Women in Power, Energy in Transition: The Political Influence on Sustainable Development in OECD Countries

The transition to sustainable energy is a pressing global challenge, yet the influence of gender on energy policy remains insufficiently examined. Most existing studies on women's political empowerment (WPE) and environmental outcomes rely on single indicators of energy transition, overlooking its multidimensional nature. This paper addresses that limitation by developing a comprehensive Energy Transition Index (ETI) and analyzing the effect of WPE on energy transition in 37 OECD countries from 2000 to 2019. The results show that WPE is positively associated with the ETI, highlighting the role of gender-inclusive governance in supporting progress toward SDG 7. Quantile regressions indicate that this relationship is stronger in countries with lower transition levels, suggesting that female political representation may be especially relevant where institutional constraints remain. Additional analyses based on the renewable and non-renewable components of the ETI, together with robustness checks using lagged WPE and alternative samples, confirm that the main findings are stable over time. This research provides new evidence that WPE is linked to long-term advances in sustainable energy systems.