Diversifying power: Impact of political gender diversity on renewable energy supply chain vulnerability

We examine the relationship between political gender diversity and the vulnerability of renewable energy supply chains. Using a country-product panel dataset covering 61 countries from 2000 to 2023, we document several new empirical insights. First, baseline estimations reveal that greater political gender diversity significantly reduces renewable energy supply chain vulnerability, with each one-unit increase associated with an average decline of 5.8 %. Second, this effect is moderated by women's educational attainment, female labor force participation, and the level of democracy. In countries where these factors are high, inclusive gender governance exhibits a markedly stronger mitigating effect. Finally, heterogeneity analyses indicate that the positive effect of political gender diversity is concentrated in high-income economies, whereas the association turns negative in low-income countries. Notably, in countries adopting voluntary or candidate quotas, political gender diversity contributes to reducing supply chain vulnerability, with the effect being stronger under voluntary quota systems. In contrast, in countries with reserved seat quotas, political gender diversity actually increases the vulnerability of renewable energy supply chains. These results underscore the broader role of inclusive political frameworks in enhancing energy security, providing policymakers with actionable insights as they navigate the challenges of a fragmented and volatile global energy landscape.