Gender and the Green Economy

Abstract

The Green Economy is supposed to be sustainable but is it? Being sustainable would entail being equitable. Feminist scholarship shows that the mainstream economy is thoroughly organized by gender, is inequitable, and facilitated by the marginalization of reproductive labor or care work. Ecofeminist theory broadens feminist analysis by situating human social relations in the broader context of our relationship with the environment. In this dissertation I begin from the standpoint of women to explore the degree to which gender inequality is organizing the green economy in the U.S. I argue that a key mechanism reproducing gender inequality is the privileging of green jobs in industries dominated by men and the marginalization and devaluation of environmental care work. I do this by analyzing the organization of the green labor market in the US and through observing the organization and implementation of a program to foster green economic development in an urban area in the Midwest. Understanding the gendered nature of the green economy is important for advancing knowledge about gender segregation and integration of labor markets, gender equality in employment, and gendered opportunities in growing green sector of the economy. This research contributes to scholarship on gender and work, the green economy, ecofeminism, and care work.