Women in Environmental Decision Making: Case Studies in Ecuador, Liberia, and the Philippines
Publisher: International Union for Conservation of Nature's Global Gender Office, Conservation International
Author(s): Melissa Luna, Lorena Aguilar, Molly Gilligan, Cate Owren, María Prebble, and Kame Westerman
Date: 2015
Topics: Gender, Governance, Livelihoods
Countries: Ecuador, Liberia, Philippines
Encouraging women’s fair and equitable direct access to, benefits from, and governance of natural resources, is a globally agreed priority and the subject of many national and international mandates. Not only does women’s equitable participation and representation empower women and uphold commitments to gender equality and women empowerment, but it makes for better development and sustainability outcomes. Moreover, family and community livelihood is positively affected when women have their own resources and hold decisionmaking authority regarding those resources.
In 2014, Conservation International (CI), an early supporter and contributor to the 2013 pilot Environment and Gender Index (EGI), collaborated with IUCN’s Global Gender Office (GGO) to produce case studies about the state of women in environmental decision making in three countries: Ecuador; Liberia; and the Philippines. The case studies examined: 1) how each country ranks on various gender equality indices, including the EGI; 2) how well women are represented in international delegations; and 3) how many top positions women hold in environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) and environmental government ministries. The case studies are to serve as a tool for expanding and deepening EGI data and analysis.