Abstract for: Gendered Energy Poverty in The Netherlands

Energy poverty has emerged as a pressing policy concern in the Netherlands following recent energy price volatility, disproportionately affecting women-led households. Gender shapes exposure to low income, housing quality, care responsibilities, and health risks, yet most policies remain gender-blind. This study addresses the urgent need to understand how gendered dynamics structure energy poverty and how more inclusive interventions can be designed. This research applies a qualitative, participatory System Dynamics approach to explore feedback mechanisms underlying gendered energy poverty. Through document analysis, preliminary interviews, and Group Model Building workshops with women experiencing energy poverty and sectoral experts, the study co-constructs a causal loop diagram. This iterative process integrates lived experiences and policy perspectives to identify structurally embedded leverage points. As this proposal precedes empirical data collection, no results are yet available. Workshops and interviews will be conducted in April, followed by iterative model refinement and analysis. The results, to be finalised in June, will include a stakeholder-validated causal loop diagram mapping the feedback structures that shape entry into and persistence of gendered energy poverty. The discussion, to be completed in June, will interpret the identified feedback mechanisms and leverage points in relation to existing energy poverty and gender literature. It will reflect on how participatory System Dynamics contributes to understanding systemic gender inequalities and assess implications for designing more gender-inclusive energy poverty policies in the Dutch context. Brainstorming and readability.