This is the final time before the 2030 deadline that SDG 7 will be reviewed, and there are major gaps around gender in its assessment. SDG 7 tracks progress on expanding energy access, but it does not necessarily measure who benefits, who is left behind, or who carries the hidden costs and care burdens when energy systems fall short. Without indicators that intentionally recognize and assess aspects of how gender and energy intersect, the experiences of women, girls, and gender-diverse people remain largely invisible — and so do the policies needed to achieve truly universal, equitable energy access. 

Our new brief is written alongside ENERGIA, an international network championing women as change agents in the energy transition. Prepared in advance of the 2026 HLPF and the critical opportunity it presents, we argue that this is a pivotal moment to rethink SDG 7 through a feminist lens. 

Energy is about far more than electricity or infrastructure; it shapes health, education, livelihoods, safety, care, and human rights. As governments begin shaping the post-2030 development agenda at the HLPF, they have a chance to build an energy framework that measures gender-sensitive indicators to help advance women's leadership, shift unpaid care and energy burdens, increase equitable access to clean energy opportunities, and address the realities facing marginalized communities. 

This brief lays out a framework for embedding gender justice at the heart of the global energy transition — because any energy transition that ignores gender will only reinforce existing inequalities and fall short on the core purpose of SDG 7.