Addressing gender inequality is often not considered in plans for decarbonising the economy. Green New Deal plans that do not address gendered inequalities in unpaid work risk resulting in women shouldering not only the most acute impacts of environmental crisis but also the main burden of the measures to address it. At the same time, most women’s organisations in the UK do not prioritise tackling climate change. In large part this is because there is limited engagement between the environmental, women’s, social and racial justice sectors in the UK and this impacts the solutions and policies that are prioritised.
What will the project try to achieve?
There is an urgent need to develop and build support for a Feminist Green New Deal that will ensure gender equality is at the heart of strategies to tackle climate change and ensure that climate change is recognised as a priority by the UK women’s movement. The project will firstly ensure that the voices of women, people of colour and other groups are heard during environmental debates. Secondly, influence policy discussions among think tanks, politicians and national women’s and environmental organisations. Thirdly, it will build relationships between actors in the women’s and environmental sectors so that women’s organisations are able to engage with action to tackle climate change, and environmental organisations are simultaneously able to take a gendered approach to their work.
Who might be interested in this project?
Organisations, networks and individuals working on the environment, gender and broader equalities and social justice