ABSTRACT
Pursuit of a gender just low-carbon transition requires revisiting well-accepted mitigation strategies to understand their potential to contribute to social justice. Many socially relevant sectors are state subjects and are grounded in specific socio-economic contexts. This chapter examines the promotion of fly-ash bricks as a sectoral mitigation strategy in the state of Bihar to understand the interaction between technology adoption and gender-inclusive low-carbon development. In particular, we examine the dynamics affecting the participation of women entrepreneurs and workers in the fly-ash bricks industry. The chapter demonstrates that it is indeed possible to integrate economic development, decarbonization, and gender justice. It is critical to look at decarbonization policies from the gender-justice lens right at the beginning. In the case of brick industry transformation, while the transition from red bricks to fly-ash bricks can reduce the poor working conditions of women in the brick sector, ignoring gender inclusivity in the process can leave women without livelihood and result in a lower female workforce participation in the sector. It is critical to recognize gender justice as a policy objective of a sectoral or technology policy framework and simultaneously address the traditional barriers to the participation of women in the economy. A decarbonization strategy with a preferential policy ecosystem for women entrepreneurs and workers is essential for addressing multiple layers of social and economic inequalities.
