Women are more environmentally-friendly than men, yet they are the most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, said the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in 2020 report.
“Those most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change often tend to be women. This is due partly to persistent societal inequalities, whereby women have fewer resources than men to protect against the impacts of climate change.” EIGE report read.
EIGE added in its report that Women seem to show more concern for the climate in their behaviours than men, saying: “masculinity is often linked to products with high levels of carbon emissions, while femininity is often linked to environmentally friendly behaviour such as recycling.”
“As recycling adds to the unpaid work done in households, which is still provided disproportionally by women, a move towards a zero-waste lifestyle creates additional pressures on women. At global level, most electronic waste is shipped to low-income countries, where it creates a disproportionate burden on women and children.”
EIGE commented in a note that “consumption is a field highly dominated by gendered practices and associated symbolic meanings based on masculine or feminine identities. In that sense, masculinity is often linked to practices that involve high levels of carbon emissions, while femininity is linked to more caring and thus green behaviour,”
In 2018, market research company Mintel has conducted a study that revealed an eco-gender gap, finding that women care more about the planet than men and are more interested in topics like ethics and sustainability.
