The identification of existing inequalities within our societies is a first step towards the notion of green, social justice, and the reconciliation of societal needs with effective environmental policies. It immediately becomes clear that due to these inequalities, certain groups within every society are significantly more likely to be negatively affected by both environmental degradation – such as climate change, water scarcity, or natural disasters – as well as by human-made environmental policies. A factor that is often overseen by policymakers despite being proven to be one of the main contributors to environmental-related inequalities and injustice, is gender (UN Women, 2016: 7f).
In many ways, gender and the environment are linked to each other. The gender-environment nexus is multidimensional, however, it can be categorized into two overarching aspects: gender-differentiated vulnerability and integration of women in all their diversity in environmental policy-making processes and decision-making (OECD, 2021). Therefore, the gender-environment nexus describes how environmental occurrences and degradation, such as climate change, impact women and men differently, as well as how the environment can benefit from gender equality.
The specific vulnerability of women in the environmental context can be observed in various areas, such as climate change, biodiversity, water, chemicals, or deforestation. Due to persisting social and traditional norms, women and girls are mostly still responsible for the household and care work. At the same time, most people affected by poverty are women (UNEP 2016: 4), which is why they are usually the first ones to suffer from water and food scarcity or energy poverty (OECD, 2021:162). Due to structural barriers and systemic discrimination, women also face much higher risks in the event of natural disasters and post-disaster situations. For example, they are often not taught how to swim and therefore face much higher mortality rates than men, or experience sexual violence and exploitation in post-disaster situations (UN Women, 2016: 23). In total, women make up 75% of people displaced by the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation (OECD, 2021: 74).
At the same time, women play an important, proactive role in the protection of the environment and in bringing environmental issues to the center of current national and international policies. It has been found that parliaments with higher female representation generally tend to execute better environmental management and are also more likely to ratify international environmental treaties (Inter-Agency Task Force on Rural Women, 2012). Parallel to this observation is the fact that gender inequality and environmental degradation often correlate (IPCC, 2014: 808). Women are also significantly more engaged in environmental activism, such as the Fridays For Future movement (de Moor et al., 2019). Additionally, men cause on average 8-40% more carbon emissions than women, because of their mobility and dietary habits (Ourkiya, 2021). Moreover, the specific knowledge of women, for example in agricultural methods, is highly beneficial for the preservation and conservation of the environment (OECD, 2021: 151). Being the ones who usually look after the needs of their family and community, women often take on a crucial role in immediate and early post-disaster solution-finding. Yet, they are widely excluded from participation and leadership in pre-disaster risk reductions (UN Women, 2016: 23).