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1. Gender Empowerment and Fate Control

   Rozanova-Smith, M.; Petrov, A.; Korkina Williams, V.; Absalonsen, J.; Alty, R.; Arnfjord, S.; Apok, C.; Biscaye, E.; Black., J.; Carothers, C.; et al (April 2021, Gender Equality in the Arctic)

   Oddsdóttir, E.E.; Ágústsson, H.O. (Ed.)

   The Chapter aims to deepen the understanding of gender equality and empowerment issues in the Arctic region at the national, regional, and local levels, and identify concrete strategies for gender political, economic, and civic empowerment, thereby facilitating sustainable policy-making processes for the New Arctic. The Chapter "Empowerment and Fate Control" is a part of the peer-reviewed Pan-Arctic Report "Gender Equality in the Arctic," undertaken under the auspices of the Arctic Council's Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) and the Icelandic Chairmanship Programme 2019-2021. 

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2. Gender Empowerment and Fate Control

   Rozanova Smith, M.; Petrov, A.; Korkina Williams, V. (April 2021, Pan-Arctic Report "Gender Equality in the Arctic")

   Oddsdóttir, Embla Eir; Ágústsson, Hjalti Ómar (Ed.)

   Enabling gender equality by empowering all genders to effectively participate in modern society is one of the most important advances towards sustainable development, encompassing equal representation in the political office, labor market, and civil society (Sustainable Development Goal 5, or SDG5). The goal of this chapter is to improve understanding of gender empowerment issues in the Arctic at the national, regional, and local levels, and to identify concrete strategies for political, economic, and civic gender empowerment, and thereby facilitate sustainable policy making for the Arctic. 

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3. “I Feel Like a Lot of Times Women Are the Ones Who Are Problem-Solving for All the People That They Know”: The Gendered Impacts of the Pandemic on Women in Alaska

   https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14080498  

   Rozanova-Smith, Marya; Petrov, Andrey N (August 2025, Social Sciences)

   The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery in urban communities in the Arctic have been substantial, but their gendered aspects remain largely unknown. The goal of this study was to enhance the understanding of the gender-based impact on women in the urban areas of Alaska by exploring strengths and constraints to resilience in the social and economic domains of gender equality during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on grounded theory methodology, this study is based on 29 in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The study methodology utilized a conceptual framework that integrated deficit-based and strength-based analytical perspectives. The paper implemented a voice-centered approach that drew on thematic interviews conducted with women in Anchorage and Nome. Alaska’s urban women demonstrated resilience rooted in self-empowerment and community caregiving. This was reflected in their critical re-evaluation of social and economic gendered structures, a reassessment of priorities in family and social relationships, and the mobilization of support networks. These acts of reflection and care transformed into processes of constructing new meanings of life during dramatic events and became a source of personal strength. The crisis also enabled a re-evaluation of entrenched gender dynamics and women’s ability to challenge gendered divisions in both the workplace and at home. Despite signs of resilience, the pandemic signified a setback for gender equality. It exacerbated pre-existing gender disparities within households, disrupted established pre-pandemic social support networks, increased unpaid domestic labor and a motherhood penalty, and deepened unemployment and income gaps. To further adapt to post-pandemic conditions, women need empowerment and greater representation in decision-making roles, which are critical to strengthening resilience in both the social and economic domains of gender equality. 

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4. Gender Equality for a Thriving, Sustainable Arctic

   https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910825  

   Oddsdóttir, Embla Eir; Ágústsson, Hjalti Ómar; Svensson, Eva-Maria; Hoogensen Gjørv, Gunhild; Kendall, Sarah Seabrook; Smieszek, Malgorzata; Prior, Tahnee; Hayfield, Erika; Williamson, Karla Jessen; Rozanova-Smith, Marya; et al (October 2021, Sustainability)

   On 21 May 2021, a milestone Pan-Arctic Report: Gender Equality in the Arctic was published in tandem with the Arctic Council’s Ministerial Meeting held in Reykjavík, 19–20 May 2021. This article provides a brief review of the report and its major findings across six chapters that address key themes concerning gender equality in the Arctic: Law and Governance, Security, Gender and Environment, Migration and Mobility, Indigeneity, Gender, Violence, Reconciliation and Empowerment and Fate Control. A major conclusion of the report is that accessible, comparable, gender-disaggregated, and Arctic -specific data is severely lacking. Further, all chapters highlight the importance of gender-based analysis and gender mainstreaming in all decision-making processes at national and regional levels. The varying roles that gender—and its intersections with existing inequalities—plays in mediating the impacts of climate change and other socioeconomic transformations are also discussed throughout the report. The Arctic Council is identified as the main driver for implementing recommendations that were provided and discussed at the Council’s Ministerial Meeting and in the Reykjavík Declaration 2021, where the eight ministers of Arctic states “Emphasize[s] the importance of gender equality and respect for diversity for sustainable development in the Arctic… encourage[s] the mainstreaming of gender-based analysis in the work of the Arctic Council and call[s] for further action to advance gender equality in the Arctic”. This report and its policy relevant highlights, address these priorities and serve as a knowledge base for promoting gender equality and non-discrimination in the Arctic. 

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5. Electricity access empowers women through expansion of economic, physical, and mental spaces in Zambia

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103687  

   Kannan, Sudha; Bessette, Douglas; Makai, Likonge (October 2024, Energy Research & Social Science)

   Expanding electricity access (Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7) and empowering women (SDG 5) are closely linked. Most studies quantifying the benefits of the former for women focus on their economic empowerment; however, if and how such access results in women's empowerment is best understood by examining the cultural context, norms, and gender roles in which that access occurs. For instance, time saved from the use of electric appliances may be used for productive engagements, but if gender roles restrict women from leaving the home or engaging in paid work, such benefits are not realized. Here, we delve deeper into the multi-faceted and context-specific concept of women's empowerment via 28 semi-structured interviews with Zambian women. We include households with and without electricity to understand women's subjective meaning of empowerment and how access to electricity may (dis) empower them. We analyze their responses using Deshmukh-Ranadive's (2005) Spaces approach to empowerment which categorizes an individual's spaces into physical, economic, political, socio-cultural, and mental space. We find that electricity access empowers women by expanding their economic and physical, along with mental, space. This occurs via paid opportunities outside the home using electrical appliances and women reporting greater economic independence, camaraderie, self-reliance, and agency as a result. Additionally, by asking women to define what empowerment means to them, we not only bolster the claim that electricity access empowers women both economically and socially, but also ensure future programs account for empowerment explicitly in their plans. 

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