Gender Equality: Equals Lower CO2 Emissions?
Women do things differently than men. While this may seem obvious, scientists continue to examine the phenomenon and the reasons for it. Recently, researchers concluded that women are more plugged into social media than men. And now, another study shows that women may be the key to reducing climate pollution. A recent study published in Social Science Research says that efforts to improve gender equality around the world may help curtail climate change and environmental degradation.
The reason for the correlation is unknown, but nations in which women have achieved a higher political status — measured by female representation in government and the years that women have had a right to vote — tend to emit less CO2 per capita. It appears that women make different decisions than men in regard to the planet.
Grist, in an article titled “More Power for Women Means Less Climate Pollution, Study Suggests,” compiled a few choice nuggets from the paper:
- “nations with higher proportions of women in parliament ratify a greater number of environmental treaties”
- “women in the United States demonstrate greater scienti?c knowledge of climate change”
- women“tend to perceive environmental risks as more threatening”
- women“are less optimistic about the potential to solve problems by relying solely on technical ?xes”
- women“are more active in environmental reform projects”
- “although they are not as active as men in mainstream environmental organizations, women are estimated to make up 60% to 80% of grassroots environmental organization membership”
- “women often cite their roles as caregivers as the primary reason they are active in grassroots environmental movements”
Women have held the traditional role as caregivers, so some people argue that more women in power would result in fewer wars or, at least, less partisan bickering. Perhaps this study fuels that argument, begging the question: What would be different if women held more seats in government?
