interviews with eight participants, the study draws from Ecofeminism and intersectionality to understand its central arguments. The findings depict progress toward gender inclusion in technical management for leadership roles, allowing women to challenge patriarchal divisions. At the same time, persistent barriers shaped by social identity norms reinforced prevailing societal structures that posed restrictions for women’s participation. This underscores that participation cultivated agency; however, it remained delicate without consistent structural backing—highlighting uneven distribution among diverse participant identities. This study broadens the application of Ecofeminism and intersectionality while underscoring the need for development approaches that strive for context-responsive policies instead of placeholders like numerical targets