GENDER EQUALITY: A CORNERSTONE FOR A GREEN ECONOMY

The paper positions gender equality as a cornerstone of the green economy, asserting that without it, sustainable development and poverty eradication cannot be achieved. It defines a green economy as one that is low carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive, and argues that existing gender disparities in economic, political, legal, and environmental spheres must be addressed to prevent the 'brown economy's' inequalities from persisting. The author proposes gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment as key strategies to ensure women are active agents of change rather than marginalized victims. However, the paper warns that without gender-responsive policies and budgeting, the transition to green jobs—estimated at 15–60 million globally—may fail to benefit women, particularly in developing countries where they are often trapped in informal, low-wage agricultural work.

• Gender equality is presented as a prerequisite for both inter-generational and intra-generational equity, and is essential for the desired outcomes of a green economy, which is defined as being "low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive."
• Women and girls are disproportionately affected by negative environmental changes and climate change due to existing inequalities in power relations and resource access. In developing countries, this manifests as a heavier domestic burden for women and girls as resources like water and firewood dwindle, which can lead to girls dropping out of school.
• The transition to a green economy is expected to create between 15 and 60 million green jobs globally across sectors including energy, construction, agriculture, and transport. However, there is a significant risk that women will be under-represented in these roles due to historical marginalization in sectors like energy and construction and a lack of adequate training.
• In the agricultural sector of developing countries, women are often over-represented in informal, low-wage work with limited bargaining power and low education levels, which may hinder their ability to benefit from the transition to a green sustainable sector.
• The author identifies gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment as the two primary strategies for advancing equality. Gender mainstreaming requires integrating gender perspectives into all policy design and implementation to avoid "gender-blind" policies, while women's empowerment focuses on increasing women's agency and ability to make strategic life choices.
• Progress toward gender equality is stalled by poor enforcement of existing frameworks, a lack of gender-responsive budgeting, and a deficiency in sex-disaggregated data, which prevents the development of evidence-based policies.

APA

BABUGURA, A. (2017). GENDER EQUALITY: A CORNERSTONE FOR A GREEN ECONOMY. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Occasional-Paper-269.pdf

Chicago

BABUGURA, AGNES. GENDER EQUALITY: A CORNERSTONE FOR A GREEN ECONOMY. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2017. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Occasional-Paper-269.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=BABUGURA |first1=AGNES |title=GENDER EQUALITY: A CORNERSTONE FOR A GREEN ECONOMY |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=August 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Occasional-Paper-269.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{babugura2017gender, author = {BABUGURA, AGNES}, title = {{GENDER EQUALITY: A CORNERSTONE FOR A GREEN ECONOMY}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Occasional-Paper-269.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }