How Gender Matters in the Climate Fight

Oct 22, 2021 | Shia Kapos
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When it comes to fighting climate change, it turns out gender matters.

Ahead of a major United Nations climate conference that begins later this month, a new study by The Women’s Forum found that women are doing more than men to tackle the issue in their own lives. In the G20 countries, including the United States, women more often than men have changed their behavior to decrease their carbon emissions by recycling, buying local, and reducing water and meat consumption.

While the study noted that men still hold the top climate jobs in several European countries, at least in the United States, more and more women are taking leading roles on climate policy.

What’s behind the gender difference? Rhiana Gunn-Wright, climate policy director at the Roosevelt Institute, said that because women often manage households and are more likely to work on the front lines in the medical and caretaking industries, they tend to see the climate issue more holistically. They might be more likely to think more about the impacts on children and health, for instance.