Environment and Gender

Abstract

The human–nature relation is substantially mediated through gender. The connection between gender and the environment was first brought up in the context of developmental policies in accordance with the international women's movement as a critical appraisal of the male‐centered Western philosophy, science, and technology. Gender mainstreaming and feminist scholarship have encouraged the assimilation of gender‐disaggregated data that reveals how the human–nature relation is mediated through gender. Women are more vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters and climate change, primarily because women constitute the majority of the poor, and are more dependent on livelihoods that rely on natural resources, which are directly affected by climate change. On the other hand, women are the ones who lead protests against environmental pollution. Women are reported to make up 60–80 percent of the membership of mainstream environmental organizations and even more in grassroots organizations. Women are reported to hold stronger pro‐environmental values, beliefs, and attitudes than do men. The gender difference in environmental attitude and involvement in environmental movements is arguably due to the gendered division of household labor that make women responsible for the health and maintenance of households, making them the first to notice environmental dangers.