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Gender and the Environment UNEP itself has a specific mandate and niche in the field of environment and development, in particular with GC decision 23/11 which mandated the organization to work "gender equality in the field of environment”. The decision includes provisions on equal participation in decision-making, gender mainstreaming in environmental policies and programmes and the assessment of effects on women of environmental policies.
While sex identifies the biological differences between women and men (Vainio-Mattila, 2001 in UNEP, 2004), gender identifies the social relations between men and women. Gender is socially constructed and is learned through socialization processes. Gender relations can change over time and vary according to geographic location (country, urban or rural environment), cultural and social context (including factors such as ethnic group, race, social status, economic status, age, education level, etc). Gender relations are contextually specific and often change in response to altering circumstances (Moser, 1993:230 in UNEP, 2004; IUCN, Aguilar, August 2006). As a consequence, the relation that women or men have developed with the environment and the attributes that would make them develop more sustainable practices, are culturally defined and evolve with cultural change. In analyzing sustainability, while it is important to take women into account for several reasons, there is also a need to include men, and the relations between men and women (FAO, 1997).
Because men and women are likely to have different roles in the family, community and work force, they are likely to have different personal interactions, priorities, and strategies when it comes to environmental protection. Similarly, women and men are often differently affected by environmental degradation because the roles and work patterns of women and men (in both the workforce and the household) are likely to differ (UNDP, 2002). Equal participation of men and women in environmental decision-making is a question of equal rights and responsibilities. Neither men nor women have a “natural predisposition” for environmental protection. But patterns regarding their roles in society may mean that strategies for promoting environmental protection need to target men and women differently. Better targeted policies (i.e. those that specifically take into consideration the needs, priorities and perspectives of different groups of men and women) are more effective policies – which means more efficient use of resources needed to implement these policies. Furthermore adopting a participatory approach to assessing environmental degradation contributes to build trust, credibility, and accountability, which in turn may elicit more commitment to environmental protection from the population in general (UNDP, 2002).
Gender and development (More) More from the major groups |
A series of internal mandates within the UN system call for gender equality and equity. 