Blog post 15: Gender - a vital component of sustainable practice?

Gender - a vital component of sustainable practice?

source: Elle.si. (2019). Eko nakupi. [online] Available at: https://www.elle.si/lifestyle/novice2/eko-nakupi/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2019].

Following on from the discussion of gender and sustainability during the seminar in week 5, this blog post delves deeper into the relationship between gender and the adoption of sustainable practices. I shall do so by firstly exploring the theoretical framework put forth by Meinzen-Dick et al (2014) and thus delve into an article written by Somerville (2018) on the notion of recycling as a feminine practice as an exemplar of how gender norms can affect, or hinder, the perception of certain sustainable practices.

In their article Meinzen- Dick et al (2014) examine the relationship between gender and sustainability. More specifically, they address the presence of diverse gender roles among individual societies and question whether they play a role in affecting the course of sustainability.

So, as they coin it, does “gender matter for sustainability” (Meinzen-Dick et al, 2014)?  

In short, according to Meinzen-Dick et al, gender plays a key role in the face of sustainability. This is not to say, however, that either gender is more inclined to take part in sustainable practices as a whole. The article simply highlights the disparities between the two genders within different contemporary societies, such is considered in relation to specific examples. Through this, they claim it is important to take into account the key differences between the genders when aiming to spread notion of sustainability. They state that no campaign should overlook gender roles in order to avoid addressing its message towards solely the male or female population.

With that they produce a conceptual framework [see figure 1] which portrays gender’s contribution to sustainable practice as one determined by a number of key categories which fall under the two broad issues of ‘(a) motives and (b) means and opportunities’ (Meinzen- Dick et al, 2014). As is shown in the framework [see figure 1], depending on the specific context/environment within which gender is being addressed, either can be more closely related to sustainability by cause of factors such as ‘closeness to nature, focus on sustainability, rights to resources, opportunity to exploit resources and adoption of sustainable practices’ (Meinzen-Dick et al, 2014). Henceforth, to apply this framework I shall examine a recent article published by The Guardian (2018) which delves into recycling as a phenomenon most prevalent amongst women.

The issue of recycling being characterised as a predominantly female task in developed contemporary society is a prime example of how ‘motives, as in Meinzen-Dick et al’s (2014) framework, can affect the perception of sustainability. In the article Somerville (2018) illustrates how the act of recycling has become tied to femininity by being closely connected to emotional empathy which, in her point of view has been discouraged amongst men (2018). For Somerville, the source of this lack of empathy amongst men is the ‘culture [that is] hell-bent on ruthlessly beating out of them any shred of compassion, nurturing, or cooperative instinct’ (2018). Although she is relying on personal experience (that of spotting a recyclable bag with the phrase “I use this bag because my wife cares about the environment.” (Somerville, 2018) printed on it) and a limited study of only 200 participants to support her argument, the article is nonetheless a good example of how certain social practices– such as that of expressing empathy- can be cast as gender norms, in this case as a portrayal of femininity.  The article further showcases how the failure to take these gender norms into account may result in adverse impacts on the perception of sustainable practices, therefore supporting the notion that gender can in fact be a vital component, worthy of consideration, in the face of sustainable practice.

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Bibliography

Meinzen-Dick, R., Kovarik, C. and Quisumbing, A. (2014). Gender and Sustainability. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 39(1), pp.29-55.

Somerville, M. (2018). A vexing question: why do men recycle less than women?. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/05/real-men-dont-recycle-how-sexist-stereotypes-are-killing-the-planet [Accessed 7 Feb. 2019]

Elle.si. (2019). Eko nakupi. [online] Available at: https://www.elle.si/lifestyle/novice2/eko-nakupi/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2019].

Appendix
Meinzen-Dick, R., Kovarik, C. and Quisumbing, A. (2014). Gender and Sustainability. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 39(1), pp.29-55.