FAQ | Ngsen

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of services do you provide to the community?

The NGSEN is a network of engendering energy services in Tanzania. Currently, we provide support to our partners which are NGOs, CBOs, FBOs, Private Entities and Government Departments involved in the energy and gender activities. Our partners are organisations working closely with communities. It is our believe, the gender and energy skills provided by the network to these organisations are trickling down to the people in the community.

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Does the NGSEN offer services and programs for men?

The NGSEN provides services and resources for people of all genders

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What is the difference between “sex" and "gender"?

Sometimes, these words are used interchangeably. It is hard to understand exactly what is meant by the term "gender", and how it differs from the closely related term "sex".

"Sex" refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women.
"Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

"Male" and "female" are sex categories, while "masculine" and "feminine" are gender categories.

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What is "gender mainstreaming"?

Gender mainstreaming is the concept of assessing the different implications for women and men of any planned policy, action, including legislation, programmes and projects in all areas and levels. This is a process of creating knowledge and awareness of responsibilities for gender among all energy stakeholders.

Gender is not something that can be consigned to “supervisory body” in an office, since no one office can possibly involve itself in all phases of an organization’s activities. All energy stakeholders must have knowledge and awareness of the ways in which gender affects energy services, so that they may address gender issues wherever appropriate thus rendering their work more effective.

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Why gender and energy?

The distinct roles and behaviours of men and women in a given culture, dictated by that culture's gender norms and values, give rise to gender differences. Gender in energy matters because:

Women and men have different roles in the energy system: women bear the main burden of providing and using biomass energy for cooking. A situation made worse by fuel scarcity; and negative, health and safety impacts.

Women bear the invisible burden of the human energy crisis - women's time and effort in water pumping, agricultural processing, and transport. They need modern and more efficient energy sources to improve their work and quality of life both within and outside the home.

Women have less access than men to the credit, extension, land and training, necessary for improving energy access to support their livelihoods and income generation from micro-enterprises.

Women and men have different kinds of knowledge and experience of energy, either through their traditional roles, their new non-traditional roles (especially in female-headed households), or increasingly as professionals in the energy sector

Since women experience poverty differently to men, they may need different energy policies to help them escape energy poverty: new energy technologies can even have unintended negative