Sustainability: A Woman's Role

Rio+20 left behind in its trail a myriad of companies, industries, governments and politicians grappling for new concepts and solutions; ways to basically revamp and redirect initiatives and policies to suit the new agenda. Sustainable Development- to put it concisely, the phrase of the century. 

Another issue brought up in the light of Rio+20, however, is the interesting question: amidst the mad rush to fit environmental concerns into the intricate, profit driven structures of our businesses, what is a woman's role in all this? Alas, the idea of sustainable development and gender equity has come into play. 

Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, speaks at a press conference on “The Future Women Want”, at the Rio+20 UN Conference. 

I came across a few articles which piqued my interest greatly, mostly because it is an issue often neglected, overlooked and sometimes even belittled. Helen Clark (head of the United Nations Development Program) spoke in the wake of the Rio Summit, emphatically stating that the greatest investment to be made in sustainable development is women. Which means that in the midst of restructuring, launching new initiatives and so on, let us not forget as well the importance of women's political participation, developing economic opportunities for women, their education and health services. Helen is definitely not alone in her sentiments. The UN Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang spoke at a recent women and sustainable development conference hosted by All-China Women’s Federation in Beijing in November, stating “I have said it before – and I say it again today – that in many ways, sustainability is about women. Society flourishes when women’s leadership, creativity, and initiative are recognized, embraced, and harnessed. In many countries, women are the champions of green economy, practicing sustainable agriculture, nurturing our natural resources, and promoting renewable energy.” Why exactly is it important to include women? It is more than just taking a blind stand for gender equality. As mentioned in stakeholder forum.org :

-Women’s indigenous knowledge of ecological linkages and ecosystem management are the main labour force for subsistence production.

-Women are more likely to be around, more stable part of the population—they are more likely to make a long term commitment and investment in their communities.

-Women have often played leadership roles or taken the lead in promoting an environmental ethic re-cycling, local level activities.

-There’s been a rapid growth of women’s NGOs working at local, national and international level.

This, in fact is not new. The Rio Development, the Millennium Development Goals (specifically, MDG 3 which speaks about how women's equality is critical as well to achieving sustainable development) and the Beijing Platform (read about it here) all recognise the fundamental truth- that is, environmental issues are women's issues. Melanie Verveer, the Ambassador-at-large for Global's Women's Issues, made a speech at the Heinrich Boll Foundation Event on January the 19th. She mentioned the vital roles that women have played in sustainable development, emphasizing yet again their role- not as victims, but as linchpins of the 21st century directive. 

Here, i re-iterate some of those roles:

1. Agriculture sector and food security

2.Untapped potential for increasing energy access

3.Consumer Spending Potential

And ultimately, what we can do to progress from a hypothetical platform of words to action and achievement:

1. Continue to elevate women’s leadership and participation in key policy bodies

2. Mainstream these issues at the policy level

3. Invest in girls’ and women’s educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), including in the environmental sciences

4. Build new and innovative programs and partnerships designed to take the kinds of concrete actions necessary to effectuate change

It is important that we recognize that we have a part to play in the environment- including the especially the mining industry. But here's an interesting point to note and ponder: what can we do to empower those who can help the most? 

Click here to watch a short UN clip on women and sustainable development.