The article Exploring the nexus of gender and energy transitions: A systematic literature review recently published in Energy Research & Social Science analyzes the link between gender issues and energy transitions, highlighting the need for more inclusive and targeted strategies.

The study, conducted for CNR-IRPPS by Marco Cellini, Cloe Mirenda, Lucio Pisacane, Serena Tagliacozzo, together with Sabine Loos and Clemens Striebing (Fraunhofer IAO), was developed within the European project gEneSys Transforming Gendered Interrelations of Power and Inequalities in Transition Pathways to Sustainable Energy Systems.

The research, based on a systematic literature review (SLR) of 152 scientific publications, identifies seven key dimensions linking gender to energy transitions and offers a structured overview of existing knowledge while identifying research gaps, providing essential insights for future studies.

• Cellini, M., Loos, S., Mirenda, C., Pisacane, L., Striebing, C., & Tagliacozzo, S. (2025). Exploring the nexus of gender and energy transitions: A systematic literature review. Energy Research & Social Science, 119, 103887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103887

Marco Cellini discusses the article.

On the topics analyzed in the article, the gEneSys project promotes the Autumn School Gender and Intersectional Inequalities in Energy Transition.

CNR Press Release:

An analysis by the MUSA research group at CNR-IRPPS shows a sharp increase in the number of adolescents who no longer meet their friends outside of school: the figures have nearly doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, demonstrates that the increase in social isolation in Italy constitutes a serious problem, already chronic and correlated with the interaction of relational and psychological factors

A study conducted by the multidisciplinary research group “Social Change, Evaluation and Methods” (MUSA) of the Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies of the National Research Council in Rome (CNR-IRPPS) investigated, through a socio-psychological research approach, the etiology of social withdrawal, identifying the triggering factors of such behavior among adolescents.

The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports of the Nature group, was based on data from two cross-sectional surveys conducted by the group in 2019 and 2022 on students from public upper secondary schools using the CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview) technique and on nationally representative samples consisting of 3,273 and 4,288 adolescents aged 14 to 19 years, respectively. Through advanced statistical modeling techniques, three profiles of adolescents were identified: “social butterflies,” “friend-centric” and “lone wolves“: within this last profile, a subgroup was identified consisting of adolescents who no longer meet their friends outside of school, whose number has nearly doubled since the pandemic, rising from 5.6% in 2019 to 9.7% in 2022. These are the socially withdrawn.

“Previous studies by our research group had already clarified the causes of some negative effects of the change in social interactions accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated the transposition of human relationships into the virtual sphere,” explains Antonio Tintori, among the authors of the work together with Loredana Cerbara and Giulia Ciancimino of the MUSA research group at CNR-IRPPS. “It was seen in particular that hyperconnection, i.e., overexposure to social media, plays a primary role in this corrosive process of adolescent interaction and identity and subsequently of individual psychological well-being. Hyperconnection is primarily responsible for both self-isolation and the explosion of youth suicidal ideation. The study shows that not only have young people who limit themselves to school attendance alone in their lives drastically increased from 2019 to 2022, but also in the adolescent world the habit of spending free time face-to-face with friends has significantly decreased: “lone wolves” have even tripled in 3 years, rising from 15% to 39.4%.”

Although slightly more prevalent among girls, the phenomenon affects both sexes and shows no substantial regional differences, nor differences related to the type of school attended or the family’s socio-cultural and economic background, as previously assumed. This clearly indicates that the problem is becoming global and endemic.

What do these young people have in common? Poor quality of social relationships (with parents, particularly with the mother), low relational trust (toward family members and teachers), victimization from cyberbullying and bullying, hyperconnection to social media, low participation in extracurricular sports activities, and dissatisfaction with one’s body. “These factors, further fueled by the pervasive influence of social pressures to conform to unattainable standards, including aesthetic ones, erode self-esteem, fostering a sense of inadequacy in social interactions with peers,” adds Tintori. “We have also found that those already in a state of social withdrawal show more moderate use of social media: this opens the hypothesis that, as the time of physical isolation increases, one gradually disconnects from virtual interactions as well, i.e., one moves toward total renunciation of sociality.”

The phenomenon, comparable to that of hikikomori in Japan, could generate a genuine social emergency: “Our study, in addition to providing useful results for understanding the nature of the problem, highlights the urgency of educational and training interventions directed at parents and teachers, as well as support for young people, namely specific support for adolescents in the most critical conditions,” concludes the researcher.

The MUSA research group at CNR-IRPPS, among the first to investigate the phenomenon of social withdrawal, is now continuing its activities by launching a large-scale longitudinal survey aimed at answering still-open questions and further clarifying the factors in the process leading to self-isolation. The survey, called “Interactional Changes and Well-being,” will involve thousands of adolescent students from schools over five years, allowing detailed analysis of young people’s behavioral development in interaction modalities and other important aspects related to socio-psychological well-being.

The study benefited from the collaboration of Gianni Corsetti from ISTAT.

See the full article Cerbara, L., Ciancimino, G., Corsetti, G. et al. Self-isolation of adolescents after Covid-19 pandemic between social withdrawal and Hikikomori risk in Italy. Sci Rep 15, 1995 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84187-5

Registration is now open for the gEneSys Autumn School: Gender and Intersectional Inequalities in Energy Transition, which will be held at Venice International University (VIU) from October 6 to 10, 2025.

Registration will be possible until March 31, 2025.

The course is aimed at students (master’s degree and PhD), early-stage researchers and post-docs (in STEM and SSH fields), and science communicators. The course aims to explore the social, economic, and political dimensions of energy transition through a gender and intersectional lens, providing tools and insights to integrate such perspectives into research or professional work. Workshops and scenario building sessions are planned in an interdisciplinary and international setting.

There are no participation fees.

All information and the registration form are available on the VIU website.

Training Modules

• Building evidence: What the scientific literature says about the link between gender and energy; a new ontology of energy systems, designed to explore the multidisciplinary nature of this field and the interconnections between its various components; and a gender analysis of the scientific community working in energy transition, highlighting gender inequalities in researcher participation and knowledge creation.
• Policy and cooperation: Gender and intersectional analysis of EU policies and cooperation agreements between the EU and Africa on energy and green infrastructure.
• Analytical Model: Intersections between socio-economic inequalities in citizens’ behaviors and energy use.
• Textbook analysis: Analysis of educational material on energy transition and gender disparities in textbooks and curricula.
• Building a credible pathway: How to build alternative and inclusive pathways for energy transition.

The school is promoted within the framework of the Horizon gEneSys Project “Transforming Gendered Interrelations of Power and Inequalities in Transition Pathways to Sustainable Energy Systems”, coordinated by:

• National Research Institute on Population and Social Policies of CNR (CNR-IRPPS)

With the participation of:

• National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA)
• Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, Center for Responsible Research and Innovation (IAO-CeRRI)
• Imperial College
• Jagiellonian University
• Portia
• Venice International University

Since the summer of 2023, IRPPS-CNR has been operating in the Frentana area with the project Active Citizenship in Europe.

We immersed ourselves in a context that, to an observer, appears as a best practice, with all its unique characteristics. As such, it seemed the territory most capable of embracing our objective: to imagine and implement actions to support the inclusive capacities of local systems regarding the Roma people.

Activism and political participation concretely summarize the concept of inclusion that we intend more specifically, and qualify our action to combat anti-Gypsyism. Indeed, the Abruzzo territory between Lanciano and Pescara was chosen for the high degree of integration of approximately 9 out of 10 families of Roma origin present in the area. Members of these families are not only well-integrated into the social fabric of their cities of residence, but they have all had stable incomes for some time, with individuals holding highly specialized and responsible roles within companies, such as Roberto Spinelli, head of personnel at the D’Orsogna factory, and Moreno di Rocco, a chemist responsible for quality control at the De Cecco pasta factory. From this perspective, the existence of a good practice was indeed found, in the sense that the Roma community in the area does not suffer from a deficit of primary needs and generally has an earned income; however, this condition is often paid for at the price of hiding one’s Roma identity, unless betrayed by one’s surname.

In practice, the well-being and potential development of this good practice were ensured by a hidden identity.

Various meetings were held between 2023 and 2024 to understand the material and immaterial needs of the local Roma community, and to understand the perspectives of political agents (opinion leaders and stakeholders) regarding the issues they encountered with the community. The goal was to eventually reach the construction of a common action plan, with practical actions aimed at improving the socio-cultural conditions of the Frentana Roma community. In these meetings, we sought to translate our objectives into concrete acts and measures capable of bringing a turning point to this relational status quo, in defense of an identity to which the EU, which finances the project, recognizes full citizenship.

We did the same with local stakeholders, attempting to mediate between mutual expectations through Focus Groups targeted at Roma activism, providing examples from across Europe.
The next step was to establish the basis for a shared action plan between the Frentana Roma community and local institutions through Mutual Learning and Mentoring meetings, where the Roma of the Frentana area also engaged with the six Roma and Sinti candidates from the recent European and local elections in June 2024.

The path undertaken, even if the political plan still needs to be implemented in various municipalities, is nonetheless a success.

Not having imposed attendance on any member of the community and having accompanied the meetings with examples of Roma activism on both European and Italian levels resulted in the number of participants at ACE meetings nearly doubling from the first to the last. As Santino Spinelli noted, a hidden identity—which translates into passivity in socio-political life within the local context—is a form of resistance rather than a weakness. To overcome it, the material and immaterial support of institutions is indispensable; in this sense, they must protect and safeguard those Roma men and women who already have an income and are well-integrated into the majority community and would be ready to reclaim their ethnicity.

However, without the contribution of political decision-makers, it is more likely that the current situation will stagnate and the inclusive path outlined by the project will not reach its conclusion. This is also because the institution, through its official communication channels, is the only entity capable of combating fake news or targeted information used for instrumental or emergency purposes that the Italian media generally still produce regarding the Roma people.

As a final step, in the concluding meeting on October 4, 2024, we asked Roma members and stakeholders to rank, in the order they deemed most appropriate, “the practical proposals that each of you considers most immediately achievable to stimulate our objectives and help local communities and institutions foster and renew inclusive and anti-discriminatory paths.”
Votes range from 1 to 7, where 1 means immediately achievable and 7 unachievable.
The proposals are: 1. Departments for Intercultural Affairs 2. Anti-discrimination councils in the province of Chieti 3. Hiring a Roma man/woman in the Municipality or public offices, or as the head of anti-discrimination desks or similar 4. Displaying the Roma flag from the Municipality on significant days of the Romani calendar (August 2, October 5, November 5, April 8, May 16) 5. Remembering the Roma contribution to the construction of the Italian State in speeches during national holidays (January 27, April 25, May 1, June 2) 6. Communication and promotion campaign of Roma history and culture on institutional channels with videos and short information pages 7. Formal honors following symbolic citizenships for Roma people who have distinguished themselves in civil society and work 8. “Open the doors: we are here”: a medium/long-term integration project including Roma-themed days and moments of discussion between the Frentana Roma community, civil society, and the institutions representing both (festivals and musical/gastronomic initiatives).

The proposals receiving the most “1” votes, meaning immediately achievable, were:
1. Remembering the Roma contribution to the construction of the Italian State in speeches during national holidays (10 votes) 2. Displaying the Roma flag from the Municipality on significant days of the Romani calendar (9 votes) 3. Formal honors following symbolic citizenships for Roma people who have distinguished themselves in civil society and work; “Open the doors”: a long-term project with inclusion days; Department for Intercultural Affairs (8 votes).

To learn more about the sociological methodologies used in the meetings, to see photos, and to read reports of the various activities, please visit the website https://ace-project.eu/

Edited by Enrico Mascilli Migliorini

CNR-IRPPS researcher Angela Toffanin contributed to the entry on Gender Discrimination for the 11th Appendix of the Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters and Arts, published by Treccani.

Toffanin conducts her research at our Institute, collaborating primarily with the Population, Gender and Society research group (Poges).