Women and the environment
The gender-environment relations have ramifications in regard to the understanding of nature between men and women, the management and distribution of resources and responsibilities, and the day-to-day life and well-being of people.
The definition of sustainable development is highly debated, but is defined by Harcourt as a way to "establish equity between generations" and to take into account "social, economic, and environmental needs to conserve non-renewable resources" and decrease the amount of waste produced by industrialization.
[6] WID placed women as central actors in household, rural and market economies and looked to the hierarchical institution of western development to fix the issues that arise because of this.
[5] Critics of WID argued that as part of a larger western mindset, it perpetuates a colonial and liberal discourse that is incompatible with supporting the global population of women.
During the Progressive Era (late 19th to early 20th century), urbanization, industrialization, and the Women's Suffrage Movement all had an impact on the shifting gender roles and expectations in American society.
Women's perspectives on environmental issues are shaped and motivated to participate in efforts to address them by their experiences as caregivers for the home and family, as well as by their increasing presence in urban environments.
These women's environmental organizations, such as the New York Ladies' Health Protective Association, emphasized their role in monitoring and enhancing the cleanliness and hygiene of urban areas by framing their mission as a type of municipal housekeeping.
They claimed that because women are the primary caregivers for their families and homes, they are in a unique position to address these issues because they are constantly exposed to the negative effects of insufficient urban sanitation practices.
A group of women in Kenya began farming trees way before climate change was prioritized because they had seen what happens to lands that are depleted of its nutrients and the adverse effects.
[27] The Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and deep seaport, located in a border region of Myanmar and Thailand, is an industrial development project with alleviated environmental regulations, among other relaxed rules, marketed for business investment.
[28] Out of Myanmar, as for residents who are displaced from homes and their agriculture work due to the Dawei SEZ's development, new higher paying jobs, and usually land rights, are granted to men.
[29] In the Mekong River Delta Region of Vietnam, although women comprise about half of the labor involved in intensive rice production systems, they have the added responsibility of being the primary caretaker and securing food for their families.
As climate change increasingly threatens agricultural systems, women in the Mekong Delta region face disproportionate risk to their livelihoods relative to men because of their dependency on the land for rice production combined with their role as domestic provider.
[33] In many developing countries, where marital violence is prominent, barriers such as unequal laws and social and administrative bias[12] keep women from owning land and property.
There are five major streams of feminism, each addressing these distinctions from a unique perspective: Ecofeminism postulates that the subordination, oppression, and domination of both women and the environment are similar in structure.
In her writings, she addressed what she saw as a significant flaw in the popular ideology after World War II: that men had the ability to control and conserve nature for the entire global community.
[51] Female activists of this period included Alice Hamilton, Jane Addams, and Ellen Swallow Richards who brought to the forefront issues of pollution, urban degradation and health hazards.
It was not until 1962, with the publication of Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson, denouncing the U.S. government's use of pesticides and the nation's increase in industrial waste, that women in the United States returned to environmental issues.
[51] Lesbian women formed communal spaces, returning to living on the land, recycling materials, using solar power and growing organic foods in their efforts to combat industrial pollution and degradation of natural resources.
Australian ecofeminist Ariel Kay Salleh was an early critic of deep ecologists of this time claiming that most of its spokespersons were male and therefore were afraid to confront the naturism and sexism causing environmental crises.
[52] Specific issues addressed by socialist ecofeminists are colonialism, multinational corporate development of the South, global distribution of wealth, overpopulation and the critique of biotechnology.
[56] In a series of seventeen mandates, the principles call for public policies guaranteeing the right to responsible uses of renewable resources and land, creating a sustainable planet for all living beings.
[50] In developing areas of the world, women are considered the primary users of natural resources (land, forest, and water), because they are the ones who are responsible for gathering food, fuel, and fodder.
[70] In addition, according to Wolfgang, there is literature and research surrounding the idea that education leads to better health and income, changing thinking and attitudes around jobs with an emphasis on social and economic opportunities instead of family size.
This is a four month program geared towards these leaders and offer them the ability to hone, and refine their skills and solidify any future plans to be drafted and initiated within their individual organizations.
Presently, Dr. Steingraber continues to contribute to the field through her writings and lectures, focusing on the environmental factors affecting reproductive health and the correlation between cancer and the air, water, and food we consume.
After the state government granted permission to a corporation for commercial logging, the women of the villages resisted, embracing trees to prevent their felling to safeguard their lifestyles, which were dependent on the forests.
This movement led by Maathai focused on restoration of Kenya's rapidly diminishing forests as well as empowering the rural women through environmental preservation, with a special emphasis on planting indigenous trees.
[103] The pipeline runs under Lake Oahe, an important water source for the Standing Rock Reservation located near the projected site in South Dakota.
[110] In 2016 Allard published a video on Facebook asking for the surrounding tribes to come and support Standing Rock in protesting the pipeline, sparking public interest in the NoDAPL movement.
