Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 56

No.

94/95 - Fall 2014/WInter 2015

WOMEN AND WORK IN A WARMING WORLD (W4)


Opportunities
and Constraints
for Women in
the Renewable
Energy Sector
in India
BIPASHA BARUAH

Gender Justice
and Climate
Justice
PATRICIA E. PERKINS

Gender and
Government
Actions on
Climate Change
and Work
The US Example
MARJORIE GRIFFIN
COHEN

Report from the


2014 Tar Sands
Healing Walk
JENNIFER MILLS

Climate Change
Adaptation
Among Chepang
Women
JYOTI ACHARYA

CND $13.99

DOUBLE ISSUE
For information about Editorial Guidelines, Calls for Submissions and
more visit the “Write for WEI Mag” section of our website:
www.weimagazine.com.
Editorial Team: Marjorie Griffin Cohen,
Jessica Knowler, Patricia E. Perkins, To make a donation, please make it out to WEI Magazine, Faculty of
Skyler Warren Environmental Studies, York University, HNES Building Room 234,
Graduate Student Assistants: Manorika Ranasinghe, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada.
Samantha Stiavnicky

Poetry Editor: Sonja Greckol

Arts Editor: Elliot Spears Women & Environments International Magazine: ON THE COVER
ISSN 1499-1993, publishes 2 double issues annually.
Design: Dinah Greenberg, NOMAD Design It was founded as Women & Environments in 1976.
From Fall 1997 to Summer 2001 it published under
Logo: Elizabeth Forrest the title WE International. Women & Environments
International Magazine is a member of Best of the
Cover Art: Helma Sawatzky Alternative Press and is indexed in Alternative
Press Index, Canadian Periodical Index, Social
Contributors: Jyoti Acharya, Kiran Acharya,
Sciences Index and Women’s Studies Abstracts.
Agencia de Noticias, Bipasha Baruah, Lou Black,
Bridget Burns, Anastasia Candre Yamacuri, The information and views set out in this publication
Christine Charette, Linda Clarke, Oswaldo Deleón are those of the author(s) and contributors to WEI
Kantule “Achu”, Rhonda Douglas, Marjorie Griffin Magazine and do not necessarily reflect the views
Cohen, Janna Klostermann, Jessica Knowler, of WEI Magazine, its Editorial Board or the Editorial
Brenda Leifso, Marilyn Lerch, Allan Lissner, Team. WEI Magazine and its Editorial Board accept
Joan McFarland, Emily McGiffin, Jennifer Mills, no responsibility for the intellectual integrity of the
Reggie Modlich, Simon Milne, Oxfam, Melanie content in this publication. Neither WEI Magazine
Patrick, Patricia E. Perkins, Helma Sawatzky, nor any person acting on WEI Magazine’s behalf may
Dhavat Singh, Elliot Spears, Steven Tufts, Sybila be held responsible for the use which may be made
Valdivieso, Christine Wall, Skyler Warren, Women of the information contained in this publication.
and Gender Constituency.
Women & Environments International Magazine
Editorial Board: Patricia E. Perkins, Dayna Scott, occasionally shares the subscriber database with Artist: Helma Sawatzky
Olga Speranskaya, Sybila Valdivieso. like-minded organizations. If you prefer that your Title: Detail of Data Transfers: Olympia (2009)
name not be on shared lists, please send notification
Editor in Chief: Sybila Valdivieso The Data Transfers project emerged from an
to weimag@yorku.ca
effort to clean up the millions of megabytes of
Managing Editor: Sharmila Shewprasad
Address all correspondence: digital image data currently clogging the arteries
Academic Liaison: Dayna Scott Women & Environments International Magazine of my computer hard drive space. As I sorted
Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University through the thousands of digital photographs
Fundraising Director: Olga Speranskaya HNES Building, Room 234, I took over the past few years, I encountered
4700 Keele Street, many images that made me think of others that
Accountants: June Gao, Cindy Lo Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3 Canada preceded them. I realized that my experience
Telephone: 416-736-2100 x 21055 of the ‘here and now’ and my idea of what makes
Legal Advisor: Alexandra Karacsony Facsimile: 416-736-5679 a good picture is mediated by and infused with
e-mail: weimag@yorku.ca the memory or afterimage of other images —
Online Editor: Maju Tavera
website: www.weimagazine.com images from movies, paintings, mass media
Mission Statement: sources etc. I thought that it could be interesting
Canadian Publication Mailing Agreement to intentionally merge the image data of the
Women & Environments International is a unique
#40009460 ‘real’ and the ‘imaginary’ in a process of digital
magazine, which examines women’s multiple
PAP Registration #09211 bricolage. The resulting ‘data transfers’ blur
relations to their environments — natural, built and
Printed on recycled and acid free paper the boundaries between the histories and
social — from feminist and anti-racist perspectives.
It has provided a forum for academic research and practices of analogue photography and painting
theory, professional practice and community into a realm where the pixel levels the playing
field for all kinds of image data, representations
experience since 1976. It is published by a volunteer THANK YOU of the ‘real’ or the ‘imaginary,’ of ‘high art’ and
editorial board and contributes to feminist social
change. The magazine is associated with the Faculty Women & Environments International Magazine, ‘low art’ — Data Transfers also explore the
of Environmental Studies at York University and its Editorial Board and Editorial Team for this level of threshold between representation and
has been previously associated with the Women publication acknowledge the institutional notions of digital pollution and image erosion.
and Gender Studies Institute at the University of support of the Faculty of Environmental Studies Merging trace elements from famous paintings
Toronto. at York University and the invaluable support of featuring female nudes — Henri Rousseau’s
its volunteers without whom this publication The Dream or Édouard Manet’s Olympia — with
Subscriptions: INDIVIDUALS — Canada: One Year would not be possible. my own images of compost and waste materials
Subscription Period $28.00 CAD; USA: One Year also address the conflicted conceptions of the
Subscription Period $33.00 CAD; Outside North female body as nature, fertility, sexuality. Data
America: One Year Subscription Period $40.00 CAD. transfers also play with how a mere trace of a
INSTITUTIONS AND BUSINESSES: Canada: One familiar or iconic image is all that is required
Year Subscription Period $38.00 CAD; USA: One for the mind’s eye to fill in the gaps.
Year Subscription Period $48.00 CAD; Outside Notice of Correction
North America: One Year Subscription Period The poem titled “The Drum Is Yours” by Marilyn Contact Information:
$58.00 CAD. Lerch was first published by WEI Magazine in www.helmasawatzky.com
vol. 92-93 but the last line of the poem was left helma@helmasawatzky.com
out in error. WEI Magazine apologizes to the
poet and with her consent republishes the
poem in its entirety in this issue, vol. 94-95.
Contents Women & Environments International Magazine No.94/95

WE Speak WE Poetry
4 Editorial: Women and Work in a Warming World (W4) 6 Milking
Marjorie Griffin Cohen and Patricia E. Perkins Pump in the Yard
Emily McGiffin
Features 16 Explanation for termination of employment (cont’d)*
Janna Klostermann
7 Opportunities and Constraints for Women in the
Renewable Energy Sector in India 21 Sin sabor ni aroma, da vida
Bipasha Baruah Without taste or scent, gives life
Anastasia Candre Yamacuri
11 Gender in Government Actions on Climate 33 S.O.S. Mother Earth Ship
Change and Work Christine Charette
The US Example
34 The Drum Is Yours
Marjorie Griffin Cohen
Marilyn Lerch
17 Gender Justice and Climate Justice
Building women’s economic and political agency In Print
in times of climate change
Patricia E. Perkins 46 Making Peace with the Earth
By Vandana Shiva
Review by Skyler M. Warren and Jessica L. Knowler
WE Research
48 Indigenous Message on Water, Anthology
22 Are There Jobs for Women in Green Job Creation?
Edited by Juan Guillermo Sanchez Martinez and
Joan McFarland
Felipe Quetzalcoatl Quintanilla
26 Women and Low Energy Construction in Europe Review by Patricia E. Perkins
A New Opportunity?
Linda Clarke and Christine Wall In Film
28 Climate Change Adaptation Among Chepang 49 Climate Change is here and now
Women 5 Videos show how it affects women
The Light Hidden in the Dark Review by Reggie Modlich
Jyoti Acharya
In The News
In the Field
50 Women at COP 20 Blast Failure for Real Action
35 Reclaiming the World’s Waste in Lima
Waste Pickers Organizing for Inclusion Bridget Burns
Rhonda Douglas and Brenda Leifso
52 COP20 Closing Statement
38 ‘What women need’ to green BC’s healthcare work Bridget Burns
Lou Black

41 Greening, Green-Washing, and Union Activism WE Resources


in Hospitality
53 Recent Significant Resources on Gender
Steven Tufts and Simon Milne
and Climate Change
44 Report from the 2014 Tar Sands Healing Walk Jessica L. Knowler and Skyler M. Warren
Jennifer Mills
WE Speak
EDITORIAL: (W4)
Women and Work in a Warming World
The inspiration for this issue of Women and Environments organizations like UNIFEM is pointed and stresses that gender
International came from an international conference on work issues should not be marginalized in the discussion of how to pur-
and climate change. This was held in Toronto in December sue a sustainable economy. In fact, this is a refrain that is heard
2013 by the research group Work in a Warming World, under repeatedly in climate change circles.
the direction of Professor Carla Lipsig-Mummé. The papers in The discussion of gender and climate change in developed
the conference’s sessions dealing with women’s work were the nations is less related to the general structure of sustainable
basis for most of the articles in this issue. development than it is in developing countries. In North America,
The problems of climate change are enormous and the researchers so far have focused most heavily on the distinction
under-performance of governments in dealing with them is a between male and female responses to climate change policy ini-
chronic problem. But increasingly the questions of how work tiatives. Interestingly, this research shows that women tend to
can change, both to better meet people’s needs and to begin to have both greater knowledge about and concern for climate
mitigate the worse impacts of
climate degradation, are hav-
ing some effect on public pol-
icy discussions.
The feminist literature on
climate change and gender
considerations in policy initia-
tives is surprisingly extensive.
Almost every international
feminist policy journal and
institution talks about the need
for including women’s work in
an understanding of ways to
construct effective programs to
reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. Not surprisingly, the
bulk of this literature is con-
centrated on gender and cli-
mate change in developing
nations. This is because the
impact of climate change so
directly affects the work that
women do in providing food,
working in forests and fish-
eries, and living on marginal BANGKOK THAILAND – NOVEMBER 13: Scenes from Bangkok during its worst flooding in decades is a major disaster
land. Also clearly recognized is on November 13, 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand.
climate change’s influence on
exacerbating long-standing economic development and distribu- change than do men, and women are more likely to engage in
tion problems. As a result of the close proximity of women’s lives pro-environmental behaviours than are men. Unfortunately, in
to the consequences of climate change, feminist groups argue that discussions of work and climate change, men’s work dominates,
gendered distinctions are integral to the whole concept of devel- while women’s work, at best, is treated as an afterthought that
opment policy and climate justice. They point out that a gendered can somehow be slotted into programs designed with males in
analysis of climate change public policy can deal with a wide mind as several authors in this issue show in detail.
range of issues, including how to reduce further contributions to Altogether, climate change and issues related to labour in
climate change, policies associated with solutions and adaptation developed countries tend to be relegated to programs to pro-
to climate change, and how poverty can be alleviated and devel- mote ‘green jobs,’ but even this is mostly tokenism, when it
opment can be achieved in sustainable ways. The argument of exists at all (see Joan McFarland’s article in this issue). When

4 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


climate and labour-related policies are developed, as during the
Great Recession of 2008-9, some countries do initiate programs Putting This Issue Together
that would train for green jobs by attempts at ‘greening’ the
Marjorie Griffin Cohen is a professor of Political Science and Gender,
most dirty industries, or those that have the highest GHG emis- Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University. She is an active
sions. These are industries in the energy, manufacturing, and feminist who has written extensively in the areas of political economy
building sectors where males dominate the labour force. This and public policy with special emphasis on issues concerning, the
Canadian economy, women, labour, electricity deregulation, energy and
means that whenever women are considered, it is usually in the environment, and international trade agreements. Her most recent
relation to how they can crash the gender barriers in the skilled books are Public Policy for Women and Remapping Gender in the New
trades (see the article by Linda Clarke and Christine Wall). As Global Order. Professor Cohen was a director of NewGrade Energy (Sask)
and has served on several boards and commissions in British Columbia
articles in this issue show, the programs to do this are usually an including the B.C. Industrial Inquiry Commission on the Fisheries; Board
afterthought to the focus on male training and employment, and of Directors of B.C. Hydro; Board of Directors of B.C. Power Exchange.
are usually ‘pilot’ programs that are one-off in design and do She was also instrumental in establishing the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives in B.C., was its first Chair, and is on its Board of Directors.
not lead to wider participation for females (see the article by She served for many years on the executive board of the National Action
Marjorie Griffin Cohen). Even in the Global South, green pro- Committee on the Status of Women. She currently is involved in two
jects that include women’s work and climate change are at a research projects related to global warming and gender
fairly elementary stage (see Bipasha Baruah’s article). Jessica Knowler is a Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies student at
The positive side is that increasingly there are attempts to see Simon Fraser University. Her research interests include issues of social
much of the work that has typically been done by women, par- justice in the labor market, climate justice, feminist theory and feminist
methodology in research praxis.
ticularly through care-giving and in the services sectors, as being
inherently ‘green’ and the sort of economic activities that should
PHOTOGRAPH: WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/GALLERY-618157P1.HTML?CR=00&PL=EDIT-00">TOPTEN22PHOTO</A>

Patricia E. (Ellie) Perkins is a Professor in the Faculty of Environmental


be promoted. Women dominate in the services sector of the econ- Studies, York University, where she teaches and advises students in the
areas of ecological economics, community economic development, and
omy, which altogether is responsible for relatively low GHG critical interdisciplinary research design. Her research focuses on feminist
emissions, and in many cases reduces energy and materials ecological economics, climate justice, and participatory community- and
throughout the economy. Waste-pickers in developing nations, watershed-based environmental education for political engagement. She
has directed several research projects related to gender, participatory
for example, prevent much more environmentally damaging pri- water governance, and climate change with partners in Brazil, South
mary production (see the article by Rhonda Douglas and Brenda Africa, Mozambique, and Kenya.
Leifso), and thus they are doing a ´green´ job. But even in service
Skyler Warren is currently enrolled in the Master of Public Service
sectors in developed nations, such as in health care and the hos- program at the University of Waterloo. Her research interests center upon
pitality industries, adverse environmental practices persist and the deconstruction of issue framing and the application of a political
further ‘greening’ of these sectors is possible (see the articles by sociology approach to policy analysis and methodology.
Lou Black and by Steven Tufts and Simon Milne).
Even more important would be enlarging the concept of a
‘green economy’ to shift its nature from one concentrating on
the proliferation of many unnecessary consumer goods to one
that actually meets people’s real needs more simply. Meeting
needs is a common theme in feminist writing by focusing on
how communities together can either mitigate climate change’s
damaging effects, cope with the stress change brings, or initiate Do you want to educate the world on a specific
work to prevent further damage (see Jyoti Acharya’s and Patricia issue related to women and their environments?
E. Perkins’s articles).
Be part of the team of dedicated women volun-
The message of this issue on Women and Work in a Warming
teering for WEI Mag.
World is that it is crucial that governments and policy makers
(and even environmentalists) broaden the view of what would Check us out at
constitute a ‘green economy’ to include a greater emphasis on
care work and the services sectors. This would shift the typical www.weimagazine.com
policy focus from an emphasis on cleaning up dirty industries
(which of course needs to be done), to including and promoting
Phone: 416-736-2100 x21055
a more rational society designed to meet people’s fundamental E-mail: weimag@yorku.ca
needs: physical, political and social well-being. If a ‘green
economy’ meant not just cleaner energy and transportation, but
structural sustainability, women’s work would be clearly situat-
ed as central in bringing about this transition.

Marjorie Griffin Cohen and Patricia E. Perkins, W4 Guest Editors

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 5


By Emily McGiffin

Milking
It is early evening, it is already dark,
when someone comes to the gate

with the blue rope, the halter. Together


they cross the yard to the barn.

There is the grain. There, the glow


of a bare bulb falling through the half-door

on the scaled, blown snow.


There is the frosty stantion’s clank.

A shoulder against her rumen.


A forehead, cheek. That snuffling
Pump in the Yard
breath clouding the dim air,
warm hands underneath, tugging,
The girls from up the hill have finished
then the hollow, tinny jet
of milk on metal and she shifts laundering in basins at the tap in our yard,
last in the neighbourhood to give water.
her weight, the calf kicking.
She glances behind Their cooking fires smudge the noon air.
The rain we’ve waited weeks for arrives
at the stooped back, the knees briefly this afternoon, washing the sweat
gripping the cold pail. This one

is sad again. She is sorry. from the broad black backs of the carabaos
She has given what she can. who swish their tails in delight. I’ve had
plenty of ideas about things—about water,

about hard work. Men hurry out to break


the stubbled fields, heaving ploughs
behind their animals, ankle deep in muck.

I watch them out the kitchen window, filling


my kettle at the sink, turning on the gas.

Emily McGiffin is a PhD student in


York University’s Faculty of
Environmental Studies. These
poems are from her second poetry
collection, Subduction Zone
(Pedlar Press, 2014).

6 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


Features
Opportunities and Constraints for
Women in the Renewable Energy
Sector in India
By Bipasha Baruah

C
oncerns about climate change and ledge on sustainable energy. The Self- program of grid extension and strengthen-
fossil fuel insecurity have convinced Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) ing to achieve 100 percent household elec-
many countries to transition to low- is a trade union founded in the city of trification by 2015. Despite such progress,
carbon energy supplies derived from Ahmedabad in 1972 to organize low- there continues to be a strong need for
renewables such as solar, bioenergy and income women for better working condi- access to decentralized on-and-off grid
wind. Since producing and distributing tions and social security provisions. The energy technologies such as wind, solar
renewables is more labor-intensive than initiatives analyzed in this study are (1) and micro hydro-power. Many rural and
producing and distributing fossil fuels, this TERI’s Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL) urban households continue to supplement
shift is addressing energy poverty in program, which introduced solar lighting their energy needs from other sources such
remote or underserved communities and in 640 rural communities across India and as kerosene, firewood, animal dung and
creating new employment opportunities. (2) SEWA’s Hariyali Green Energy pro- agricultural residue because they either do
Applying a gender lens to the enthusiasm ject, which distributes energy-efficient not have reliable access to electricity, or
for renewables, however, reveals a major stoves and solar lanterns to its members in cannot afford the cost. Grid electrification
problem since women are underrepresent- various urban and rural locations in India. does not always ensure equitable access for
ed globally in employment in the green women and men. The grid in many rural
energy sector. In the absence of appropri- Women’s access to renewable communities often extends to spaces such
ately targeted training, education, appren- energy technologies as courtyards of households and agricultur-
ticeships, employment placement, financial More than 90 percent of rural areas in al areas that are typically occupied by men.
tools and supportive social policies, transi- India are electrified and the Government of Since rural women in India typically spend
tioning to renewables may exacerbate India has recently embarked upon a major more time in their homes, they may not
existing gender inequities and hinder benefit equitably from grid extension.
human development goals. This article The LaBL and Hariyali projects have
identifies some opportunities and con- enabled a significant number of poor rural
straints low-income women in India face in and urban households to become users of
accessing technologies and employment in renewable energy technologies. Although
the renewable energy sector. I have com- there are economic, social, health and envi-
plemented statistical data on access to ronmental benefits of using solar lanterns
renewable energy technologies and and improved cookstoves, there are also
Solar entrepreneurs in
employment in the clean energy sector rural India. persistent obstacles to the widespread diffu-
with ethnographic data collected through sion of such technologies into poor house-
interviews and focus groups to understand holds in India. The high price of the tech-
the complexity of the issues involved. nologies and the lack of adequate and
I collaborated with two organizations appropriate financing is the biggest impedi-
PHOTOGRAPHS: BIPASHA BARUAH

to conduct this research. The Energy and ment for their dissemination. The cost of
Resources Institute (TERI) is India’s lead- outright purchase of the technologies is
ing think-tank on sustainable energy. Its often prohibitive. SEWA’s microcredit
mandate includes advocating for univer- repayment scheme is designed to be acces-
sal energy access, promoting renewables sible for low-income customers but may still
and energy-efficient technologies, influ- be unaffordable for many households.
encing policy and disseminating know- Through its Corporate Social Responsibility

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 7


(CSR) partnerships, TERI is able to access ally stop using improved cookstoves and which requires corporations to spend at least
private sector funding to ensure that a poten- revert to their traditional stoves. Even mid- 2 percent of their net profit on CSR activi-
tial entrepreneur does not need to assume dle-class families in India had cooked on ties, could enable wider dissemination of
any of the significant initial costs (of about open fires or traditional stoves until the less-profitable clean energy technologies but
USD 3,250) of setting up a solar charging large-scale state-controlled introduction of it could also just end up promoting technolo-
station of 50 solar lanterns. This fee-for-ser- liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders in gies that are already popular and profitable.
vice daily rental model used by LaBL to dis- the 1960s and 1970s. Large numbers of More than 500 million people in India
seminate solar lanterns is very affordable for middle-class people initially expressed hes- live on less than USD 2 per day and the
most households but has its own limitations itation about using LPG because they, too, economies of scale that can be generated
since renting households will over time preferred the taste of food cooked in tradi- from catering to the “bottom of the pyra-
probably become interested in purchasing tional stoves. Most were convinced to com- mid” are not lost on private sector organi-
the lanterns instead of continuing to rent promise their taste preferences only when zations and social enterprises. However, in
them. Although the rental model can, at least government subsidies and easy availability the interest of maximizing short-term prof-
while the technology gains popularity, work made LPG significantly cheaper than other its and building a competitive advantage
for solar lanterns, it has been known not to fuel sources. Since renewable energy tech- with other commercial players in the ener-
work well with solar cookers and improved nologies entered the Indian market several gy sector, they will continue to pursue the
cookstoves. Rural communities in India decades later and within a more neoliberal “low hanging fruit” first. This will ensure
tend to be organized very rigidly along caste economic climate, it has not and probably that solar lighting will enjoy far higher
and religious lines. Social norms of pollu- will not, benefit from the strong state inter- levels of investment than cooking tech-
tion and purity for food preparation make it vention that made LPG the norm for cook- nologies. The allocation of resources for
difficult to offer cookstoves for rent, or even ing in middle-class homes in India. technology development should ideally be
free of charge on a trial basis.
Solar lanterns have gained popularity in However, because the end-user of a cookstove is usually
low-income households in India at a much a poor woman, with limited purchasing power and low
faster rate than improved cookstoves. There
are a number of reasons for this. Since social status, the family’s lighting needs and the greater
kerosene and other fuel for lighting is so economic power of men within the household tend
expensive, the men in the households, who to be prioritized.
are more often responsible for making pur-
chasing decisions, may more easily appre- Men typically make major purchasing determined by the greatest benefit for the
ciate the economic benefits to the family of decisions in Indian families. This intra- common good. My findings indicate that
acquiring solar lanterns. They are far less household gendered power hierarchy this can only be achieved through strong
likely to appreciate the benefits of purchas- ensures that poor households will purchase public-sector intervention. If we wait for
ing an improved cookstove, especially since solar lanterns much earlier than cook- the bulk of green investment to come from
they are usually not responsible for cooking stoves. The commercial sector tends to the private sector, as the global architects
or for gathering firewood. The perception take its cues from this hierarchy and this is of the green economy, including the
that the traditional three-stone stove (a tra- at least partially why investment in ener- United Nations Environmental Program,
ditional cooking arrangement requiring gy-efficient cooking technologies remains recommend we do, the technologies that
only three stones of the same height that a drop in the bucket compared to invest- can make the biggest differences in the
can hold a pot over a fire) is “free” whereas ment in solar lighting. In India alone, 1.5 lives of poor people in general and women
the improved cookstove has to be pur- million people die every year from inhal- in particular may not be prioritized urgent-
chased or financed — at what for many ing polluted indoor air, and more than 60 ly enough for development and dissemina-
families is a large chunk of their monthly percent of those who die are women and tion. There is a clear need for governments
income — is the most widely reported bar- children. Energy-efficient cookstoves can to, at the very least, put incentives and
rier for its adoption. The health benefits and create much bigger improvements in subsidy structures in place that direct pri-
improvements to living conditions from health and living conditions for poor vate investment to areas that would other-
eliminating smoke within the household are households than solar lanterns can. wise not be prioritized.
not sufficiently motivating for households However, because the end-user of a
that accept such hardships as inevitable. cookstove is usually a poor woman, with Women’s employment in renewables
Cooking with firewood provides food limited purchasing power and low social sta- The two projects included in this
with a smoky flavor that energy-efficient tus, the family’s lighting needs and the research have enabled poor households to
stoves and solar cookers cannot replicate. greater economic power of men within the become users of renewable energy tech-
People who are accustomed to eating food household tend to be prioritized. The nologies. They have also created opportu-
with a barbecued flavor will often eventu- Companies Bill, adopted by India in 2012, nities to earn incomes from selling, rent-

8 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


ing and repairing solar lanterns and cook- household income. The initial cost of The instrumental deployment of
stoves. SEWA Bank created specific ener- acquiring even 10 or 20 solar lanterns to women for selling and promoting
gy loans to enable its members to become sell or rent would be an impossibly high improved cookstoves does lead to a prob-
users as well as entrepreneurs of renew- burden for the poorest households. lematic tendency within the energy sector
able energy technologies. TERI’s LaBL There is growing evidence that micro- — including within the two organizations
program uses a CSR model to ensure that credit is simply not an appropriate tool to that participated in this research — to clas-
potential entrepreneurs do not have to support the development of small and sify poor households’ needs for cleaner
assume the costs or risks of setting up medium enterprises. Most poor women are cooking technologies as “women’s needs.”
charging stations. Despite such efforts, interested in renewables because of the Categorizing goods and services that
significant additional barriers remain for potential for income generation but they everyone needs to survive — water and
women from the poorest households. are also extremely averse to financial risk. sanitation are other good examples — as
Only 32 of LaBL’s approximately 640 They are much more likely to pursue “women’s needs” only serves to maintain
entrepreneurs across India were women. opportunities if they can earn incomes the sexual division of labor and to reinforce
The few women who do become entrepre- without becoming indebted. Acquiring entrenched gender inequalities. Making
neurs tend to be from better-off families. new skills — such as learning to build and normative assumptions about women’s
Although the entrepreneur does not repair renewable energy technologies — nurturing roles actively perpetuates and
have to assume the cost of setting up a may be better suited for their economic deepens gender divides through a femi-
charging station, other factors such as realities and limitations. SEWA is aware of nization of responsibilities and obligations.
poor and inadequate housing prevent the these constraints and does offer training in The energy sector must actively resist the
poorest people from becoming entrepre- these skills, frequently in collaboration rhetoric of cooking technologies as women’s
neurs. Setting up a charging station to
house 50 lanterns requires a space within When gender inequality is viewed as a structural issue,
the home of at least 200 square feet and a as it is and should be, it is difficult not to be intellectually
tin roof on which the panels are installed.
The homes of the poorest families in rural uncomfortable with the instrumental deployment of women
and urban communities have neither. in awareness generation, marketing and dissemination
Since the poorest households in both initiatives for improved cookstoves. At the same time, it is
urban and rural settings in India also often
tend to be female-headed, it is easy to important to recognize the creation of better-paid and
understand why poor women in particular less menial livelihoods for poor women.
cannot expect to become entrepreneurs.
This is not to undermine the success such with other NGOs in India. Women are also needs. They must describe and promote
programs have enjoyed in supporting earning incomes from activities such as them as general human needs. There is a
female entrepreneurs who may experience educating people about the health risks of material and an ideological basis for gender
deprivation and inequality along other smoke inhalation, creating awareness inequality and we must necessarily challenge
intersecting dimensions of gender, caste about the benefits of using renewable both to create transformative differences in
and ethnicity. However, it is worth men- energy technologies, conducting energy women’s lives.
tioning that even well-intentioned inter- audits of homes and businesses, and con- SEWA’s renewable energy projects
ventions more often than not fail to level necting potential customers of green tech- can create other new sources of revenue.
the playing field for the poorest people in nologies with financing opportunities The Hariyali cookstoves require 40 per-
general, and for women in particular. available through banks and NGOs. cent less fuel than existing stoves, reduc-
SEWA does not have the CSR partner- Because women are typically responsible ing time spent gathering wood by as much
ships that TERI does so the best that it can for cooking for their families, they do have as an hour per day per household. The
offer is microcredit to enable women to a comparative advantage in reaching out reduction in wood used for cooking will
become technology users and entrepre- to other end-users of cookstoves. When also result in consistent annual reductions
neurs. Rural households in India often have gender inequality is viewed as a structural in carbon emissions. Monetizing these
monthly incomes of less than USD 34. At issue, as it is and should be, it is difficult reductions through the sale of carbon
USD 100 the cost of outright purchase of not to be intellectually uncomfortable with credits would create additional income for
SEWA’s Hariyali package (solar lantern the instrumental deployment of women in SEWA members. The concept of carbon
and cookstove) is unaffordable for such awareness generation, marketing and dis- trading has been met with strong opposi-
households. Even with financing, such semination initiatives for improved cook- tion from critics who are concerned that
families are often unable to afford the 16 stoves. At the same time, it is important to far from reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)
monthly installments of 7 USD per month recognize the creation of better-paid and emissions, it simply advances the com-
since it comprises one-fifth of monthly less menial livelihoods for poor women. mercialization of the atmosphere and cre-

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 9


ates new sources of accumulation and These problems highlight the need for the
speculation for finance capital. These crit- state to provide adequate social security to
icisms are valid and well-justified but we protect against vagaries in the market, nat-
cannot ignore the practicality and the ural disasters, illness, maternity, old age,
moral logic of enabling a member-based job losses and other risks to people’s well-
organization of poor self-employed being. Women can gain optimal traction
women to benefit financially from their from green initiatives only if there are
efforts to reduce GHG emissions. wider socially progressive policies in place.
The number of organizations working Since women’s ability to take advan-
in the energy sector in India is still quite tage of new energy-related employment
small, given the size of the country, so options is often constrained by legal or
there is room for more innovation in this social barriers that limit their education,
sector for the creation of other opportuni- property rights, land tenure, and access to
ties for training, apprenticeship, employ- credit, it is crucial that government policies
ment and revenue generation. The creation go beyond energy sector planning to opti-
of permanent and stable sources of income mize economic opportunities for women.
may remain a challenge despite such devel-
opments. Women who have been trained to Bipasha Baruah is an Associate Professor
build, install and repair technology contin- in the Department of Women’s Studies and
ue to face the challenge of finding perma- Feminist Research at the University of
nent employment with their newly Western Ontario. She holds the Canada
acquired skills as they are often only able Research Chair in Global Women’s Issues.
to earn incomes on an intermittent basis She specializes in gender and development;
through contracts and orders placed by gender and globalization; women and work;
non-profits and government agencies. and social, political and economic inequality.

10 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


Gender in Government Actions on
Climate Change and Work
The US Example
By Marjorie Griffin Cohen

G
ender sensitive climate change pol- ernment action on climate change and the have projects aimed at employment of
icy is routinely championed in the Great Recession beginning in 2008 result- women in green jobs. Of the total expen-
international literature on labour ed in some of the money that was required diture of about $831 billion, about $27.2
and climate change, though it is rarely to stimulate the economy being directed billion was devoted to energy efficiency
practiced in a serious way in developed toward ‘green’ economic initiatives. In and renewable energy research and invest-
nations. Where gender inclusive strategies both Canada and the US this was primari- ments, and $3.95 billion towards jobs and
for climate change mitigation are incorpo- ly directed at green corporate activity, but training. Of this, a small proportion, $500
rated in labour policy, few tangible a small proportion, at least in the US, million, went to projects to prepare work-
employment results occur. Of course, focused on job-related programs for green ers for careers in renewable energy or
hope for green job creation specifically employment. The table below shows what energy efficiency-related jobs. A $100
for women is contingent on policies proportion of the rescue funding in select million fund was allocated to the Depart-
geared toward the creation of green jobs countries went toward green initiatives. ment of Labour for 25 special projects
in the first place, which have in them-
selves often proved elusive. Developed Examples of Economic Recovery Programs Funds
countries often stress gender-inclusive for Green Activities

SOURCE: TABLE CONSTRUCTED BY AUTHOR FROM ILO


policies and even “green jobs for Country Program % funds devoted
women,” yet the policies in these coun- to Greening
tries (where they exist) are predominantly
informational, only sometimes involve France Economic Revival Plan 21.2%
education and training, and rarely link US American Recovery and Investment Plan 12.0%

SKILLS FOR GREEN JOB, 2011


training to firm employment. Such pro-
grams are typically of short duration, are Canada Economic Action Plan 8.7%
modestly funded, target a very small UK Recovery Plan 6.9%
group, and are not at all integrated into a
coherent climate action framework. Australia Nation Building and Jobs Plan 9.3%
Part of the problem stems from inertia
on ‘green jobs’ altogether. Job creation of In some respects the amounts spent are (Energy Training Partnership Grants),
any kind by governments is seldom a pri- somewhat misleading. For example, in including $28 million going to communi-
ority, except when major projects to build Canada the Economic Action Plan provid- ties impacted by auto industry restructur-
infrastructure are undertaken. The prob- ed $1 billion for a Green Infrastructure ing and $5 million to fund the
lem with this is that the ‘green’ compo- Fund (and only 3/4 of that was actually ‘blue/green’ alliance whose focus was
nents of these jobs are not strong, so the spent) that operated on a cost-share basis unemployed steel workers. While the bulk
effects are rather limited. One potential with the provinces. In my province, British of the training in the 25 projects was for
exception to this was related to the mas- Columbia, this went toward building a males, through the US Department of
sive amounts of money governments used large electrical transmission line to support Labor’s Women’s Bureau (USDL-WB),
to rescue economies during the Great a new mine in a remote area. Because elec- there was a capacity for focusing some of
Recession of 2008/9. As this paper will tricity is hydro-based, this was considered the Department of Labor’s funding and
show, although unprecedented govern- a ‘green’ initiative. There was no plan for programming on women through ‘gender
ment ‘stimulus’ actions were undertaken, including women in the jobs created and mainstreaming’ and employment initiatives.
the impact on both ‘green jobs’ and the no green job training involved. Nine of the 25 projects included training
integration of women into a green work- The situation was somewhat different women for green jobs.
force were typically modest. in the US, where the American Economic This initiative, as one of the few con-
The intersection of the need for gov- Recovery and Investment Act 2009 did centrated efforts to include females in

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 11


green jobs initiatives, seemed a good pro-
ject to examine to understand what did US Department of Labour — Women’s Bureau
and could work to get women employed Green Training Projects for Women funded through
in green jobs. I accessed information the Recovery Act
about the programs in the US through Vermont Works for Women: on-the-job training program for women in the
government and project documents, both fields of green construction, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.
published and unpublished, and through
interviews with key players in five (out of Sustainable South Bronx: training program for women in the fields of green
9) individual programs and with those roofing and urban agriculture and horticulture which trained and certified
associated with skills training for women women in green roof design, installation, and maintenance; landscaping;
in government departments. The pro- hazardous waste cleanup; and related specialties.
grams examined through interviews rep- Women Going Green (Atlanta): training program to educate women on
resent the diverse types of programs the the diversity of career paths available in green industries, including
US Federal government supported. While opportunities in green entrepreneurship.
clearly the programs were intended to be
Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (DWEJ) in Detroit, Michigan,
limited in both scope and timing, the point increased the participation of, and support for, women in its existing green
of this paper is not simply to state the jobs training program through a 14 week training program in green careers.
obvious — that is, that well-funded, full-
scale programs that have strong job place- Austin Community College: ACC offered two sections of its entry-level solar
ment aspects are what is needed — but photovoltaic installer course taught by women instructors, for women.
rather to focus on what insights can be The YWCA of Greater Kansas City, Y Women CAN (Career Action Network)
gained about what worked best, what and Employ Direct developed a training program to increase women’s
need to be flagged as problems, and what knowledge of the types of green jobs available and the skills required for

SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.DOL.GOV/WB/MEDIA/GREENPROJECTS.HTM
types of programs have the potential to those jobs.
actually integrate women into areas that
Green Jobs Pipeline for Women in Colorado: Created by The Alliance for
have been traditionally male-dominated.
Sustainable Colorado. An outreach and recruitment model to increase the
This is especially important because these number of women aware of green jobs and the skills needed to prepare for
programs did tend to have as their target a green career.
groups of women who had multiple barri-
ers to labour force participation. Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles (San Francisco): Their goal
was to assist women in entering a pre-apprenticeship and environmental
Types of Programs education training program that would lead to a Green Building Certificate.
The grants to specific groups in nine Oregon Tradewomen, Inc.: recruited and trained women to earn a green
different regions of the country focused industry-recognized credential or certification, and assisted the women in
on activities related to information dis- identifying employment and apprenticeship opportunities.
semination, network mobilization, out-
“Think women in Green Jobs-Women’s Bureau Projects,” United States Department of Labour,
reach and training programs for women. adapted by author.
The list at the end of this article describes
the 9 pilot projects that became opera- Example, the “Step Up To Green Carpen- left the program, when the federal fund-
tional through the Women’s Bureau. The try” program offered through Vermont ing ran out the programs were not
funding was on average about $60,000 a Works for Women provided unemployed replaced. This was one of several pro-
year for each group, and often those or under-employed women with a six- grams provided by Vermont Works in
groups receiving the funding were expect- week training course in carpentry ‘soft conjunction with other partners, including
ed to match it. These were small-scale skills.’ These were acquired through on- businesses and other non-profits. The
projects of limited duration which primar- the-job training in green construction main problem, according to those work-
ily focused on reaching a small number of where the trainees would participate as ing with this organization, is that while
unemployed and dislocated workers and ‘job shadows’ mostly in residential con- there was a great deal of funding both
those with other barriers to employment. struction. The training program included through the state and federal governments
They also tended to be related to employ- work to acquire skills in weatherization, for weatherization training, there was not
ment in non-traditional types of employ- window and door replacement, equipment sufficient demand for workers. The pro-
ment in construction. operation, energy auditing, and installing gram was initiated at a time when house-
The actual training programs were for solar tracing systems. While 80% of the holds were experiencing job losses, so
jobs in industries where training could women who went through the program without specific incentives from the gov-
be accomplished rather quickly. So, for were placed in jobs when they initially ernment to create demand for weatheriza-

12 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


tion, there was simply no business model included incentives for solar energy, but median family income. The program
for firms to hire workers. In this program this program was eliminated just as the works very hard at placing students in
the problem was not lack of interest from women’s program was beginning. As was apprenticeship programs in both the pri-
women, but lack of jobs to go to once the noted by the program’s organizers, timing vate and public sector and the success of
training was complete. is everything, and signals to consumers are the program is clearly related to getting
The training initiatives through exist- crucial. The price of solar installations women into full apprenticeship programs.
ing educational institutions were different decreased considerably, so the utility felt But specifically targeting women and
in that they were intended to increase the subsidies were no longer necessary. integrating them into the training pro-
women’s participation in already existing But this sent a negative signal to con- grams is especially important. As the pro-
trades-related programs. The project at sumers and demand plummeted. Another gram administrators pointed out, a critical
Austin Community College (ACC) issue that is important was the distinction mass of women is absolutely crucial for
received a $60,000 grant to double female between how male and female training any program in the trades and it just does
enrolment in its training for ‘green jobs.’ was funded. Interestingly, the programs for not work if there are token women in
Males normally dominated these training males were funded through a $4.4 million them. The main problem with the ‘green
programs, with women accounting for Department of Energy grant through the jobs’ component, as was evident else-
only 10% of the participants. The main International Brotherhood of Electrical where as well, is that there was little
project for women at ACC was a solar Workers (the Blue-Green Alliance) for demand for workers in this area, so con-
program that trained people in installation solar school training and there was no cost tinuous employment for the participants
and how to price and configure a system. was unlikely.
It trained 22 people in three separate Another type of program related to the
courses that lasted six or 12 weeks. While The main problem skilled building trades focused primarily
the course was called ‘solar for women,’
men were able to join and women
with the program on outreach and recruitment. This was
the “Green Jobs Pipeline for Women in
accounted for 75% of enrollment. Most of
these were older women in their forties
was that those Colorado” that was created by the Alliance
for Sustainable Colorado. Its main goal
and fifties. About one-half of the women completing it was to increase the number of women
made it through the program and several aware of green jobs and the skills needed
sat for the national examination. struggled to find for a green career and to focus on recruit-
Overall the ACC program was consid- ment and retention of women. The
ered successful and ultimately as a result jobs. ‘pipeline’ itself was an infrastructure net-
of this overture to women there was an work that connected a wide variety of
overall increase of 2% in female partici- to the males attending the program. In organizations that could lead women into
pation in ACC’s training programs. Two contrast, the program for women funded green jobs. These included organizations
issues were cited by key people involved through the USDL required each partici- with information about job openings, edu-
in the program as accounting for the pro- pant to pay $625 for a course. cation and training, developing mentors
gram’s success. One was the need for Oregon Tradeswomen, like Vermont for women, potential employers, and
appropriate marketing to get women’s Works for Women, has a long history of career placement services. The organiza-
attention. Images, such as ‘Green Rosy’ providing programs for women’s employ- tion itself did not train women, and once
were important, but so too were ‘bling’ ment in the skilled building trades. The the funding ended, so did the program.
handouts (small bits of jewelry) on recruit- infusion of cash from the USDL-WB This group, like others, found that the
ment days. Also very significant was the from the economic recovery funding main problem was that there were few
use of female instructors in a team for the enabled them to include a green jobs com- jobs for women once they were trained for
entry-level course. The program was ponent in their pre-apprenticeship prgram. ‘green’ employment. Again, the issue of
considered so innovative that it was pro- The program ran for 7 weeks and its green how the government stimulates demand
posed as one of those focusing on women component included aspects of ‘weather- for environmental upgrades is crucial for
to be highlighted in a ‘state of the union’ ization,’ such as solar installation, caulk- employment. One person associated with
address by the President. Ultimately this ing, and window replacement. Each year this project said that if every house sold
did not happen, primarily because those there were 4 classes of 24 students in the was required to have retrofits that are up
running the program felt the honour was program, and about 75% graduated and to ‘green’ code, there would be no lack of
premature. 64% were placed in jobs after completion. available jobs.
The main problem with the program This is particularly significant when about The Sustainable South Bronx program
was that those completing it struggled to 95% of the participants could be consid- was slightly different from other pro-
find jobs. The local electrical company ered disadvantaged, in that they typically grams, in that it focused more heavily
had instituted a stimulus program that had incomes ranging from 50-80% of the on urban agriculture and horticulture,

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 13


although there was some building-related and whether they are the most appropriate enced in this sector: even with legislation
training for green roofing. The program type of work for the populations of women mandating that women be part of all feder-
had eight females participating in a that were targeted for training. al government building initiatives, institut-
twelve-week program, a pilot program The target population was women, but ed during Jimmy Carter’s presidency,
that was not repeated. The participants in most projects there were also attempts to women still are less than 6% of the skilled
were recruited through another program reach and/or train women who had multi- trades workforce. Programs to get women
this group had undertaken (Best-Eco pro- ple barriers to labour force participation with multiple barriers to any type of
gram) that gave training for gardening on and in some it was the entire training employment into a sector that exhibits a
roofs, river restoration, and culling inva- group. These were women who exhibited high degree of discrimination based on
sive species. About 80% of the women in one or more of the following characteris- race and gender are not likely to meet with
the program were living on welfare and tics: they were chronically unemployed, on success. The second major problem is that
were given $150 a week to participate. welfare, had dependents so needed regular for most of the programs the skills acquired
The main training was in green roof work times, were visible minorities or were fairly minimal, primarily focusing on
installation, tree care, tree identification, immigrants, had criminal records, and/or ‘weatherization.’ As one woman inter-
and community garden work. All but two viewed for this study said, “green training
of the women found work after the train- doesn’t help women get a construction
ing and a great deal of attention was paid
...there is a big job.” This certainly does not mean that dis-
to job placement. It is not clear how long
they remained employed or whether
difference between advantaged women should not be the focus
for ‘green’ jobs, or that major efforts to
employment continued after the first training for skills integrate women into construction indus-
placement, but the Sustainable South tries should not occur. But there is a big
Bronx program itself devotes considerable trades for women difference between training for skills trades
energy to job placement, with two of its for women (which absolutely must be
total staff of 10 devoted to this. When the (which absolutely done) and thinking that the minimal train-
federal funding for the women-only pro- ing for ‘green jobs’ is the route through
gram ended, the training also ended. must be done) and which this can be successful.
Related to these two major issues was
Discussion:
thinking that the the economic climate in which the limit-
Several assumptions about green jobs
seemed to guide the selection of programs
minimal training for ed training occurred. Every program that
trained for weatherization or solar instal-
for women to receive the economic recov- ‘green jobs’ is the lation jobs found the training aspects suc-
ery grants. One was that environmental cessful. Women learned what to do, but
issues would be a major driver in creating route through the major problem was the failure to find
jobs in the future, and that programs on-going employment when the training
with a focus on women could encourage which this can be was complete. Because of the recession
women’s participation in green jobs cre- and in many cases the cancellation of
ation. The areas given priority as ‘green successful. energy efficiency incentives for house-
jobs’ were primarily blue-collar jobs in holds, the supply of workers outstripped
businesses that had some focus on green were older women. This focus on disad- demand for household retrofits.
practices. The funders also wanted train- vantaged groups is fairly typical in govern- There were some consistencies in the
ing in areas that would have relatively low ment-funded job-related programs, usually experiences of the projects for women
barriers to entry, could potentially lead to because these groups are especially affect- across the country. Almost all reported
relatively well-paying work, and where ed by economic recessions and it is felt that ‘success,’ in that women were attracted to
skills could be acquired inexpensively in when public funding is available the most the project, and were eager to participate.
a fairly short period of time. Generally disadvantaged should have priority. The training seemed to be strongest when it
these requirements seemed to fit training There are multiple conclusions that can provided training for a demonstrable skill
for secondary industries of construction, be drawn from the US initiatives in inte- and when those doing the training were
manufacturing and energy production; grating women into ‘green jobs’ through either women themselves, or were specifi-
however in the nine projects associated short-term programs. Two major problems cally trained to deal with women. In some
with the WB funding, the emphasis was are evident in training women for ‘green projects the trade unions were helpful in
most decidedly on construction jobs. The jobs’ as these are currently defined, that is, helping place women in work. But gener-
major question is whether these pilot as jobs primarily in construction industries. ally the over-all likelihood of a program
projects are an approach that could or The first is related to the chronic discrimi- leading to employment was tied to the
should be reproduced on a larger scale, nation women historically have experi- equity language in the state where the train-

14 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


ing occurred and if the government itself tic type of training for women who face
Resources
was stable. Virtually all programs recog- multiple barriers to job placement.
nized the necessity of a strong buy-in by Ultimately the idea of what constitutes a Cohen, Marjorie Griffin, “Gendered
Emissions: Counting Greenhouse Gas
government and a willingness to insist on ‘green job’ needs to be expanded to
Emissions by Gender and Why it Matters,”
equity in hiring for government sponsored include the type of work that women typ- Alternate Routes Vo. 25, 2014, pp. 55-80.
construction projects. As has been noted ically do. Much of it is inherently ‘green,’
Hegewisch, Ariane, Jeff Hayes, Tonia Bui,
above, the willingness to link public poli- and requires skilled workers who could be
Anlan Zhang, Quality Employment for
cy to stimulate demand for workers who trained through government funded green Women in the Green Economy: Industry,
are being trained is especially important projects. Occupation, and State-by-State Estimates,
during an economic downturn. But in vir- Washington, D.C.: Institute of Women’s
tually all cases the programs that were Marjorie Griffin Cohen is a professor of Policy Research, 2013.
specifically designed to focus on job place- Political Science and Gender, Sexuality and Stevens, Candice (2009). Green Jobs and
ment and follow-up were more likely to Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University. Women Workers: Employment, Equity,
report good outcomes for the people who She participates in the Work in a Warming Equality, International Labour Foundation
were trained or mentored. World research group and has written in the for Sustainable Development (Sustainlabour).
http://www.sustainlabour.org/IMG/pdf/wo
Given the limitations of the programs, areas of political economy and public policy
men.en.pdf
the expectations that the training women with special emphasis on issues concerning,
were given would lead to green jobs and the Canadian economy, women, labour, Women’s Economic Security Campaign,
Creating Opportunity for Low-Income
perhaps even encourage women to partic- electricity deregulation, and energy and the
Women in the Green Economy, Report in
ipate in more ambitious apprenticeship environment. conjunction with Wider Opportunities for
programs were probably unrealistic. But, Women (Washington, D.C. 2009).
once again, the willingness of women to
try to break the barriers to entry in con-
struction-type jobs needs to be encour-
aged. But a more serious consideration is
what would be considered a more realis-

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 15


By Janna Klostermann

Explanation for termination


of employment (cont’d)*
my supervisor
stops floating,
starts treading,
fumbling in the water.
panic stricken,
She’s swimming,
climbing ashore,
standing tall, and
taking shelter.
i keep treading,
flailing in the pool.
a co-worker mentions
i’ve tackled her.
barely buoyant,
i’ve done it again,
inadvertently
bringing out the worst
in a middle manager.
to hell with Her
managerial ideals,
She’s running at me,
marking Her territory,
pissing from the
side of the pool.
i do a somersault,
pretending not to notice,
hoping to save Her
from any embarrassment.
Her tongue is out—
She’s jumping on the diving board,
waving Her arms,
panting, and
yelling for me to
get out of the pool— Janna Klostermann lives and works in Ottawa,
Her pool. Ontario. She views writing as a way of thinking.
She enjoys facilitating professional writing
making eye contact with me,
workshops, collaborating in #shutupandwrite
She realizes,
sessions, and researching the workplace
i wasn’t gunning for Her job; writing practices of contemporary workers.
i was merely Say hello on Twitter @JannaKlos
mocking the system, *An earlier version of this poem first appeared
reveling in the absurdity in Our Times: Canada’s Independent Labour
and profanity of it all. Magazine.

16 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 92/93 DECEMBER 2013


Gender Justice and Climate Justice
Building women’s economic and political agency in times
of climate change
By Patricia E. Perkins

ntroduction

I Women, who are usually unpaid or


underpaid for their work, and are more
vulnerable to climate change than men for
LEFT: A guava farm started by women near Guanabara
Bay in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil provides local food
processing and marketing employment.
BELOW: Skills training for local girls.
a well-documented range of reasons, have
special contributions to make towards cli-
mate change adaptation. This is mainly
because of gendered differences in posi-
tional knowledge of ecological and water-
related conditions. NGOs, and other civil

PHOTOGRAPHS: PATRICIA E. PERKINS


society organizations in both the Global
South and the North have important
expertise in building community resilience
to face climate change. These are fostered
through community-based education,
organizing, and alliances among different
types of groups.
This article analyzes some initiatives that women are disproportionately affected correlated with environmental and social
and models for community-based climate by global climate change as a result of priorities and even with reduced carbon
change activism, through examples in poverty, socially constructed gender emissions (Chalifour, 2014).
three different types of communities. It inequalities, gendered work and family In times of climate change, women’s
outlines the methods and results of two responsibilities, reliance on natural re- organizing has led to efforts to train
international projects — the Sister Water- sources for livelihoods as part of “women’s women for “green jobs” in many countries.
sheds project, with Brazilian partners work”, and the limited financial, social, For example, the Bangladesh microcredit
(2002-2008), and a Climate Change Adap- and institutional resources available to organization Grameen Shakti has trained
tation in Africa project with partners in women across the globe. 5,000 women as solar PV technicians as
Mozambique, Kenya and South Africa However, women are often key agents part of its project to install more than
(2010-2012) — as well as the Green Change of change. They possess invaluable local 100,000 solar home energy systems. And
Project in the Jane-Finch neighbourhood ecological, social and political knowledge in the dry northeast of Brazil, hundreds of
of northwest Toronto. The main point of that is crucial for climate change adapta- women are being trained in concrete con-
this paper is to show that these projects tion and mitigation. Also, in their roles in struction skills as part of the “one million
have demonstrated that local-level initia- the teaching, caring, health, and adminis- cisterns” program to combat drought.
tives led by civil society organizations trative professions, women’s skills are But there are strong barriers to
provide a way to address gender equity central for community-building, social women’s political and economic involve-
challenges by building women’s knowl- interdependence, and cultural change. ment: gender roles and family responsi-
edge, interest and engagement in water- Everywhere, women are usually the bilities, the unpaid work and time com-
related and climate change politics. local leaders, organizers and activists on mitment required, differential access to
water, food, and other environmental issues education (especially on technical issues)
Women and Climate Injustice (Perkins, 2013). The women’s movement and public speaking training for women,
Many organizations and authors in- has been very important in the construction to name a few. Training for both men and
cluding WEDO, the Women’s Environment of democratic governance in many coun- women in gender awareness and technical
and Develoment Organization, and tries in the Global South (for example, issues, as well as community environ-
WECAN, the Women’s Earth and Climate Brazil, South Africa, Chile), and the degree mental education, can help overcome the
Action Network International, maintain of women’s political engagement is strongly barriers to women’s participation.

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 17


Unions and civil society organizations
are calling for training, capacity-building
and mentoring for women as part of the
“green transition.” The International Labour
Organization and its SustainLabour initia-
tive advocate targeted support for women’s
training and gender mainstreaming in green
jobs development. The Congress of South
African Trade Unions, COSATU, empha-
sizes opportunities for gender equality in
new green jobs: “New environmentally-
friendly jobs provide an opportunity to
redress many of the gender imbalances in
employment and skills” (COSATU, 2011).
Unions in South Africa and Europe have
led the “One Million Climate Jobs” cam-
paigns highlighting the labour requirements
of the “just transition” to more sustainable
economies. However, there is little evi-
dence that many programs benefitting
women exist and have been successful.
International climate change adapta-
tion funding mechanisms for activities in
developing countries are slowly beginning
to include gender equity requirements,
although these have yet to become fully African project partners discussed climate change and women’s role in water governance at the project’s
operational or complete. And in any case, inception meeting in Brazil.

existing international funding mecha-


nisms are widely recognized as being partners in Brazil and another with African • In Maputo, school activities/environ-

PHOTOGRAPH: PATRICIA E. PERKINS


completely inadequate to address the scale partners, that developed methods for gen- mental education,
and breadth of climate-related needs. dered training, community-based environ- • In Nairobi, building soccer fields in
mental and climate education, and interven- slum floodplains, local political orga-
Women, Commons, and Social Change tions to increase women’s political partici- nizing, and “climate debt” activism.
A fundamental economic transition pation. The Sister Watersheds project in
towards more socially and ecologically Brazil and Canada (2002-2008) developed All of these activities tend to rely on
sustainable societies tends to improve and tested training programs and workshops and develop women’s local ecological
women’s economic position. Advancing led by local NGO partners. Workshops knowledge and leadership, since in the
commons and decentralized economic focused on water management, environ- Global South as well as the North, women
governance are two strategies that mental education, community development, are the mainstays of most environmental
improve women’s socio-economic posi- and democratic participation. The Climate and education organizations. Even the soc-
tion. For example, in Toronto, community Change and Water Governance in Africa cer field development in Nairobi empha-
and rooftop gardens, urban fruit harvest- project (2009-2012) developed methods to sized women’s participation, because the
ing and community kitchens, which build improve watershed governance for climate youth violence prevention organization
local food economies and reduce fuel use change adaptation, worked to increase required that young women be members
for food transportation, create interrelated resilience and adaptive capacity of women, of all the soccer teams involved, and the
commons of many kinds that are reliant and built activist-academic climate justice upgraded sports field created spaces for
on social interactions (rather than imper- networks in Durban, South Africa; Maputo, older women traders to assemble and sell
sonal market mechanisms) and have spin- Mozambique; and Nairobi, Kenya. snacks and drinks at the soccer games.
offs that increase community resilience. Some of the methods these projects Most of the groups who participated in
These new institutions also create many developed and used for building civil our climate justice projects are headed by
jobs for women and shift political deci- society’s and women’s effective engage- women — both academic and civil soci-
sion-making to local levels where women ment included: ety organizations. International network-
have more confidence, voice, and power. • In Durban, “learning journeys”, toxic ing creates opportunities for mentorship,
I have worked on two projects, one with tours, community mapping, films/videos, funding, student exchanges, internships,

18 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


and other career advancements for both
young and older women. TABLE 1: Women’s Capacity Building in Climate Politics
Such techniques work in the global Bottom-Up Strategies for Water Management
North, too. For example, a community
environmental education methodology EDUCATION AND TRAINING
developed in Brazil at the Ecoar Institute Green Change Agents training: Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) run
for Citizenship called the “workshop of workshops for local youth in certificate programs helping develop job-
the future” was introduced to Toronto related skills such as environmental building audits, green construction,
activists and students by Brazilian green roof landscaping, floodplain rehabilitation, green infrastructure, etc.
exchange students during the Sister Dry sanitation: Distribution and education/advocacy/promotion of urine
Watersheds project, and used very suc- diversion toilets.
cessfully with youth groups in after- Leadership training: Distribution and education/advocacy/promotion of
school programs in the low-income Jane urine diversion toilets.
and Wilson neighbourhood. The “work-
Water conflict mediation training: Special CSO-run training programs
shop of the future” involves the group’s address water conflicts (e.g. over standpipe access, fugitive emissions of
building a metaphorical “wall of tears” of pollutants, riparian rights, etc.) through skills training and information on
paper bricks labeled with all the things how to access government supports.
people don’t like about their community
Academic-activist linkage building: Students get academic credit for
(pollution, crime, racism, etc.), and then internships with local civil society organizations, and help document their
creating a “tree of dreams” with leaves work and write funding applications; professors research and disseminate
labeled all the good things the community the methods and accomplishments of community groups.
possesses (youth energy, seniors’ wisdom, Water harvesting: CSOs work with household members to develop ways
local ecological knowledge, etc.). Since of retaining rainfall from roofs and yards for home and garden use, and
trees as they grow can break down any spread related practices.
wall, the workshop helps groups realize
their community’s potential to work COMMUNITY BUILDING
together to create a better future.
Community mapping: For community awareness and engagement, residents
In the Jane/Finch neighbourhood in
collectively draw and discuss maps of important water features in the
northwest Toronto, activists are creating a neighborhood and how extreme weather affects them.
Centre for Green Change on the first floor
of a low-income social housing building, Community kitchens: CSOs or churches establish kitchen space for collective
food preservation, processing and cooking and for feeding vulnerable
to promote environmental awareness and
community members and buffering time pressures for women.
green job training. The Centre for Green
Change includes a community kitchen, Community-based water monitoring: Community groups work with
government authorities to monitor pollution, bio-status, and flooding/
workshop and computer space, and a gar-
drought in local waterways.
den outside. Its programs allow communi-
ty members to meet, share skills, learn Community gardening: CSOs locate space and train and organize community
about the environment, develop their skills members to plant gardens for collective food production.
and confidence, find jobs, and take politi-
cal action on locally-relevant environmen- POLITICAL INTERACTION
tal issues. For example, seniors who meet Collective dialogue: Local residents discuss specific water issues with
each other at the community garden may government officials, in forums facilitated by civil society organizations.
check in on each other throughout the win- Sports field and league development: CSOs and youth groups organize
ter and on hot days in summer. Parents social and recreational activities to make use of floodplains and advocate
SOURCE: PATRICIA E. PERKINS

may exchange childcare as well as fruit for their preservation as open, public space.
and vegetables from the garden. Collaborative learning: Watershed committees bring together key civil
New Brunswick climate change activist society groups from throughout the watershed (e.g. journalists, teachers,
Kim Reeder of the St-Croix Estuary artists, government officials) to discuss and develop needed action
Project has noted how community mem- programs on water-related issues.
bers check in on and support each other
during floods and extreme weather events, Watersheds and Climate Justice perspective. Entire watersheds are affect-
creating resilience in tight-knit communi- Another way to understand and foster ed by housing and infrastructure damage
ties that builds on local social, political, the changes needed for more sustainable due to extreme weather events (especially
and ecological knowledge (Reeder, 2014). socio-economies is to use a watershed flooding), but low-income people are

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 19


more severely affected. Protecting the tributaries, form a good way of under- mate change. International collaboration
whole watershed means strengthening the standing the branching social interactions can support and inspire local communities’
weakest link, since the interests of those that are increasingly essential in times of initiatives, which advance climate justice
upstream and downstream, rich and poor, climate change. by promoting gender justice.
are all interrelated. Climate adaptation and In conclusion, community actions
mitigation takes work and produces jobs; designed to strengthen women’s confi- Patricia E. (Ellie) Perkins is a Professor in
green community development allows dence, access, and ability to participate in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York
those in low-income neighbourhoods to local policy-making on climate change University. She has directed several research
train and gain experience for employment and water issues can have powerful, bene- projects related to gender, participatory water
in climate adaptation and mitigation, ficial results. Women’s situated knowledge governance, and climate change with partners
which builds resilience throughout water- and leadership are crucially important to in Brazil, South Africa, Mozambique, and Kenya.
sheds. Women’s work, jobs, and skills are help communities deal effectively with cli-
essential and can be easily recognized as
climate jobs for climate justice through a References
watershed lens. Campaign Against Climate Change: One Million Climate Jobs: www.climate-change-jobs.org
For example, in Toronto’s Christmas Chalifour, Nathalie (2014). “How a gendered understanding of climate change can help
2013 ice storm (the kind of extreme shape Canadian climate policy,” paper presented at the Society for Socialist Studies
weather event that is becoming more fre- meeting, May 27, 2014, Brock University, Ontario.
quent due to climate change), more than COSATU Policy Framework on Climate Change (2011). “Principle 8”: http://www.cosatu.
300,000 households remained without org.za/docs/policy/2011/pol1119.html
electricity for days in frigid temperatures. Perkins, Patricia E. (2013). “Environmental activism and gender”, chapter 31 in Gender
The whole city learned that downed and Economic Life, edited by Deborah Figart and Tonia Warnecke (Northampton, MA;
power lines, besides interrupting lights, Edward Elgar), pp. 504-521.
refrigeration, stoves and heat, can mean Reeder, Kim (2014). “Mobilizing local networks for climate change vulnerability assessments:
no water in apartment and condo towers lessons learned from the St-Croix Estuary Project, New Brunswick,” paper presented at
if municipal pumping stations lose elec- the Canadian Association of Geographers conference, May 28, 2014, Brock University,
tricity. Social networks based around Ontario.
schoolchildren and their families and Schalatek, Liane (2009). “Policy Paper. Gender and Climate Finance: Double Mainstreaming
friends, relatives, churches, and other for Sustainable Development.” http://www.boell.org/web/136-318.html
groups emerged as a key element of the Sustain Labour: International Labour Foundation for Sustainable Development: www.sustain
city’s resilience strategy, and valuable labour.org
lessons were learned that will inform the Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO): www.wedo.org
city’s official and unofficial responses in Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, International (WECAN): http://wecaninter
any future climate crises. national.org
Watersheds, with their interrelated

Best Wishes from Our Times


to Women & Environments,
our sister in the struggle.

www.ourtimes.ca
• SUBSCRIBE •

20 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


By Anastasia Candre Yamacuri (In Memoriam 1962-2014)

Without taste or scent, gives life


Water
the spring of life
God has given us with his tender love
as infinite as the seas and the oceans
true gift from the creator

There is nothing more than fresh and delightful Water!

©AGENCIA DE NOTICIAS ACCESSED AT INDIGENOUS WORLD FORUM ON WATER AND PEACE


Brothers and sisters let’s take care of our seas, rivers,
creeks, lagoons and plains
these are the veins from where Water torrents flow
these are the veins from where
our mother’s blood flows
The Water of life
running through mother’s breast
nursing her creatures with it
like the watery sap that emerges
from the cores of the plain’s trees?
Water
perfect nature where women fertilize their offspring
blessed womb that gives light to a new human being
We are the essence of a sacred liquid
Blessed Water

Sin sabor ni aroma, da vida* Anastasia Candre Yamacuri

Agua
fuente de vida Anastasia Candre Yamacuri was born in 1962 in
que Dios nos ha dado con su tierno amor Adofiki (Cordillera), La Chorrera County, Amazonas
amor infinito, como el de mares y océanos province, Colombia. On her father’s side she was
verdadero regalo del padre creador Okaina and on her mother’s side she was Uioto.
She could speak Bue, Minik and Nipode (the Uitoto
¡No hay nada más que rica y fresca Agua! dialects) as well as Spanish and Portuguese. She
Hermanos y hermanas?cuidemos nuestros mares, ríos, studied linguistics at the National University of
quebradas, lagunas y páramos? Colombia in Leticia. In 2007, she finished her
son las venas por donde corren torrentes de agua? dissertation titled Yuaki Muina-Murui: Ritual Songs
son las venas por donde of Uitoto’s Fruits for which she received the National
corre la sangre de nuestra madre? Scholarship in Oraliture (Ministry of Culture,
Son el Agua de vida Colombia). Her poetry was recently included in the
que corre por los senos de la madre? compilation Pütchi, Biyá, Uai (2010, available online).
con los que da de amamantar a sus criaturas
Without or taste or scent gives life was originally
como la sabia líquida que brota
published in Indigenous Message on Water
desde la entraña de las montañas de los páramos??
(Anthology) Eds. J. G. Sanchez Martinez, F.Q.
Agua
Quintanilla, Ass. Eds. D. Sanderson, S. Lavoie.
naturaleza perfecta donde fertiliza la mujer a su criatura
Translated from the Spanish by Juan Guillermo
vientre bendito que da a luz a una nueva vida humana?
Sanchez, Felipe Q. Quintanilla and Sophie Lavoie.
Somos la esencia de un líquido sagrado
Agua Bendita

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 21


WE Research

Are There Jobs for Women in


Green Job Creation?
By Joan McFarland

W
hile some people fear a negative At the end of this article, after having Northeast, Energy Efficiency: Engine of
employment impact from mea- presented a summary of the evidence I Economic Growth in Eastern Canada,
sures to fight climate change, gathered, I discuss the policy implications calculated the potential macroeconomic
others point out the potential for green job of the findings from my research. If women effects of expanded energy efficiency pro-
creation to replace jobs lost in fossil fuel are severely under-represented in the green grams for the region as a whole and for
and other greenhouse gas emitting pro- jobs created in the fight against climate each of the eastern provinces individually.
duction. However, as important as green change, are there ways to mitigate this In terms of job creation in New Brunswick,
job creation is, there has been little analy- effect? Could women and men benefit more the study found that investment in energy
sis of its gender impact. This is despite equally in green job creation initiatives? In efficiency programs could, over a twenty-
warnings such as the one by American this light, I suggest certain policy options. eight year period, drive the creation of
feminist Linda Hirshman, who wrote in a between 10,700 and 24,800 jobs years of
Dec. 9, 2008 op-ed in the New York Times Estimating the Gender Impact of employment in the province.
that “green jobs are almost entirely male, Green Job Creation None of these studies considers the
especially in the alternate energy area.” An important study on green job cre- gender impact of the job creation but the
I have done research that seeks to ation is Green Recovery: A Program to University of Massachusetts study, in par-
address the void in gender-based analysis of Create Good Jobs and Start Building a ticular, is useful in that it lists the “repre-
green jobs. I began with studies of green job Low-Carbon Economy, published in 2008 sentative jobs” that would be created from
creation in both the United States and by the University of Massachusetts. The six areas of green economic investment.
Canada. Unfortunately, none of these studies authors claim that $100 billion of infra- These areas are: retrofitting buildings,
looks at the gender impact of such green job structure spending for clean energy trans- expanding mass transit and freight rail,
creation. One study does, however, list the formation could create two million jobs in constructing smart energy grids, produc-
types of jobs that it is expected will be cre- the US economy over a two year period. tion of wind power, production of solar
ated. By finding the present gender break- In May 2010, BlueGreen Canada pub- power and production of next generation
down of those jobs in the New Brunswick lished a study, Falling Behind: Canada’s biofuels. Each area has eight to ten repre-
economy, I was able to give an indication of Lost Clean Energy Jobs, in which sentative jobs listed. For example, the rep-
the gender impact of green job creation. Canada’s investment record in clean ener- resentative jobs listed under building
The statistical analysis was followed by gy jobs is shown to be falling far behind retrofitting are electricians, heating/air
two case studies — one in New Brunswick that in the United States and other coun- conditioning installers, carpenters etc.
and one in Nova Scotia — where I gathered tries. The study estimates that had Canada What I did was to take that list of rep-
evidence on the gender impact of two green matched the US spending on a per capita resentative jobs to a New Brunswick
initiatives. The first is a case study of basis, an additional $11 billion dollars Department of Post-Secondary Education,
Efficiency New Brunswick and the second would have been earmarked in Canada’s Training and Labour representative for a
is a new plant in Nova Scotia that builds 2009 stimulation package for clean ener- gender breakdown of the holders of those
turbine parts for the production of wind gy. This, in turn, would have led to the jobs in the province. The question that I
energy. In each of these cases, I examined creation of an additional 66,000 jobs, not was trying to answer is: Are those jobs that
the gender impact of the green jobs created. including energy efficiency and trans- women in New Brunswick do? The most
Next, I looked into the whole question portation investment. Another BlueGreen recent data comes from the 2011 census.
of the training of women in non-tradition- Canada study, More Bang for our Buck I will summarize some of the results.
al occupations, particularly in the trades, (2012), found that for every two jobs cre- For the following representative jobs in
to see if there will be women prepared to ated in oil and gas in Canada, fifteen jobs building retrofitting, in the New Brunswick
work in green jobs in the future. This could be created in clean energy. With ref- economy as a whole, women were 3.9% of
included examining data on women in erence to New Brunswick, a study pub- managers, 2% of carpenters, 1.3% of elec-
apprenticeship programs. lished in May 2012 by Environment tricians and 0% of heating/air conditioning

22 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


installers, roofers and building inspectors. that the average participant, by spending
For the representative jobs in wind power, $11,000 on energy efficiency upgrades,
in the NB economy as a whole, women had contributed, in aggregate, over $50
were 50% of assemblers and 37.8% of million to their local communities since the
sheet metal workers but only 1% of con- program began. In April 2010, Graham’s
struction equipment operators and 0% of Energy Minister claimed that the home-
millwrights, machinists and first line pro- owner program had created jobs for local
duction supervisors. For the representative contractors and improved business in the
jobs in solar power, in the NB economy as a home improvement retail sector.
whole, women were only 10.6% of instal- Some direct jobs are created by the
lation helpers and labourers, 7.1% of elec- Efficiency NB initiative at Efficiency NB
trical engineers, 1.3% of electricians and itself and at private companies employing
0% of welders, industrial machinery home and building energy advisors for the
mechanics and metal fabricators. For the incentives programs. Most of the jobs,
representative jobs in advanced biofuels, in however, are created in home and build-
the NB economy as a whole, women were ing construction companies, heating con-
40% of chemical engineers, 24.1% of tract companies, and “energy manage-
chemists but only 10% of chemical equip- ment service providers” (largely engineer-
ment operators and mixing and blending ing companies) serving the commercial
operators, 8.6% of chemical technicians and industrial sectors.
and 1.4% of industrial truck drivers. For the From my surveys, it is only at Efficiency
representative jobs in mass transit/freight NB itself where women make up the
rails, in the NB economy as a whole, In summary, the data on largest proportion of the workers in the
women were 11.5% of civil engineers, green jobs created. On the other hand, there
1.3% of electricians but 0% of rail track these representative are virtually no women who have become
layers and welders. Finally, for the repre- clean-energy jobs and the energy advisors in the private sector under
sentative jobs in smart grid, in the NB econ- the program. Even more strikingly, I found
omy as a whole, although 50% of electrical
gender breakdown for no women working in energy efficiency
equipment assemblers were women, they those jobs in New initiatives, except as office staff, in the con-
were only 23.8% of operating engineers, Brunswick as a whole struction, heating, or energy management
16.2% of software engineers, 8.6% of sectors where the vast majority of the green
industrial engineering technicians, 7.1% of in 2011 show that these jobs are created. This was not an initiative
electrical engineers, 4.4% of construction are non-traditional jobs that created many jobs for women.
labour and 0% of machinists and electrical
power line installers and repairers.
for women with a very Daewoo
In summary, the data on these repre- low representation of In 2010, as part of the NDP Darrell
sentative clean-energy jobs and the gen- women holding them. Dexter government’s economic develop-
der breakdown for those jobs in New ment and new green economic initiative,
Brunswick as a whole in 2011 show that cation and incentives to NB homeowners, the Nova Scotia government partnered
these are non-traditional jobs for women business and industry to persuade them to with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Engineering
with a very low representation of women adopt energy efficiency options. There of South Korea to convert the former
holding them. In fact, many of the jobs were thirty-two on staff at the Saint John TrentonWorks railcar manufacturing plant
had no women in them at all. It is worth office in 2012. to one for the manufacture of towers and
noting also that these results were as bad In order to be eligible for an energy blades for wind turbines.
as, or worse than, those from the 2006 efficiency grant, a homeowner or busi- At its peak, the new plant employed
Census that I used in the original paper ness has to be audited, a report written 160 workers. Some 117 of these were
(McFarland 2013). In other words, it is and the work inspected when completed. tradespeople, almost all welders. Of those,
not a situation that is improving. The auditing, reporting and inspecting is only two were women. As of October
done by “energy advisors” working for 2012, there were only thirty-two working
Case Studies private companies. at the plant in total. The number of women
Efficiency New Brunswick The incentives, besides promoting was down to one.
Efficiency New Brunswick (ENB) energy efficiency, are seen to produce local In contrast, at the peak of the earlier
was set up in New Brunswick in 2005. A economic activity and jobs. In May 2009, TrentonWorks operation, there were forty
Crown agency, Efficiency NB offers edu- Premier Shawn Graham cited estimates women working as welders. This high fig-

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 23


ure is explained by a 1997 HRDC training construction program in Newfoundland in New Brunswick to get women, and
program for women welders in the plant. which started in 1997. especially women on social assistance,
Before the 1997 program, there had been Although under the equity program for into apprenticeships. Despite tremendous
no women on the floor of TrentonWorks. federal contractors, it was unsuccessful due effort and much support from staff, these
to unworkable implementation plans. In programs have not resulted in careers in
Training Women for Green Jobs contrast, the equity program in a the trades for any of the women.
If much of green job creation involves Vancouver Island Highway Project (VIHP) Of course there are broader problems
jobs in the trades, and women are very in British Columbia, also started in 1997 with women in the trades and these stem
under-represented in the trades, what will and studied by Marjorie Griffin Cohen and from the patriarchy. Women in appren-
the future hold? I tried to find evidence on Kate Braid in 2003, was highly successful. ticeships or in such jobs find themselves
the following questions. Are women In the VIHP, equity hires, which in this at “contested sites”, a reality well docu-
presently receiving training in the trades? case consisted not only of women but also mented and discussed in Marcia
Are they entering the appropriate appren- of other equity groups, were made a condi- Braundy’s 2011 book, Men & Women and
ticeship programs? Will more women be tion of employment on the project and the Tools: Bridging the Divide.
able to fill green jobs in the future than government made sure that the hires were
they are able to today? implemented. The project achieved an over Redefining Green Job Creation
Unfortunately, the trends are not very 22% equity hiring rate at peak periods. Beyond continuing the struggle to get
positive. A 2010 Statistics Canada study In the HRDC program in the late women into the non-traditional jobs cre-
by Kathryn McMullen et.al. found that, in 1990’s in Trenton, Nova Scotia described ated in the green economy as currently
2007, women only accounted for between earlier, some forty of the welders in the defined, perhaps we need to expand both
1-2% of completions in apprenticeship plant were women. Nothing like this has our definition and strategy of green job
training in most major trade groups.
Statistics Canada gives a breakdown of Adopting such an expanded approach to green job
women’s registrations in apprenticeship
programs in the trades for Canada, 2006- creation which includes Stanford’s “does not harm
2010. In 2010, women in Canada only the environment” category as well as pro-active social
accounted for 5.9% of those training as
welders and 1.5%-3.2% of those training
and educational work in the necessary transition
as carpenters, electricians, heavy duty towards sustainability would balance green job
mechanics, heavy equipment and crane creation’s overall gender impact. No longer would
operators, machinists, metal workers,
millwrights, plumbers, pipefitters, steam- green job creation just mean jobs for men.
fitters and sheet metal workers.
The New Brunswick Department of been achieved before or since in the creation to include sectors where women
Post- Secondary Education and Training region. This also seems to indicate that a traditionally work.
(PETL) provided data on women in appren- program is required to change long-stand- Jim Stanford, in Economics for
ticeships in the province. In 2012, excluding ing employment rigidities. Everyone, has a useful discussion on “good
the program for cooks, women made up Susan Moir et al. of the University of growth and the environment” in which he
only 2.4% of registered apprentices. Further, Massachusetts in Boston wrote a paper in considers growth that not only “helps the
this has changed very little from the situa- 2011 for the Massachusetts Labor environment” but also growth that “does
tion I found in 2003 when I did a study on Resource Centre in which she discusses not harm the environment.” Areas of the
women and training in New Brunswick. how a US law requiring that women make traditional green economy are included in
up 6.9% of contractors’ work hours, in the “helping the environment” category-
Current Policy Approaches effect since 1978, has been ignored. What retrofitting homes and buildings for ener-
Getting more women into employ- is needed to change the situation, she gy efficiency, investment in non-polluting
ment in non-traditional occupations seems claims, is effective enforcement of the law machinery and equipment, investment in
to require special equity programs/quotas involving monitoring, tracking and report- clean energy generation etc. However, new
in employment and training that are mon- ing of both contractors and subcontractors. areas for a green economy are included in
itored and enforced. Without programs, She advocates setting a goal for the United the “does not harm the environment” cate-
the number of women in non-traditional States with the requirement that women gory. These include providing more child
occupations remains very low. Two stud- make up 50% of contractors’ work hours care, youth services education, elder care,
ies from the late nineties allow a contrast in the construction workplace by 2028. neighbourhood recreation, and other
of equity programs. The first study, con- With regard to training, several special human services as well as the production
ducted in 2003, involves the Hibernia programs have been tried over the years of many private services. In a more sus-

24 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


tainable future economy with less fossil- ment” category as well as pro-active green jobs would go to women, either
fuelled car transportation, more local food social and educational work in the neces- now or in the future. We need equity pro-
and services production, better health care sary transition towards sustainability grams both on the job and in training and
despite legacies of pollution and a deterio- would balance green job creation’s overall those equity programs need to be strictly
rating environment, and the need for skills gender impact. No longer would green job monitored, tracked, reported and enforced.
transmission to help everyone to meet their creation just mean jobs for men. In addition, we need to broaden our defin-
basic needs sustainably, such female-dom- ition of, and strategy for, green job cre-
inated job categories will likely be even Conclusion ation to include both jobs that do not harm
more important than at present. Whereas In this paper, while strongly support- the environment and jobs that help soci-
women are barely represented in jobs in ing arguments for the need for green job ety make the pro-active transition to a
the “helping the environment” category, in creation, I have attempted to provide evi- more sustainable future. Jobs in health
Stanford’s “does not harm the environ- dence to show that great care must be and education — the caring professions
ment” category, women are by far the taken by policymakers to avoid a very — are prime examples of these non-harm-
majority. According to Statistics Canada negative gender impact from such job cre- ful, essential green jobs.
data for 2013, women in Canada were ation. Most green jobs (as usually
80.4% of health workers, 69.5% of social defined) are in the trades, and the trades Joan McFarland is a professor of Economics
science, education, government service and are non-traditional occupations for and Women’s Studies and Gender Studies at
religion workers while only 6.9% of trade, women. The evidence that I have gathered St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New
transport and equipment operators and — from New Brunswick as well as some Brunswick. She takes a political economy
related occupations. from Nova Scotia and Canada as a whole approach in her work. This research comes
Adopting such an expanded approach — shows that given women’s current pat- out of the SSHRC funded project, Work in a
to green job creation which includes terns of participation in jobs and training Warming World, based at York University
Stanford’s “does not harm the environ- in the trades, almost none of these new (www.workinawarmingworld.yorku.ca).

Resources
BlueGreen Canada. (2010). Falling Behind: Canada’s Lost Clean Energy Jobs. http://bluegreen
canada.ca/node/128.
BlueGreen Canada. (2012). More Bang for our Buck: How Canada Can Create More Energy
Jobs and Less Pollution. http://bluegreencanada.ca/more-bang-for-our-buck
Environment Northeast (ENE). (2012). Energy Efficiency: Engine of Economic Growth in
Eastern Canada. http://www.envne.org/public/resources/ENE_EnergyEfficiencyEngine
ofEconomicGrowth_EasternCanada_EN_2012_0611_FINAL.pdf
Griffin Cohen, Marjorie and Braid, Kate. (2003). “The Road to Equity: Training Women and
First Nations on the Vancouver Island Highway,” in Marjorie Griffin Cohen, ed. Training
the Excluded for Work. UBC Press, Vancouver.
Hart, Susan and Shrimpton, Mark. (2003). “Women’s Training and Equity on the Hibernia
Construction Project,” in Marjorie Griffin Cohen, ed. Training the Excluded for Work. UBC
Press, Vancouver.
McFarland, Joan. (2003). “Public Policy and Women’s Access to Training in New Brunswick”
in Marjorie Griffin Cohen, ed. Training the Excluded for Work. UBC Press, Vancouver.
McFarland, Joan. (2013). “The Gender Impact of Green Job Creation,” Work in a Warming
World Working Paper. http://warming.apps01.yorku.ca/wp-content/uploads/
working_Papers_McFarland-2013_Gender-Impact-of-Green-Job-Creation.pdf
Moir, Susan; Meryl Thomson and Kelleher, Christa. (2011). Unfinished Business: Building
Equality for Women in the Construction Trades. Labor Resource Center Publications,
paper 5. http://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context
=lrc_pubs
Pollin, Robert; Garrett-Peltier, Heidi; Heintz, James; and Scharber Helen. (2008). Green
recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy.
Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst
and Center for American Progress.
Salleh, Ariel. (2009). Eco-Sufficiency and Global Justice: Women Write Political Ecology.
Pluto Press, pp.300.
Stanford, Jim. (2008). Economics for Everyone Pluto Press.

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 25


change in the quality of components will
Women and Low Energy impact on final energy demand. Yet the
sector is highly fragmented through tiers

Construction in Europe of subcontracting, dividing the workforce


into clearly-defined activities and imped-
ing teamwork across contractual bound-
A New Opportunity? aries. Widespread non-formal on-the-job
learning, high labour mobility, exclusively
white male social networks, and varied
By Linda Clarke and Christine Wall
forms of employment — including self-
Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment employment and agency work — all have
University of Westminster repercussions for the effectiveness of
work-based training schemes.
VET systems and the labour process
he European Union (EU) 20/20/20 emissions’ for the European construction require a transformation to remove these

T targets to reduce energy use,


increase renewable energy, and
reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
sector requires a workforce equipped with
the necessary construction knowledge,
skills and competences, supported by
obstacles and this opens up the possibility
to resolve one of the most intransigent
problems of the sector across the EU: its
by 20% by 2020 particularly impact on appropriate schemes, recognised qualifi- white male character, which has changed
the construction sector, responsible for cations, and a receptive building process. little over the past 30 years.
40% of EU CO2 end-use emissions. The European studies reveal a ‘performance In Britain, as in most countries in
difficulties in meeting such targets in an gap’ between design intent and energy Europe, though women represent about 11
industry employing 14.5 million workers performance largely attributable to a lack percent of the construction workforce, in
and contributing to 10.4% of GDP, are of thermal literacy (e.g. Zero Carbon Hub the manual trades they represent less than
increasingly evident (EuroAce 2013), 2014). A key difficulty is that construction
resulting in proposals for an overarching, qualifications across Europe encompass a In Britain, as in most countries
binding energy target of 40% saving for different range of occupations, activities, in Europe, though women
2030 focused on buildings (Fraunhofer and know-how. The imperatives for low represent about 11 percent
2013). As underpinned by the EU Energy energy construction to meet EU 20/20/20
Performance of Buildings (EPB) and the targets present a major challenge to VET of the construction workforce,
Renewable Energy Sources (RES) systems, including: greater educational in the manual trades they
Directives, ‘nearly zero energy’ for new input to achieve thermal literacy for work- represent less than 1 percent
and retrofitted buildings are required ers concerned; broader qualification pro-
through energy efficient envelopes and files to overcome interfaces between the (Smith Institute 2014). Yet the
on-site renewables supported by new activities of different occupations where consistently higher numbers of
qualifications, quality assurance schemes the main heat losses occur; and integrated women undertaking full-time
and ‘Green Deals’. team working and communication given
An important initiative addressing the complex work processes involved. construction training in colleges
social rather than purely technical obstacles In terms of the labour process, the than are found in construction
to meeting these objectives is the extensive construction of a nearly zero energy build- employment indicate that many
EU nationally-based Build-Up Skills pro- ing is radically different from previous
gramme, concerned with upskilling the forms of building as small installation women do want to work in the
existing workforce through continuing failures in insulation or air tightness are industry but fail to obtain entry.
training. The German report, for instance, additive and result in failure to meet the
locates the main problem in reducing emis- “nearly zero” design requirements. To 1 percent (Smith Institute 2014). Yet the
sions in: “interfaces between trades and achieve low energy targets in the building consistently higher numbers of women
lack of any understanding for a house/ envelope and in installation of on-site undertaking full-time construction training
building as one integrated system” (Build- renewables inevitably requires more inte- in colleges than are found in construction
Up Skills 2012). This suggests that require- grated teamwork, learning from feedback employment indicate that many women do
ments can only be met if obstacles are and greater cross-occupational under- want to work in the industry but fail to
overcome that lie in a) the vocational edu- standing of low energy construction, or obtain entry. By 2005, women in Britain
cation and training (VET) system and b) what we term ‘thermal literacy’. The represented 3% of trainees, but of these
the building labour process. methods deployed by the builder need to the vast majority (7%) were in Further
In terms of VET, achieving ‘near zero encompass the supply chain since any Education Colleges, even more in London

26 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


(9%) and far higher proportions than work’s questionnaires, on working condi- include; labour, vocational education and
found in construction employment at tions and trade union participation. training (VET), labour history, and industrial
about 0.3% (Byrne et al 2005). The obsta- Meeting the challenge of low carbon relations.
cles to integration have persistently been construction opens up the possibility to
Christine Wall is an architect at the Centre
shown to include: inappropriate and poor include more women, especially consider-
for Research into the Production of the Built
working and employment conditions, ing their generally higher educational
Environment (ProBE) at the University of
especially long working hours; discrimi- achievements, their greater presence in
Westminster. For the last three years she has
natory recruitment practices, based on environmentally-oriented subject courses
been the Principal Investigator (with Linda
‘word of mouth’ rather than qualifications; and the persistent reports of skill shortages
Clarke as Co-Applicant) on a Leverhulme
the persistence of a macho culture, and in construction in many European coun-
Trust funded project, Constructing Post-War
short-term concerns with output (Clarke tries. The possibility of a more energy effi-
Britain: building workers stories 1950-70.
and Gribling 2008). Ironically, these are cient and inclusive construction sector is
similar obstacles to those impeding a more that much greater given changes occurring
Resources
energy-efficient construction process. in the industry. In the first place, entry is
Though a number of initiatives have changing so that in some countries, includ- Build up Skills (2012) Build Up Skills –
Germany: analysis of the national status
been taken to improve the participation of ing the Netherlands, recruitment by
quo, Intelligent Energy Europe,
women, these have been largely confined employers is directly from vocational col- September
to individual member states and particu- leges, where more women are generally to
Byrne, J., Clarke L. & van der Meer M.
lar occupations and have had little impact. be found than in the labour market. With (2005) ‘Gender and ethnic minority exclu-
It is nearly ten years since the European the decline in apprenticeships in many sion from skilled occupations in construc-
Institute for Construction Labour countries and increasing reliance on place- tion: a Western European comparison’,
Research (CLR) published the book ments and internships to obtain work Construction management and econom-
Women in Construction (Clarke et al experience, this form of recruitment is ics 23, 1025-1034
2004), detailing initiatives in Europe and likely to increase. So too are occupational Clarke, L., E. Frydendal Pedersen, E.
globally. At the same time a survey of labour markets whereby a worker’s status Michielsens, B. Susman and C. Wall (eds)
European construction social partners was depends as much on his/her qualifications (2004) Women in Construction, CLR
conducted, with the help of European as on experience. In addition, the employ- Studies 2, Reed.
Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) ment relation is undergoing transforma- Clarke L., E. Frydendal Pederson, E.
and the European Federation of Building tion, including through the use of agen- Michielsens, B. Susman and C. Wall
(2005) ‘The European Social Partners for
and Woodworkers (EFBWW), to investi- cies, so that the ‘old boy’s network’ on
Construction: force for exclusion or inclu-
gate the presence of women in skilled which much recruitment has up to now sion?’ in European Journal of Industrial
trades and the policies, collective agree- depended is weakening and the use of Relations, Vol. 11, No. 2, July, 151-178.
ments and practices playing a role in more formal recruitment practices, more
Clarke L. and M. Gribling (2008),
women’s integration (Clarke et al 2005). favourable to women, is increasing. Policy Obstacles to diversity in construction: the
The most notable successes reported were at European level pursued by the European example of Heathrow Terminal 5’, in
the painters in Denmark, who long ago Union and the social partners gives an Construction Management and
reached ‘critical mass’, and the actions of added impetus to widening participation in Economics, October, 26/10, 1055-1065.
the Finnish painters’ union (Pedersen the construction and wood sectors, includ- EuroAce 2013, Implementing the Cost-
2004). Overall, whilst the response was ing the gender dimension of the 2020 Optimal Methodology in EU Countries,
patchy, the survey did show that, though Strategy and the European Trade Union European Alliance for Energy Efficiency in
the social partners pandered to a ‘dis- Congress (ETUC) gender equality policy. Buildings.
course’ of gender equality, this was not a And, finally, in Britain as in other coun- Fraunhofer (2013) Analysis of a European
priority issue and did not lead to equal tries, the acute need for new affordable Reference Target System for 2013,
opportunity policies or programmes, energy-efficient social housing and for Report to Coalitions for Energy Savings,
Frauenhofer Institute.
including for social partners from east retrofitting existing properties again opens
European countries where participation up opportunities for women to train and Frydendal Pedersen, E. (2004) ‘Painters in
Denmark: a woman’s trade?’ in Clarke et
rates were much higher. The conclusion enter the industry.
al eds. Women in Construction.
drawn was that ‘the social partners have
Smith Institute (2014) building the future:
the platform to start to make inroads and Linda Clarke is a Professor of European
women in construction, London: Smith
to change the industry from within, but Industrial Relations in the Westminster
Institute.
still need to be encouraged to put women Business School (WBS) and responsible for a
Zero Carbon Hub (2014) Closing the gap
in construction on their agenda’ (Clarke et distinct programme of research in the Centre
between design and as-built performance.
al 2005). This remains the situation today, for the Study of the Production of the Built Evidence Review Report.
as revealed in two EFBWW women net- Environment (ProBE). Her research interests

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 27


SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.QUAZOO.COM/Q/CHITWANDISTRICT
Climate Change Adaptation
Among Chepang Women
The Light Hidden in the Dark
By Jyoti Acharya
Map of Nepal showing Chitwan district.
limate change has pernicious effects

C on the socio-economically margi-


nalized community worldwide.
Among all people, indigenous communi-
ties who have contributed least to climate
deterioration because of their pursuit of
sustainable and carbon-neutral lifestyles
are the first to face its impacts and suffer
most. Indigenous people in general and
indigenous women in particular, are most
affected by the impact of climate change
because of their traditional and socially-
determined close association with nature.
Since they are often the main providers of

CREDIT: JYOTI ACHARYA (RESEARCHER)


water and food and are the primary custo-
dians of their families, indigenous women
are the primary victims of the adverse
effects of climate change.
Shortfalls in resources like fuel, fire-
wood, fodder, water, food, etc. tend to

SOURCE: HTTP://YADNEPALI.BLOGSPOT.COM/2013_07_01_ARCHIEVE.HTML
increase indigenous women’s workloads
because more time is needed to fetch
Slash-Burn (Khoriya) Farming
these resources. They have to have adap-
tive measures to deal with the increases in ceptions about climate change adaptation
their workloads. My work in the Chepang and their preferred strategies towards
community in Nepal’s Chitwan district adaptation at the local level. Scientific
seeks to show how indigenous women findings of course have their place as they
there perceive and practice climate change explore what change is happening in the
adaptation, and how their livelihoods are world, but they do not necessarily say
changing as a result. That said, Nepal’s how the local community is able to adapt
indigenous women are more than mere to the changes. In this context, my work
victims: they are also key agents in adapt- delves into the adaptive measures prac-
ing to climate change. They often resort to ticed by indigenous Chepang women who
adaptive measures for their survival in the are suffering from climate changes and
context of climate change as they are whose livelihoods are at risk of extinction. Map of Chitwan district showing Shaktikhor and Siddhi VDCs
equipped with particular knowledge of According to the report on Climate
ecological linkages and management of Change Vulnerability Mapping for Nepal, the vicinity of a forest, and Siddhi, an
fragile ecosystems. 2010 by the Ministry of Population and inaccessible area of the Chitwan district in
Besides the various scientific studies Environment, the Chitwan district is con- the Narayani zone of southern Nepal, as
that represent global efforts towards mea- sidered one of the most vulnerable to the the sites for my study. These VDCs of the
suring and combating climate change, effects of climate change. Therefore, I Chitwan district were purposively select-
there is also a real need for qualitative selected two Village Development Com- ed as the study sites because they contain
studies on local indigenous women’s per- mittees (VDCs); Shaktikhor, which lies in dense populations of the marginalized

28 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


biodiversity-dependent Chepangs. caring for children, among other tasks. At mate change was responsible for the
Chepang is listed as a highly margin- that time, I found them overburdened with Chepang women’s increased workload.
alized indigenous group of Nepal. Since their household chores. I attributed their Hence, my interest in their situation
their livelihood depends on natural overburdened work to their underprivi- assumed academic dimensions and I con-
resources, they adopt multi-prolonged leged socio-economic status. Later in ducted a master’s degree study to under-
livelihood strategies such as; wage labor, 2010/2011, during an academic course, I stand the different perspectives and inno-
collection of forest products, rearing of learnt that indigenous women have often vative ideas of Chepang women who are
small livestock and selling of agricultural suffered the brunt of the effects of climate adjusting to climate change.
and forest products. There is a fascinating change. This information motivated and This study primarily employs a narra-
socio-cultural and ecological connection enabled me to explore deeply whether cli- tive approach using qualitative research
methods through a series of in-depth
interviews and observations with nine
research participants who are Chepang
women and two focus group discussions
with other Chepang women (excluding
individual research participants). The
focus group discussions also included
some Chepang men. The narrative
approach allows individual Chepang
women to tell their stories as they unfold
in a chronology of experiences, set within
their personal, social and historical con-
texts, paying due attention to the impor-
tant themes in those lived experiences.
The main themes arising from this

CREDIT: JYOTI ACHARYA (RESEARCHER)


research highlight Chepang women’s per-
ceptions regarding the mitigation of and
adaptation to climate change. They are
concerned about the prevention and toler-
ation of loss and changes in their activi-
ties and their locations. They are con-
scious of the necessary adaptations that
Leasehold Forestry
are related to agriculture, water, survival
Interviewing
between Chepangs, Chiuri (Aesandra Chepang Women
butyraceae, a plant used for vegetable but-
ter), and Chamera (Wild Bats). The socio-
cultural connection between the Chepangs
and Chiuri owes its origin to the old
Chepang custom of giving Chiuri trees to
daughters as bridal gifts. In that regard,
Chiuri trees are treated as their private
resources. In terms of the ecological con-
nection between Chiuri and Chamera,
wild bats are believed to play a crucial
CREDIT: KIRAN ACHARYA (RESEARCH ASSISTANT)

role in the pollination of Chiuri flowers


and hence contribute to the extension of
the Chiuri species.
It was in 2008 when, as an ordinary
observer, I first happened to come across
Chepang women in the Chitwan district
who were busy fetching water, collecting
fodder and wild-fruits from the forest,
working in farms, rearing livestock, and

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 29


CREDIT ALL: JYOTI ACHARYA (RESEARCHER)
ABOVE: Scarcity of Water
LEFT: Drying Natural Spring

‘Change’ in location
as an Adaptation
Bipana Chepang says “climatic
variability leads to low stream
discharge of water-mills present in
our locality resulting no operation
and we are compelled to walk a long
distance to town in electric-mills for
grinding agro-products.”
“For the last 10 years, I have noticed
that nearby water sources have been
drying. So, my daughter-in-law and
I fetch water from long distance
water source turn by turn and store
the water in plastic barrels to avert
shortage of drinking water” says Akil
Maya Chepang.

‘Prevention’ in agriculture
as an Adaptation
Dalli Maya Chepang says “rise in Animal Husbandry
temperature and irregularity in strategies, and energy use as well as the this regard, my study paid attention to
rainfall patterns lead to the attack of
health implications of change. individual Chepang women’s understand-
insects and diseases in the crops,
As stated by Esbjorn-Hergens, in his ings and experiences regarding climate
causing decrease in yield and failure
2009 paper “An overview of integral the- change adaptation and the collective con-
of crops. So, we have been using
residual seed cake of Chiuri after
ory: An all-inclusive framework for the nection of Chepang women’s adaptation
extracting oil/ghee from it. It not only 21st century” adaptation cannot be solely to their culture. It also focused on individ-
increases soil fertility and productivity understood as external changes in the ual Chepang women’s adaptive behavior
but also kills insects which harm the behavior and system. Instead, a sound and activities (practices) as well as the
crops and also prevent crops from understanding of adaptation must also pay Chepang women’s adaptation as a group
diseases.” significant attention to internal — i.e., with regard to their prevalent economic,
both personal and cultural — changes. In social and ecological systems.

30 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


Chepang women have been applying

CREDIT ALL: JYOTI ACHARYA (RESEARCHER)


different adaptation strategies in the realms
of; agriculture, water, energy, livestock and
forests that have changed their livelihoods.
Adaptive measures are a light kindled by
Chepang women but hidden somewhere in
the darkness of climate change.
Most of their strategies have har-
nessed modern knowledge, such as adap-
tation to an integrated farming system,
and Leasehold Forestry, by eliminating
the traditional mode of slash-burn
(Khoriya) farming system. This also
involves a discontinuation of harvesting
local medicinal plants and promoting the
development of medical centers for health
treatment. These strategies indicate the
dilemma of an extermination of Chepang
women’s traditional knowledge and cul-
tural identity with modernization. Other
strategies have been rooted in traditional
knowledge, such as utilization of forest
resources (wild tubers and green vegeta-
bles) to fulfill a family’s food require-

Adaptation in Agriculture
LEFT: Beating
Chiuri Seeds in
and Food Security
Dhiki Chhoti Maya Chepang says “we
introduced drought-resistant, hybrid
BELOW: species of rice and maize and
Rubbing Chiuri ensure adequate supply of water
Seeds from nearby river by constructing
irrigation channel. In comparison
to the past, we have witnessed
relative improvements in terms of
productivity of crops. The problem
of food deficit has become less
intense than before.”

Adaptation in Livestock
and Income Generation
“I used to be a wage-laborer in the
agricultural sector but my livelihood
had been imperiled when I became
unemployed because of my
employers’ loss of interest in the
agriculture sector, resulting from
climate change-induced decreases
in agricultural productivity. In the
wake of my unemployment, my
resort to animal husbandry helped
me in alleviating my poverty” says
Mashi Maya Chepang.

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 31


CREDIT ALL: JYOTI ACHARYA (RESEARCHER)
Extracting Chiuri Ghee through Chepuwa

Modern Practices versus


Traditional Practices
Mashi Maya Chepang says “during
my childhood as my mother used to
prepare a home-made remedy of
medicinal plants for my treatment.
I did not know about medical centers
but nowadays, I have to visit them
frequently for the treatment of my
children. This might be due to
extinction of medicinal plants and
divergence in knowledge about local
medicinal plants.”
“We used to practice Khoriya
cultivation of grain-crops, such as
ghaiya (upland rice), aaim (fox-tail
millet) and sawan (barnyard millet).
Steaming Chiuri Seeds Sawan is a traditional crop which
that is eaten during cultural festivals
ments, generating income by selling for- facilitate the betterment of the Chepang and aaim is also supposed as sacred
est products and using Chirui residuals as community in general and Chepang food item indispensable in the
organic fertilizers and insecticide. women in particular. There is a desperate funeral ceremony in our community.
However, Chepang women are still need for planning and co-ordination at the But the productions of these crops
vulnerable as the measures they have been village development committee level for are considerably reducing at present
using to adapt to climate change are not the implementation of programs related to years, as these days we are going for
sustainable. Some of the adaptive prac- “Chepang Chiuri — Conserved Areas”— integrated farming system for high
tices, such as use of residual seed cake of for strengthening the socio-cultural and yielding and for leasehold farming
Chiuri as fertilizer and insecticide, as well ecological connection between Chiuri for income generation” says Chhoti
as the use of an irrigation channel, are (Aesandra butyracea), Chepang and Maya Chepang.
meeting present needs but cannot be used Chamera (Bats). As the study revealed,
indefinitely. Chepang women are deprived of knowl- inform them about climate change and cli-
The findings of the study are signifi- edge regarding climate change adaptation, mate change adaptation. This can be
cant for suitable policy prescriptions to therefore it is of utmost necessity to accomplished through the mother groups

32 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


marketing of their agricultural production, several climate change awareness campaigns
Question Mark in Sustainability and as well as acting as the market center. for rural and indigenous women in Nepal. She
Chhoti Maya Chepang says, “the flow Chepang women farmers should be is presently engaged in the initial phase of
of water through Kulo (Irrigation included in incentive sharing mechanisms research about entrepreneurial competency
Channel) has made a positive impact through microfinance and cooperatives. of rural women involved in agriculture. She
on the flow of our lives at present Finally, it should be noted that the find- may be reached at acharyajy@gmail.com
but what if the river start drying in ings of my study cannot be generalized
near future.” given that they might not be relevant in References
other places; adaptation is fundamentally Esbjorn-Hergens, (2009). An overview of
— a group of women formed in the com- and inherently local, and response mea- integral theory: An all-inclusive frame-
munity who conduct the welfare and sures tailored to one situation might be work for the 21st century. Integral
awareness programs that are fruitful for irrelevant in other places. Institute, Boulder, Colorado.
women and their communities. Equally http://integrallife.com/integral-post/
crucial is their collaboration with commu- Jyoti Acharya is a researcher who has a overview-integral-theory
nity schools and various government and Masters in Environment Education and
development agencies. For the enhance- Sustainable Development and is currently
ment of Chepang women’s livelihood, the enrolled in a Masters in Philosophy in
Praja (Chepang) Development Program Development Studies at the School of
should take the initiative by playing the Education of Kathmandu University in Nepal.
role of intermediary for the creation and She is a social worker involved in conducting

By Christine Charette

S.O.S Mother Earth Ship

She holds the map her hand carved out in blood,


Her hardened landscapes thirsty, calls out the flood.
Voice scarcely heard, dry throat succeeds the drought,
False notions born from taps of plenty spill about.
Colloidal mind reminds of stars above,
She questions if her life will thrive with love?

Near breach of thought recourse the need at hand,


Together her tribe needs faith to feed the land.
Proliferate flora and fauna, extol!
No exit plan, remain the wandering soul.
The air, the fire, the earth, the water in thee, Christine Charette is a visual
No longer can creature comfort decree. artist and poet from Northern
Ontario, who discerns the earthly,
Let wing not hand design with feather’s touch,
the ephemeral, the celestial, and
the historical. Themes of nesting,
mothering, and environment
Born from Mother with as little as much. breathe through her work. Both
the cerebral and the spiritual
empower her creativity. Charette
has her B.F.A and B.Ed from
Nipissing University.

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 33


By Marilyn Lerch

The Drum is Yours


Between the house on the ridge and the fire pit below,
a long gravel road and fear of all things nocturnal,
on the chilled edge of a Colorado summer night
you hold a buffalo drum and wait,
spruce trees huge and looming,
surround of wilderness palpably ill-willed.

The moon’s a sender arc


with just a misty hint of fullness,
no solace there, but
it’s time to begin the journey down
to the women gathered around the fire
and the one who holds in thrall
the part of yourself you always trade for love.

Stride and strike, stride and strike,


each measured blow on the deep-toned drum
strips another layer, pins you
to a thousand hungry unseen eyes,
stride and strike, stride and strike,
all muscles tensed for flight.

The road bends deeper into darkness,


forest close on either side,
stride and strike, stride and strike,
beyond this primal fear, another—
cold sweat, sweet thread of desire—to leave the mead hall of
bartered weakness,
step alone and naked into the night,
arms spread in welcome and surrender,
Marilyn Lerch has published three
once and for all
volumes of poetry. Her latest is
dimming the demon other eyes, called “The Physics of Allowable
letting the beauty of night in. Sway” published in 2013. She was
president of the Writers Federation
Some way more to the terminus of fire, of New Brunswick from 2006-2010.
stride and strike, stride and strike, Lerch currently is on the board of
Autumn House, a transition home
the road continues on and on
for abused women in Amherst,
into the mountains, the towns beyond, N.S. and is heavily involved in
the moon is always full, stopping unconventional shale gas
and the drum is yours. development in New Brunswick.
She lives in Sackville with her
partner, Janet, of seventeen years.

34 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


In the Field

Reclaiming the World’s Waste


Waste Pickers Organizing for Inclusion
By Rhonda Douglas and Brenda Leifso

W
aste picking — reusing and dinator of the Centre of Study and Brazil, where waste pickers are included
recycling what others discard — Research on Women (NEPEM) notes that in solid waste management systems, some
may be the very oldest “green women who work informally face severe waste pickers can earn up to seven times
job,” and in many places, this dirty work gender discrimination or are denied equal the minimum wage. The physical labour
is largely done by women. No one really opportunities to participate in public life and occupational hazards faced by all
knows how many “waste pickers” exist in in a just and dignified way. In partnership waste pickers each day in order to make
the world. The most frequently quoted with the waste picker organizations; Red that amount of money can approach the
numbers come from a 1998 World Bank Lacre, the National Movement of Waste unimaginable. In Hyderabad in 2010,
report, which states that” waste pickers” Pickers of Brazil (MNCR), NEPEM and three waste pickers were buried alive in
constitute 1-2% of the urban population- the Instituto Nenucia De DeSenvolvimento piles of burning trash at a landfill site as
approximately 15 million people — or Sustentavel (INSEA), a current Women in they searched for enough recyclable mate-
even more, however no official labour sta- Informal Employment: Globalizing and rial to make up their daily wage. In a 2006
tistics exist. The word “waste picker” Organizing (WIEGO) project is helping to World Bank paper on occupational and
itself is a recycled term — taking up the map the needs of women waste pickers. environmental health issues in solid waste
“picker” from “ragpicker” which is a Through participatory workshops with management, Sheila Cointreau notes that
derogatory term used by the middle class- women waste pickers, the project seeks to the occupational risks faced by waste
es in India to identify those who collect identify the normalized social relations pickers around the world include contact
and live from what others throw out. The including the gender divisions present in with; fecal matter, paper saturated by
term “scavenger” is even worse and is
also used frequently in India. In Latin In Latin America, “waste pickers” see themselves as
America, “waste pickers” see themselves
business people (as entrepreneurs) and are claiming the
as business people (as entrepreneurs) and
are claiming the environmental benefits of environmental benefits of their work with the use of terms
their work with the use of terms like like “recycler” or “reclaimer.”
“recycler” or “reclaimer.”
The International Labour Organization’s waste picking work, which make up the toxic materials, bottles and containers
(ILO) Women and men in the informal many levels of submission and discrimi- with chemical residues, health residues,
economy: a statistical picture reports that nation that these women face. Results of needles, heavy metals from batteries and
Brazil has the highest percentage of the first workshop, held in May 2013, other such hazards. Given the nature of
women who work as waste pickers at revealed the women waste pickers “dis- their work — literally up to their elbows
33%. The gender percentage differs played a strong desire to learn more” by in others’ waste matter — waste pickers
among informal waste pickers from acquiring literacy skills, computer litera- are often reviled by their own societies
region to region and from city to city. For cy, public speaking, child care skills, and which results in, among other things, their
example; more men than women were training in policy. As the global waste exclusion from the social programs that
found to be waste pickers in five of the picker movement grows along with its could potentially improve their lives.
seven West African Cities included and participation at the policy table, the However, positive change is happening
one of these consisted exclusively of men empowerment of women waste pickers for this group of people, and it is happening
waste pickers. In contrast two African becomes central to the empowerment of from within. In waste picker communities
cities, Bamako and Ouagadougou, and waste picker communities. in Asia, Africa and Latin America, groups
urban India have a higher percentage of Waste pickers’ earnings are generally are coming together in large numbers to
women than men informal workers who low and vary according to region. In protest their working conditions, fight
are waste pickers. Cambodia, for example, waste pickers can back against some of the forces threaten-
Marlise Matos, a professor and coor- earn as little as US $1 a day while in ing their livelihoods and argue for the

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 35


recognition they feel their work and their tion methods. Waste pickers can signifi- Chikarmane in Pune, India, where the
humanity deserve. The forces against cantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, waste picker collective SWaCH operates,
which they fight are the same forces of especially in comparison to ‘waste-to- found that “each waste picker in Pune
globalization that make it possible for a energy plants’, which are commonly contributed US $5 worth of free labour to
waste incineration plant financed by car- thought of as another “green” use of the municipality every month, and their
bon credits to wipe out the daily living of garbage, that in fact waste energy. In combined labour saved the municipality
thousands of waste pickers in many cities. India, for example, data from Clean US $316,455 in municipal waste transport
However these same forces of globaliza-
tion also make it possible for waste pick- In waste picker communities in Asia, Africa and Latin
ers to come together regionally and glob-
ally to share their stories and make their America, groups are coming together in large numbers to
voices heard. protest their working conditions, fight back against some of
In some developing cities, waste pick-
ers are often the only people performing
the forces threatening their livelihoods and argue for the
solid waste management. As one waste recognition they feel their work and their humanity deserve.
picker in Bogotá, Colombia says in the
recently published Inclusive Cities Development Mechanism project docu- costs” (Chikarmane, 2012).
Informal Economy Monitoring Study ments show the highest reduction of Despite this, waste pickers face exclu-
(IEMS), “we clean the city — so the sew- greenhouse gas emissions from Delhi’s sionary policies and harassment from offi-
ers don’t clog, so that there are no rats [or] waste-to-energy plant in 2009 was cials. Research in the IEMS study found
mosquitoes… so we help prevent dis- 263,791 metric tons. In contrast, the envi- that in Durban, South Africa and Bogotá,
eases” (Inclusive Cities, 2013). These ronmental research and action group “over 84% of waste pickers said poor treat-
waste pickers divert substantial amounts of Chintan reports that Delhi’s waste pickers ment by the local authority is a problem in
waste from landfills, thus reducing pro- reduced emissions by 962,133 metric tons. their work. More than 89% in those cities
ducers’ reliance on virgin materials and Waste picking also saves cities money. said regulations and by-laws regarding
more environmentally damaging extrac- Research conducted by Poornima waste are a problem, and about 80% said

Organic Leaders for 31 Years!


Natural Food Market 416.466.2129
Wholistic Dispensary 416.466.8432
Organic Juice Bar
Vegetarian Cooking Classes
Free Nutritional Store Tours
Free Thur. Evening Seminars
348 Danforth Avenue
thebigcarrot.ca
S P E C I A L I Z I N G I N O R G A N I C A L LY G R O W N , N O N - G M O A N D E N V I R O N M E N TA L LY S A F E P R O D U C T S

36 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


harassment is a problem,” and as a waste ing into co-operatives and networks to
References
picker in Bogotá said, “They burn the fight climate change, to demand a seat at
waste and don’t let us work where we’ve the policy table, and to improve; their Bartone, C. (1998). The Value in Waste.
Decade Watch.
always worked,” and in Durban, one waste working conditions, their access to occu-
picker reported, that “police bring their pational health and safety, their wages, Chikarmane, Poornima. (2012). Integrating
Waste Pickers into Municipal Solid Waste
dogs when we are getting the goods from and the opportunities for their children.
Management in Pune, India. WIEGO Policy
the cars, and they chase us away with the At an international level, waste pickers Brief (Urban Policies) No. 8. http://wiego.
dogs.” (Inclusive Cities, 2013) have formed the Global Alliance of Waste org/publications/integrating-waste-pickers-
The IEMS also found that social Pickers. Led by a global steering commit- municipal-solid-waste-management-
exclusion compounds waste pickers’ dif- tee, this network has participated in UN pune-india
ficulties. Ninety-seven percent of waste Framework Convention on Climate Cointreau, S. (2006). Occupational and
pickers in Bogotá and Durban said social Change meetings and Clean Development Environmental Health Issues of Solid
exclusion was a problem in their work Mechanism meetings as well as the ILO’s Waste Management –Special Emphasis
[and] seventy-six percent in Nakuru expe- 2013 conference entitled “Building a on Middle- and Lower-Income Countries.
Urban Papers 2, The World Bank Group,
rienced social exclusion. One waste pick- Future with Decent Work.” Latin America,
Washington DC.
er in Nakuru, Kenya said, “You are called Asia and Africa all have active waste
a thief. We are always being discouraged. picker organizations, and the number of de Brito, Deia with Sonia Dias. (2013).
Waste & Gender: Rethinking Relations for
People do not think our work is any- national movements is growing.
Empowerment. WIEGO. http://wiego.org/
thing,” and a Durban waste picker said, Waste pickers recognize that contin- i n fo r m a l - e co n o m y / w a ste - g e n d e r -
“It disturbs us to be undermined by other ued progress also comes from knowledge rethinking-relations-empowerment
people when we are doing our job. It sharing at both the local and global levels: Women in Informal Employment:
makes it difficult for us to carry on with at 2012’s First Global Strategic Workshop Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO).
our job” (Inclusive Cities, 2013). of Waste Pickers, held in Pune, waste (2014). Waste Pickers. http://wiego.org/
Waste pickers also struggle with low pickers relayed that they benefited “from informal-economy/occupational-
and uncertain earnings, which is particu- the experiences and creative solutions of groups/waste-pickers
larly problematic since, according to the others while building an international Dias, Sonia. (2011). Waste Picker Live-
IEMS, 65% of waste pickers sampled said sense of solidarity” (Vryenhoek, 2012). lihood PWIEGO. http://www.wiego.org.
waste picking work was the sole income Through workshops like these and the Inclusive Cities. (2013) The Urban
for their households. In addition, waste fostering of strong, democratic organiza- Informal Workforce: Waste Pickers/
pickers occupy the bottom rung in the tions, waste pickers persevere in advocat- Recyclers. Informal Economy Monitoring
solid waste management business and ing for working and human rights and for Study Sector Report Summary. http://
www.inclusivecities.org/wp-content/
face exploitative conditions from buyers inclusion in solid waste management sys-
uploads/2012/08/IEMS-WP-Sector-
with whom they find it difficult to negoti- tems within their cities and around the Summaryenglish.pdf.
ate fair prices even if the price of waste world.
The International Labour Office. (ILO)
materials increase. They are also affected (2013) Women and men in the informal
negatively by price inflation in other Rhonda Douglas holds a Master’s degree economy: a statistical picture (second
areas, which makes it harder for them to in Management for the Voluntary Sector edition). ILO. Geneva.
meet the rising prices for “electricity, from McGill University in Montréal, Canada. Women in Informal Employment:
food, hospital costs and school fees and Currently, she works as the Global Projects Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO).
supplies” (Inclusive Cities, 2013). Advisor for WIEGO and is excited to be working (2014). Waste Pickers. http://wiego.
Despite significant challenges, waste with membership-based organizations of org/informal-economy/occupational-
pickers are not passive actors. Through informal workers. groups/waste-pickers
their work, they contribute to the fight
against climate change and to local Brenda Leifso joined WIEGO as a
economies. As reported in the IEMS, their Communications Consultant in 2012. With
“materials translate into profits for scrap a background in magazine management,
shops, recycling companies, producers digital communications, and writing, Brenda
Visit us at
and artists,” while they create jobs for holds bachelor’s and graduate level degrees
themselves and others. In Durban, some in; History, with a focus on indigenous and www.weimagazine.com
wastepickers use their generated income women’s histories, English and Creative and subscribe.
from recycling to buy other goods to sell, Writing. Her newest book is forthcoming
therefore increasing again income for with Pedlar Press in 2015. More on Brenda’s
their families. Locally, nationally, and work with non-profits can be found at
internationally, waste pickers are organiz- www.littleplumcreative.com.

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 37


‘What women need’ to green
BC’s healthcare work
By Lou Black

eople usually enter hospitals and entering our environment. Several audits district have extended the effort outside

P other healthcare facilities for the


purposes of restoring or improving
their health. Ironically, these same loca-
conducted in Ontario show that a large por-
tion of waste is incinerated unnecessarily.
As healthcare workers, women work-
their walls and are also offering to
exchange local residents’ mercury ther-
mometers for digital ones in order to keep
tions of health promotion threaten health ing in many occupations including; toxins out of local waterways. The
by exposing workers to toxins, using high housekeeping, laundry, foodservice, ster- University Health Network of Toronto
quantities of disposables, incinerating ile processing, pharmacy, labs, and direct sites were among the first hospitals to
waste, and emitting carbon emissions. care, are exposed to numerous toxins and introduce new protective technology in
Women are disproportionately affected by chemicals including those found in clean- anaesthetics, by using canisters that pre-
healthcare’s unsound environmental prac- ers and disinfectants; glutaraldehyde, vent the release of anaesthetic gases. The
tices because they comprise 78 percent of formaldehyde, ammonia, phthalates, gly- impact of using this technology in Toronto
health care workers in BC (Statistics col ethers, triclosan and volatile organic and six other Ontario hospitals is estimat-
Canada, 2006), and thus more often face compounds. They are also exposed to ed to be the equivalent of taking 8,600
exposure from toxins on the job. As harmful cytotoxic drugs used in chemo- cars off of the road annually (Canadian
housekeepers and foodservice workers, therapy and related waste which are cate- Coalition for Green Healthcare, 2011).
women also feel the burden when policy gorized by the International Agency for Women feel the impact of environ-
makers implement certain sound environ- Research on Cancer as possibly or proba- mentally risky practices, but also experi-
mental practices resulting in additional bly carcinogenic to humans, as well as ence an increased burden in their jobs
work without consulting them. They are mercury which is found in electrical with the implementation of better envi-
likely to experience the greatest impacts equipment, thermometers and manome- ronmental practices. A gendered analysis
and so should also have the greatest input ters. Long term exposure to the latter shows that where there are increasing
into the changes being made. The health affects the central nervous system and demands to recycle in the household,
care sector on the whole requires further eventually causes kidney damage. A num- make greener consumption choices
legislation to unify standards across BC’s ber of mercury spills are reported to including re-usable diapers and fewer dis-
health authorities, with designated fund- Worksafe BC each year. Exposure to toxic posables generally, and use more ‘home
ing for greener operations and holding all substances accounted for 2,175 of all cooked’ organic food and less processed
providers, including private providers and accepted claims in BC’s healthcare sector food, the added work falls to women
contractors, to the same standards. for the years 2008 to 2013. Anaesthetic (Hunter, Hatch & Johnson, 2004). This
Healthcare is far from being a model gases, “noted as being up to 3,766 times division of labour is likely to follow
green sector in BC. Its energy consump- more powerful than carbon dioxide when women into their workplaces as well to
tion, purchasing, and waste creation and it comes to greenhouse gas potential”, are the degree that women continue to be
disposal require substantial improvements regularly released into operating rooms employed in roles in which they are clean-
in order to green the jobs in this sector. and vented into the atmosphere (Canadian ing, cooking, caring for children and car-
Healthcare is the largest carbon emitter of Coalition for Green Healthcare, 2011). ing for the ill.
all the public sectors, responsible for 27% It is possible to adopt safer technology. Anecdotally, through informal discus-
of all Greenhouse Gas emissions in 2012 For example, safer thermometers, digital, sion in my role as a healthcare union
— 228,548 tonnes CO2e from all public battery operated, and other alternatives researcher, women members, particularly
sector sources covered by the Greenhouse exist. Some hospitals have taken thorough in cleaning and food service roles have
Gas Reduction Targets Act. Hazardous inventories of equipment containing mer- described feeling heightened frustration
wastes that are pathogenic, chemical, cury and replaced it throughout their and increased pressure on their time to
explosive, toxic or radioactive comprise buildings. Others, like the Washington meet the demands of new systems of
10-20 percent of the 500 metric tons (MT) Hospital of California’s Employee Green operation designed to divert waste.
generated by Canadian hospitals daily and Team, in conjunction with their regional Assembly line food tray workers, for

38 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


example, communicated that changes fol- Anecdotally, through informal discussion in my
lowing a new municipal policy improving
waste diversion of BC’s Lower Mainland role as a healthcare union researcher, women
hospitals resulted in more work for them
and co-workers to the point that they felt
members, particularly in cleaning and food service
unable to take their breaks. Instead of roles have described feeling heightened frustration
being able to throw most of the items
returned from a patient’s tray into the and increased pressure on their time to meet the
garbage, they now had to carefully disas- demands of new systems of operation designed
semble the tray and place items in their
appropriate bin. Doing this for hundreds to divert waste.
and hundreds of patients with a handful of
workers within already tight schedules has knowledge and perspectives on greening health authority tasked with most things
understandably angered these members. their workplace through various surveys environmental, houses a program designed
Research to further explore the issue of and questionnaires, it is evident that to create leadership and model behavioural
added workload and workers’ experience healthcare workers have expertise on change called Green Plus Leaders. It
of changes to green their worksites would green alternatives, can identify opera- demonstrates promising practices in
be beneficial. The changes are positive tional improvements, and possess envi- worker engagement and cultivating
environmentally and need to happen, but ronmental leadership capacity. The key is healthcare workers’ leadership in the
should not be occurring at the expense of to engage them meaningfully and to give transformation of organizational culture
workers already charged with unrealisti- them the time and, in some cases, the into one that is more sustainably thinking
cally high demands on their time. material means to carry out the change. and acting. The program’s creators recog-
It is less likely that green changes Most employers fail to place workers nize that most healthcare workers face
would play out like this if workers were at the centre of sustainability change. heavy workloads. The program permits
given genuine input into sustainability Women’s expertise and leadership abili- all workers in the direct employ of the
policies, practices, and plans for imple- ties are routinely overlooked in work- health authority to take up to 4 hours a
mentation. In collecting our members’ places generally. Interestingly, BC’s month to carry out campaigns and co-

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 39


worker engagement. Unfortunately this enormous waste and would like to be part itive step. It looks much different though,
time is not available to the vast majority of eliminating it. than Victoria, Australia’s Climate Change
of cleaners, foodservice workers, and In BC there have been numerous and Act of 2010 with attached funding to the
laundry workers who work for private varying initiatives to deal with environ- act, a portion of which was being used
contractors. Their employers do not give mental issues at health care sites but unfor- specifically for healthcare (Department of
time for non-management employees to tunately, there has also been inadequate Human Services, Victoria). A provincial
participate. It is particularly unfortunate action from the government to set provin- green procurement policy with resources
because, according to reports from work- cial standards that would unify and expand to implement it should also be established.
ers, the use of private contractors has these efforts. Health authorities have Examples of cost savings, waste reduction,
come with increased use of disposables inconsistent sustainability policies, some GHG reduction and the strengthening of
and pre-packaged and processed food in adopting stronger language than others. local economies are numerous and support
avoidance of more labour intensive and The province’s legislative commitment to more environmentally sound procurement.
green processes. Our members witness GHG reduction was a significant and pos- BC’s healthcare workers, the majority
of whom are women, must be given
BC’s healthcare workers, the majority of whom broader and greater input into the green-
ing of their work, including how to reduce
are women, must be given broader and greater exposures to chemicals and toxins, and
how to ensure fairness in managing envi-
input into the greening of their work, including ronmental change. They possess the
how to reduce exposures to chemicals and toxins, expertise, ability to influence, and sheer
numbers to be powerful agents of change
and how to ensure fairness in managing in advancing environmental practices in
environmental change. their facilities. Ample alternatives in green
technologies, operational processes, pur-
chasing practices and effective legislation
References
exist. The changes need to be consistent
British Columbia Ministry of the Environment. (2012). Carbon Neutral Action Reports by across all health authorities, achievable,
Public Sector Organisations. Summary and highlights. http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/
and apply to all healthcare workers
topic.page?id=B4071C74EEC04BF5B131A5B0573F4A64#2012
regardless of whom they work for. If BC’s
The Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare. (2011). Green Best Practice Case Study #4 healthcare facilities are to be successfully
ChemTRAC proves to be catalyst of change. City of Toronto policy and hospital demand
transformed, fulfilling the medical mantra
stimulates green manufacturing and reduced toxics levels. http://www.greenhealth-
care.ca/images/pdf/CCGHC-ChemTRAC-GreenCaseStudy.pdf of “do not harm”, they must elevate the
role that the women working in healthcare
Department of Human Services Sustainability, Victoria. Health and Energy Savings from
Hospital Retrofits. http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/www/html/2441?department?of?
perform as well as support this work with
human?services.asp dedicated funds housed within a strong
Hancock, T. (2001).Doing less harm: Assessing and reducing the environmental and health
provincial mandate.
impact of Canada’s health care system. Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care.
http://www.greenhealthcare.ca/images/publications/ccghc_doinglessharm.pdf Lou Black is a Researcher and Policy Analyst
Hunter, L., Hatch, A., & Johnson, A. (2004). Cross-National Gender Variation in for the Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU)
Environmental Behaviors. Social Science Quarterly 85(3). http://spot.colorado.edu/ where she has worked for the last seven years
~hunterlm/HunterHatchJohnson.pdf to advance healthcare workers’ rights and
Statistics Canada. (2006). Experienced labour force 15 years and over by occupation and improve the quality of healthcare services.
sex, by province and territory 2006 Census (Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon). Summary HEU represents 47 000 healthcare workers
tables. Last updated January 29, 2010. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/ across British Columbia.
sum-som/l01/cst01/labor45c-eng.htm
Strashok, C., Dale, A., Herbert, Y., & Foon, R. (2010). Greening Canadian Hospitals.
Community Research Connections. Discussion Paper Series. Number 7. http://
crcresearch.org/discover-crc/sustainable-hospitals-discussion-paper
Washington Hospital Healthcare System, website: http://www.whhs.com/green
Worksafe BC. Claim Characteristics. Top 10 Accident Types. https://online.
worksafebc.com/anonymous/wcb.ISR.web/IndustryStatsPortal.aspx?c=4
Worksafe BC. No date. Worksafe Bulletin WS 06-06 Spilled mercury contaminates a medical
office. http://www2.worksafebc.com/i/posters/2006/WS%2006_06.htm

40 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


Greening, Green-Washing, and Union
Activism in Hospitality
Steven Tufts, Department of Geography, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Simon Milne, New Zealand Tourism Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland,
New Zealand

n the accommodation and foodservice in the late 1980s in response to a hotel’s reduction in energy and chemicals used to

I sectors, new environmental practices


are implemented in ways that can either
discipline or empower workers. In some
appeal to guests to not have their sheets
changed daily (Hayward, 2009). Man-
agement green-washing persists as firms
clean the rooms and launder linens has
significant environmental benefits. The
workers represented by UNITEHERE
instances, new environmentally-friendly respond to consumer demands for action Local 75 argued that there was no real
practices are used by management to on the environment and climate change. reduction in harm to the environment,
reduce the overall labour required. In oth- Despite the appeal, many actions have only a significant cost savings to the
ers, workers and their unions have been marginal impact on the environment and employer as room cleaning is their high-
able to advocate for environmental are largely voluntary and unregulated by est labour cost. The union further argued
responses that raise standards and gain government. Further, green-washing can that non-serviced rooms consume almost
leverage over employers. The contest over be used as a means of justifying the the same amount of energy to clean as a
how best to ‘green’ (or in some cases, reduction of labour necessary to produce room maintained daily, and that work is
‘green-wash’) these industries has impor- goods and services. intensified for room attendants who clean
tant implications for industrial relations Hotels are now ‘marketizing’ minor rooms on a quota system (UNITEHERE
and the over-represented number of environmental initiatives by sharing sav- Local 75, 2010). The ‘Green Choice’ pro-
women and racialized women who work ings with consumers. In 2010, unionized gram therefore not only decreases the
in hospitality services (see Box 1). room attendants and a delegation of com- number of rooms to be cleaned each day,
but intensifies the labour process as rooms
Total Labour Accommodation Food and which have not been serviced take room
Force Beverage Services attendants more time to clean. Room
attendants, largely migrant and racialized
Female % (2006) 47.4 61.4 59.6 women, are the largest group of workers
15-24 % (2006) 15.0 22.8 48.1 in metropolitan hotels and among the low-
Full-time, 53.7 39.4 31.0 est paid in the hotel sector.
Full-year % (2006) UNITEHERE, the largest hospitality
Born Outside 22.1 26.1 25.2 union in North America, dates back to the
Canada % (2006) 1890s and now represents over 260,000
Visible Minority 15.1 19.0 22.7 members, mostly in large metropolitan
% (2006) hotels but also represents 90,000 members
in foodservices. The union has responded
Union Coverage 26.7 16.9 3.5
% (2012) to management ‘green-washing’ by criti-
cally questioning the value of programs
Box 1: Demographic Characteristics of Accommodation and Food Service Workers in Canada such as ‘Green Choice’ and other eco-cer-
SOURCES: CTHRC 2008 NATIONAL SUMMARY: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF TOURISM SECTOR EMPLOYEES, 2006 CENSUS CANADIAN TOURISM AND tifications that are largely self-adminis-
HOSPITALITY RESEARCH COUNCIL: OTTAWA/MARTIN, TERRENCE 2014 HUMAN RESOURCE MODULE OF THE TOURISM SATELLITE ACCOUNT, 2012 CAT
NO 13-604-M-NO 72. STATISTICS CANADA, OTTAWA tered. UNITEHERE has also developed
alternative campaigns that integrate sound
‘Green-washing’ has been an issue in munity supporters entered the Sheraton environmental and labour-friendly policy.
hospitality and tourism-related industries Centre hotel in Toronto to protest the These initiatives raise important questions
(e.g., hotels, airlines, restaurants) for some ‘Make a Green Choice’ program which about how workers can intervene in the
time. In fact, ‘green-washing’ itself is gives guests a $5 per night discount if environmental practices of firms.
commonly attributed to Jay Westerveld, they choose not to have their room ser- UNITEHERE has historically used
an environmentalist who coined the term viced at all. The hotel company claims the consumer boycotts against hotels. Over

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 41


the last decade the union has adopted
What do we stand for, and what do we want?
information and communications technol-
ogy to develop its Union Hotel Guide, 1. Real Food: We support a food system that emphasizes fresh cooked meals
first with a web-based search engine for rather than processed items, prioritizes the local and ethical sourcing of
union friendly hotels and more recently a ingredients, and utilizes production methods that are humane and respect
smart phone application. The Guide iden- our environment.
tifies union hotels as well as hotels (union 2. Real Jobs: Food workers should be paid a living wage (with health and
and non-union) that are currently under retirement benefits), including enough to afford real food for their families.
boycott for labour-related infractions. Workers should be free to publicly disclose food safety or quality issues, and
While the union has not integrated ‘green’ to form a union through a legal and democratic process of their own choosing
criteria into its hotel patronage campaigns, without threats and intimidation.
environmental issues are evident in its
3. Transparency: Transparency is fundamental in changing our food system.
more recent efforts to raise standards in
Universities — and all food service institutions — should fully disclose the
the institutional foodservices sectors. In source of their food purchases, and the wages and benefits paid to food
2012, the union launched its Real Foods. workers.
Real Jobs campaign. This is a compre-
hensive strategy based on three principles Box 2: Real Food. Real Jobs
SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.REALFOODREALJOBS.ORG/PRINCIPLES/, LAST ACCESSED NOV 8, 2013
(see Box 2). ‘Real food’ is where the
‘green’ elements of the campaign are organize the workers of new food conces- union demands were: 1. ‘ORD-er’ fresh,
focussed, with advocacy for healthy meals sions developed throughout ORD’s healthy and local (10% from US Midwest)
and the ethical and local sourcing of upgrade. The campaign, launched in early food; 2. Limit food waste through better
foods. Here, there is also an intervention 2012, began with a survey asking con- management and the donation of surplus
that calls for the ‘skilled’ fresh preparation sumers what type of foodservices they food; and 3. Make ‘real food work’
of food rather than the ‘de-skilled’ prepa- demand at the airport. The union high- through the creating of living-wage union-
ration of pre-processed meals. The ‘real lighted the demands of travellers for ized jobs and a peaceful ‘transition’ as
jobs’ component (in ‘bold’ font in the ‘local’ products in airports as a best prac- new concessions are awarded (UNITE-
campaign logo) represents the call for tice, inspired in part by 100 mile diet and HERE Local 1, 2013).
increased standards for workers and other ‘eat local’ campaigns. Another con- The report was not simply promoted
democratic rights in the workplace. The sumer-based strategy was a ‘positive boy- through the media as the union organized
final principle, ‘transparency’, is directed cott’ that attempted to direct consumers to several events and actions around its
at institutional employers demanding full unionized high quality airport concessions. release. It was recognized that the power-
disclosure of food sourcing and employ- One campaign attempted to intervene in an ful Chicago Department of Aviation
ment policies. The logo itself is a graphic USA Today readers’ choice ‘best airport’ (CDA) would need to face public pressure
summary of the campaign pillars of work- restaurant poll by encouraging customers before it responded to the demands of the
ers’ rights (clenched fist), healthy food to vote for the unionized nominees. report. In April 2013, ORD announced its
(fork) and local sourcing (green leaf). The union also bases the campaign Green Concessions Policy, which the
The campaign has been initially with its members and the community. union took as a first victory in its ongoing
focussed on airports, but is also aimed at Workers feature as advocates for locally struggle. The CDA released the policy on
public schools and universities. The union grown food and unionized jobs. Member April 21, 2013 in time for Earth Day. In
has had some initial success with its cam- activists are also sent to events organized 2011, the CDA established its own certi-
paign for ‘greener’ airport foodservices. by the local food security community to fication program, the Green Airplane
Real Foods. Real Jobs is claimed to be a talk about how airport sourcing and Rating, for tenants. Indeed, the Green
North American based campaign, but it is employment practices can fundamentally Concessions Policy did require conces-
unevenly spatially developed and has change the food system. Community sions to use more sustainable packaging
largely emerged out of Chicago’s UNITE- engagement is a significant part of the and disposable utensils and even donate
HERE Local 1’s efforts to secure union overall strategy. surplus food.
jobs in the midst of a $3 billion upgrade In the spring of 2013, Local 1 released There was, however, no mention of
of O’Hare International Airport (ORD). its key report advocating for sustainable labour standards or guarantees of union
The campaign’s incubation at ORD fol- foodservice practices at O’Hare and list- recognition. Questions remain over what
lows a long lineage of Local 1 organizing ing its key demands. In Putting Sustain- the overall environmental impact of their
concession workers at O’Hare and the ability on the Table the union makes its demands will be in the future (e.g.,
timing of the reinvestment. case for standards at the airport drawing uptake, perceived versus real benefits of
The strategy of Local 1’s campaign is on findings from a survey of 200 airport localism) and more importantly, the long-
to build community support in its fight to concession workers. Specifically, the term compatibility of ‘green’ and ‘blue’

42 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


demands in the airports. Strategically, really be sustainable at all? Air travel is Simon Milne is Professor of Tourism at
integrating environmental criteria in union responsible for only 5% of greenhouse Auckland University of Technology where he
strategies to raise standards for workers gases, but they are among the nastiest also directs the New Zealand Tourism
will continue in a number of sectors. For emissions and occur at high level in the Research Institute (www.nztri.org). Simon’s
airport foodservices, which employ large atmosphere. ‘Real’ environmental cam- research interests focus on the links
numbers of women, migrant and racial- paigns may very well have to consider between tourism, information technology
ized workers, action to improve working how much air travel should occur and and community economic development.
conditions and wages is necessary. how many airports (and airport workers)
There are, however, lingering ques- are needed in the future. These are diffi-
References:
tions about such campaigns, which will cult questions for unions representing
continue to confront workers and unions. already marginalized workers dependent Hayward, P. (2009). Hotels Grapple with
Greenwashing. Lodging Magazine,
First, it may be easier to change environ- upon travel and tourism activity, but may
posted February 1. http://www.lodging
mental practices than raise labour stan- very well be necessary for larger discus- magazine.com/.
dards in the short-term. Will unions com- sions of economic and environmental
UNITEHERE Local 75. (2010). Toronto
mit to such campaigns over the long-term change with just transitions for racialized women leaders offer help to housekeep-
if labour standards are not also raised? women in the industry. ers in protest of “fake green programs” at
The programs are also limited geographi- Sheraton Centre. Press release, November
cally to places with significant union den- Steven Tufts joined York’s Department of 18. www.uniteherelocal75.org/
sity and presence. UNITEHERE, for Geography in 2007 where he is currently UNITEHERE Local 1. (2013). Putting
example, does not have a presence in a Associate Professor and Chair. His research Sustainability on the Table: Airport
large number of North American airports focus is on the geographies of work, work- Workers’ Vision for $3billion of Food and
that could also benefit from such cam- ers, and workplaces. Current research pro- Drink at O’Hare. http://www.realfood
realjobs.org/wp-content/uploads/ORD-
paigns. Creating a North American wide jects include labour market adjustment in
Report.pdf
Real Foods. Real Jobs campaign will be the hospitality sector, the response of unions
a challenge. Lastly, there are real contra- to climate change, labour union renewal in
dictions in such campaigns, the most Canada, and organized labour and rising
obvious being can airports and air travel populism.

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 43


activist. I am a mother, grandmother and
Report from the 2014 great-grandmother”. She spoke of the anxi-
eties felt by parents in remote communities

Tar Sands Healing Walk who do not know if the wild meat they feed
their children will be good for them or will
make them sick. Participants brought water
from lakes and rivers near tar sands infra-
By Jennifer Mills
structure, but only clean water from a spring
could be safely consumed during the cere-
“We’re here, we’ve always been here, and mony. We were taught about the role of
women in Cree culture as the protectors and
we’re not going anywhere.” keepers of the water.
When announcing that this year’s
– Crystal Lameman of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation Healing Walk would be the last, organiz-
ers made it clear that this space for shar-
ing and strategizing would continue in

I
ndigenous communities and allies from further signify the irreparable separation other places. Eriel Deranger and Melina
across Turtle Island and beyond came to of living things from the land that has Laboucan-Massimo wrote that the walk
Treaty 8 territory near Fort McMurray, taken place. Halfway through the walk, has achieved its goal by “creating First
Alberta for the fifth Healing Walk and and while most of us were utterly exhaust- Nations solidarity in communities
camp, held June 27-29, 2014. The Walk ed from the heat, Dene drummers from throughout Alberta, and also the rest of
was a 16-kilometre journey around the nations in Manitoba and northern Alberta Canada and the United States”. The focus
Syncrude tar sands extraction site. Framed continued to keep spirits high with their will now spread to communities impacted
not as a protest but rather as a gathering energetic singing and drumming. all along the chain of oil production, from
for learning and healing, the Walk was led Female elders led many of the Healing initial extraction to pipelines, refineries,
by local indigenous people and centred on Walk ceremonies: prayers to the four direc- storage, and emissions from consumption.
ceremony and prayer. While the local tions while we were walking and a water Two female elders came all the way from
landscape may look to outsiders like a ceremony at our campsite. Before the water Africatown, near Mobile, Alabama, to
write-off, the quote above shows that the ceremony, elder Kathie Moses of the Saddle speak out against plans to install bitumen
exploited land is still the territory of the Lake Cree Nation spoke of her motivations storage tanks across from a school in their
First Nation and Métis communities who for participating. She said, “I am not an community. Their struggle highlights the
continue to live there and have an impor-

PHOTOGRAPH: JENNIFER MILLS


tant connection to that place.
At the start of the walk, a thick grey
cloud of smog hung in the air above us.
The initial sickening smell of petroleum
became disturbingly normal after a short
time. The oppressive heat and lack of
shade made the sandy terrain feel like a
desert. The only sources of water we
encountered were vast ponds filled with
mining waste, over which air guns sound-
ed to scare off birds. After walking around
the site for hours, I had the sense of being
completely surrounded by the petroleum
industry in a way that photographs cannot
convey. Trucks drove past us constantly,
often honking in support. Some workers
are from the area and have few employ-
ment options outside of the industry.
During the walk, we passed tar sands sites
in various stages of reclamation that were
all fenced off. Even if the vegetation can
be restored, which is uncertain, the fences Photo of desert-like conditions of land that has already been mined in 2014.

44 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


TOP LEFT: Elders
lead Healing Walk
2014.
LEFT: Healing
Walk participants
pass by tar sands
site 2014.
BELOW: The
route of the
Healing Walk

environmental racism experienced by per barrel and leads to land fragmentation The Healing Walk was full of con-
marginalized communities affected by the with a web of pipelines, roads, and other trasts. The tailings ponds, smog, and
oil economy across the continent. infrastructure. The unclear risks of this desert at the extraction site were juxta-
Despite the sadness generated by the method are demonstrated in Cold Lake, posed with beautiful sunsets on the lake at
destruction we witnessed, the weekend where a spill has continued for over a year the camp, otters swimming by, and danc-
overall was filled with feelings of hope with little media coverage or response ing and singing into the night. The gath-
and determination. There was excitement from the Canadian government. ering was a powerful reminder of what we
over the June 26th Tsilhqot’in Nation v. Some of the strongest voices against can accomplish in unity, and what we
British Columbia Supreme Court decision. treaty violations and environmental need to protect.
By granting a declaration of Aboriginal destruction are those of indigenous Jennifer Mills is a PhD student in the Faculty
title, the Supreme Court strengthened the women. The petroleum industry infringes of Environmental Studies, York University.
recognition of Aboriginal title to tradition- on the treaty rights to hunt, fish and trap Her dissertation research focuses on
al territory and increased the level of justi- by restricting access to traditional territo- indigenous rights and consultation processes
fication needed for the Canadian govern- ry, driving away wildlife, and contaminat- relating to petroleum extraction in Canada
ment to infringe on that title with projects ing the environment. Communities living and Norway. She is an organizer with the
like logging, mining or oil extraction. near the tar sands have experienced high- Mining Injustice Solidarity Network and the
Other ongoing legal cases provide hope er than average cancer rates and have fossil fuel divestment campaign at York.
for change to current government policies, found signs of illness in local animals.
such as the Beaver Lake Cree case going Many of these women were also the main
to trial in 2015 over the cumulative organizers of the Healing Walk. Some are
impacts of the tar sands industry. We were mothers, who speak passionately of their
also reminded, however, of the attacks on concerns and responsibilities to their chil-
the rights of indigenous peoples by provin- dren. Jesse Cardinal, of the Kikino Métis
cial and federal governments in Canada. Settlement, asked, “What will the land be
Albertan regulators have approved pro- like for our children?” given that the local
duction of 5 million barrels of oil a day by environment is already compromised.
2030, a sharp increase from the 1.8 million When I asked her why so many of the
barrels a day produced in 2012. organizers are women, she was quick to
Regulatory changes in Alberta have also point out the important roles men took on
restricted the opportunities for First in providing security at the camp and
Nations to participate in hearings over pro- keeping the fire lit all weekend. Everyone PHOTOGRAPHS: ALLAN LISSNER/MAP: WWW.HEALINGWALK.ORG

posed projects on their traditional territo- had a part to play.


ry. Clearly, more awareness is needed of
the local impacts of the tar sands industry References:
as well as how it affects and implicates all For information on current developments related to tar sands, First Nations, and land
Canadians. This includes the growing in claims, see:
situ extraction of bitumen, whereby steam http://rabble.ca/news/2014/07/reflecting-on-last-healing-walk-organizers-see-hope;
is injected into the underground reservoirs http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14246/index.do;
to heat the bitumen and facilitate extrac- http://www.thetarsandstrial.ca/; http://ablawg.ca/2014/06/03/4447/;
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/nine-months-and-still-spilling-a-recap-of-
tion through pipes. While this method
the/blog/48193/;
causes less deforestation than mining, it http://www.pembina.org/reports/oilsands-metrics.pdf
releases more greenhouse gas emissions

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 45


In Print

Making Peace with the Earth


By Vandana Shiva
Fernwood Publishing, co-published with Pluto Press in 2013
288 pages, list price $24.95 CAD

Review by Skyler M. Warren and Jessica L. Knowler

V
andana Shiva’s most recent book, expedite the privatization of nature. value-less, where compensation is either

COVER DESIGN: MELANIE PATRICK/COVER ART: DHAVAT SINGH


Making Peace with the Earth, pro- Shiva foregrounds the words ‘peace’ unjust or non-existent. She describes this
vides an enlightened account of the and ‘earth’; the connotations of which narrow understanding of what constitutes
environmental injustices taking place in have become framed as both romantic and value as a key element in the ecological
various communities throughout India. irrational, as well as ultimately contradic- crisis, and fundamentally reliant upon the
She expertly maps the proliferation of tory to mainstream understandings of concept of separateness. Separateness is
land grabs, the commodification of fresh ‘growth’ and ‘development’. Exposing the ultimate tool of corporations, and cor-
water, the privatization of seeds, among common-sense understandings of words poratized states, because it creates more
other destructive trends, that are espoused like ‘efficiency’— used to justify the hunger and scarcity, the results of which
by the neoliberal economic framework commodification of natural resources — arbitrarily increase demand and then con-
and realized through a coercive dissemi- maps out the ways that such terms have centrate its profits into the hands of the
nation of globalization, where corporate been co-opted into the current paradigm few. She describes peoples’ identities as
personhoods and market-based principles for insidious purposes. bound up in the land from which they
reign unchecked. Her analysis is both Shiva meticulously shows that neolib- derive their subsistence, yet the very
authoritative and humble, in that she eral ideas of growth only hold up when framework for an ‘efficient’ economy is
remains firmly planted in the experiences natural and social costs are externalized, one that treats this material identity as a
of those who endure these injustices most
closely, rendering her exposition accessi-
ble, readable and highly persuasive even Skepticism of the words ‘peace’ and ‘war’ when
to the unconverted. discussing environmental issues is common in the
Skepticism of the words ‘peace’ and
‘war’ when discussing environmental industrialized nations who profit from systems of
issues is common in the industrialized
nations who profit from systems of capital- capitalist globalization and live comfortably.
ist globalization and live comfortably.
However, Shiva’s illustrations of the dev- which she characterizes as an ideology of commodity to be appropriated, marke-
astating consequences that exploiting the apartheid. When natural and social capital tized, and eventually privatized for the
earth’s resources have when they are exter- are internalized into calculations of profit of those who degrade it. It is pre-
nalized to the Global South, demonstrate growth, the current model’s true ineffi- cisely a different kind of understanding to
that the concept of ‘eco-apartheid as war’ ciency, unsustainability, and ultimately, its which Shiva points — an understanding
is not just a metaphor, but a harsh reality. violence against the Earth and the majority that requires the re-claiming of language
Descriptions of forced displacement and of its people, is unmistakable. Borrowing more suited towards qualitative imagining
increasing food and water scarcity for the from Marilyn Waring, Shiva reiterates that and a collaborative system where holism,
most marginalized in Indian society, an economy reliant upon trade to create richness, and complexity replace separa-
despite India’s recently touted economic value is made separate from the ‘informal tion and reductionism.
‘growth’, read neither gratuitously severe economy’; home-work carried out by It is at this entry-point that a rights-
nor timid: they are an evaluation of the women is seen as economically value-less based understanding of earth-centered
damage caused by international bodies, because nothing is ‘produced’ for trade. As economics is most apt: taking a rights-
such as the World Bank, as well as govern- well, much of the work in food production based approach, Shiva evades the growth/
ments and multinational corporations, who done by women is considered equally no-growth tension by noting the need to

46 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


“...strengthen human rights by deepening to respect the environmental principle of Jessica Knowler is a Gender, Sexuality and
the recognition that humans depend on the sustainability and the ethical principle of Women’s Studies student at Simon Fraser
earth” (pp.264). A shift from ‘terra nul- justice.” (p.257) University. Her research interests include
lius’ to ‘terra madre’ must underpin the issues of social justice in the labor market,
ideological justification for enacting envi- Shiva rejects the idea that alternatives climate justice, feminist theory and feminist
ronmental and social justice. Her ideas are need to be realized in the future by non- methodology in research praxis.
not reactionary or idealistic, they are crit- existent technologies and shows instead
ical of a system that perpetuates injustice that real alternatives already exist with bio Skyler Warren is currently enrolled in the
and calls it ‘development’. Shiva does not diverse ecological farming practices, Master of Public Service program at the
seem to argue that ‘globalization’ is inher- which are sets of knowledge that have University of Waterloo. Her research inter-
ently evil, but rather that it is highly prob- been locally cultivated over the course of ests center upon the deconstruction of issue
lematic because of the way that it takes thousands of years. Learning from tradi- framing and the application of a political
place and because of the current goals, tional practices of subsistence is an impor- sociology approach to policy analysis and
principles and capital that inform it. A tant tool to reconcile the current unsus- methodology.
globalized community does not have to tainable growth model with the economic
preclude collaborative, ecological, earth- and ecological changes that, in the wake
centered and truly democratic processes of climate change, most of us now recog-
of sharing, wherein we come to realize the nize as imperative. Ultimately holding us
interconnectedness of ourselves with one back is a hierarchy of power derived from
another and with the earth. Instead, she a neoliberal perversion of democracy —
argues that; sustained through an ideology of
apartheid — that disables the necessary
“[a]n ecological and feminist agenda for political will to change.
trade needs to be evolved based on the
ecological limits and social criteria that
economic criteria must adhere to, if it is

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 47


Indigenous Message
on Water, Anthology
Editors Juan Guillermo Sanchez Martinez and Felipe
Quetzalcoatl Quintanilla with associate editors Darlene
Sanderson and Sophie Lavoie.

London, Ontario: Indigenous World Forum on Water


and Peace, 2014.
222 pages e-book price $7.00 CAD from
www.waterandpeace.wordpress.com

COVER ART: OSWALDO DELEÓN KANTULE “ACHU”


Proceeds support the organizing of the Indigenous
World Forum on Environment and Peace.

Review by Patricia E. Perkins

Tortugas volviéndose historia/


Turtles becoming history

T
his lovely book is an illustrated, of water, the Forum’s work is for all sacred and awe-inspiring, interwoven
collaborative anthology of poetry humanity and all life on earth. Writes with all aspects of indigenous cultures.
and other writings by more than 50 associate editor Darlene Sanderson, Below is a poem from the book
indigenous people from all over the world “IWFWP is just one step in reclaiming (p.141), by Pin@y Filipina/US cultural
on water and its significance. As the editor balance; knowledge, experience and tra- worker Holly Calica:
says in the Introduction, it “showcases a ditional wisdom will contribute to the dia-
mix of generations, traditions, cultures, logue of science, offering solutions for a
and ways of understanding both words sustainable future that are rooted in lan- Patricia E. (Ellie) Perkins is a Professor in
and nature. Depending on the local and guage and cultural practices.” the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York
colonial histories and on personal experi- The diverse and interesting writings in University, where she serves on the Equity
ence, each author has brought before us a this book are impressive in their global Committee. Her research focuses on gender,
droplet from his/her own harvest.” The breadth as well as their down-to-earth per- climate justice, and participatory water
writings are translated into both English spective on water — essential for life, governance.
and Spanish, and many are also included
in the original languages: Apache, Maori,
Mayan K’iche’, Wayuunaiki, Mapuche, Joyous 33, a Pacific Voyageur
Palenque, and others. There are full-
colour plates of illustrations by the artists …she sails, glides over waves del pacifico ~ madre del mundo ~yemanja ~
Achu de Leon Kantule and Daniel Andres she sails, aboard ~ a vaka amongst many Austronesia brothers, sisters, fathers,
Molina Sierra. mothers, niños del mar ~ primos del amor, hermanos de tiburones, los delfines
The Indigenous World Forum on y las ballenas ~ even with tears falling still bailando con splashes everywhere ~
Water and Peace (IWFWP) has emerged skyhopping and sharing ~ amor with us despite our pollution, our modern
since 1999 through calls at World Water technology, our carbonized lifestyles ~ of destruction ~ yet she sails, a birthday
Forums, UN meetings, and indigenous girl following a dream, a pin@y with hula chants ~ tucked away, the call of the
conferences, and organizing led by the ancestors luring her west, reliving our past bringing us ~ forward into a future
Indigenous Environmental Network. By with our breath filling her sails to join the effort in saving our blue ~ planet,
raising awareness of indigenous voices nuestra pachamama ~ our sister, a joyous one, makes the voyage for us ~ ~ ~
guiding the way toward the preservation

48 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


In Film

Climate Change is here and now


5 Videos show how it affects women
Review by Reggie Modlich M.Sc.

revailing powers, especially corpo- and brothers in her traditional patriarchal rendered much of the soil too saline, to

P rations of the wealthier countries of


the north, relentlessly continue their
profit driven course, which furthers cli-
society to monitor radio broadcasts, and
play a leadership role. She warns her vil-
lage, about coming floods and ensures that
allow much else to grow. In such an
increasingly barren environment, men
have migrated to the cities and left women
mate change. They build more gas and oil people, animals, cooking fuel and food are and children stranded. Rural development
pipelines, more air ports, and more high- relocated to high and dry grounds in time. advisers from CGC work with women in
ways. Meanwhile, countries of the south planting chilly during dry season and raise
are already struggling with the effects of 3. Martina’s story crabs during wet season; efforts with more
climate change on a daily basis. Those (Oxfam: http://www.youtube.com/ resilient rice species are also showing
responsible for raising and feeding the watch?v=iSMB8m4_4BM) promise. The women are also encouraged
young and vulnerable in most societies, Martina, in rural Uganda, is sad to have to to raise chicken. The video shows Dr.
— overwhelmingly women — suffer raise her family at this time. Drought has Ahsan Uddin Ahmed, the Executive
most from the effects of climate change. wreaked havoc with seasons in her region. Director of Centre for Global Change
Ironically it is voices from the north, She and other village women have to travel (CGC) explaining the need for change to
who have released five short videos on ever further to find fruits, fire wood and village women. He has been engaged in
women and climate change. All are less water to sustain their families — not to climate change related research since 1990
than 10 minutes long; four are produced mention the increased risk of assault during and is a member of IPCC since 1996.
by Oxfam, as part of their 2008 “Sisters on their ever lengthening forays. They have to The videos are not cinematographic
the Planet” series, and one by Deutsche dig ever deeper to find ground water and masterpieces. Yet, they all convey the
Welle, released in 2012. when the rains do come, they come with vivid and unequivocal message that
such impact that they destroy the crops. Climate Change is here, and that it affects
1. Muriel’s story women most immediately in their every-
(Oxfam: http://www.youtube.com/ 4. Melissa’s story day lives and responsibilities to sustain
watch?v=AdmEXWoqE8g) (Oxfam: http://www.youtube.com/ their families and communities. The
Muriel Saragoussi is a senior member of watch?v=hU5qw751XxY) Bangladesh videos, two and five, are the
Brazil’s Environment Ministry. She narrates Melissa is a British journalist who traded most hopeful. They show women being
a global overview of how climate change her career for that of an educator. empowered through positive responses.
causes catastrophic changes in weather, Environmentally conscious since child- Aid and development work that starts at
including floods and droughts. This is hood, she was concerned about her soci- the grassroots, and empowers women —
destroying the ability of women to raise tra- ety’s fixation on consumerism and dispos- one woman at a time — can make a real
ditional crops and livestock and nurture able goods. Her career change enables her difference. “Why Good Intentions Aren’t
their families. She concludes by admonish- to help youth cope with their fears about enough,” Winter 2014, Herizons, a recent
ing all of us about our responsibility to do the future and guide them to positive interview with Tory Hogan, aid worker
our part to curb this human tragedy:”If you action on Climate Change. turned aid critic, expressed this message.
are on a boat, that’s sinking, it’s useless to Mega projects, such as damns, or other
say it is someone else’s fault.” 5. Women in Bangladesh fight corporate, top-down ventures, funded by
Climate Change mega loans by the World Bank or IMF,
2. Sahena’s story (Deutsche Welle: http://www.youtube. put poor countries only further in debt and
(Oxfam: http://www.youtube.com/ com/watch?v=F7p65xqItMA force social infrastructure cut-backs. Such
watch?v=WqYgDGy8Z4M) Julia Heinrichmann filmed this story, pub- projects rarely consult those directly
Bangladesh experiences yearly floods of lished by Deutsche Welle, Germany, in impacted and are frequently skimmed off
1/3 of her land surface; climate change has 2012. She describes a campaign developed by multi-levels of patriarchal corruption.
altered the seasons making it difficult to by the Centre for Global Change (CGC), a
predict planting and harvesting times. local NGO in Bangladesh, to assist rural Reggie Modlich is a feminist activist and
Sahena is a young village woman, who women to respond to changes in their cli- retired urban planner who worked with
overcame the opposition of her husband mate. Industrialized shrimp cultivation has women in rural India in her younger days.

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 49


In The News

Women at COP 20 Blast Failure for


Real Action in Lima
“Time to Stop Calling and Start Doing. Leaders, You Have 12 Months
to get it Right.” [Lima, Peru; Sunday, 14 December]
By Bridget Burns

s COP20 came to a close, the and marches and collaborated with dozens the WGC summed up the WGC’s eval-

A members of the United Nations


Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) Women
of colleagues from around the world who
participated through all this action in the
COP in Lima or in support activities back
uation of COP 20: “Governments should
be immediately implementing a renewable
and safe energy transformation, protect-
and Gender Constituency (WGC), rep- home in local communities. In spite of ing threatened ecosystems, and ensuring
resenting hundreds of thousands of women these efforts, and those of many allies in that the rights of the most vulnerable and
and men from around the world, respond- Civil Society, the COP failed to move impacted communities, including women,
ed to the failure of the Lima outcome to substantially forward towards the ultimate children and indigenous peoples and
reflect the urgency of the climate crisis. goal of agreeing on a plan to avert climate ecosystems are respected and protected,
For over two weeks in Lima, WGC catastrophe, although in the final hours it but here at COP 20 in Lima, in spite of
and Women’s Caucus members participat- agreed to an outcome in order to keep working almost 2 days overtime, they did
ed directly in the negotiations, held press work moving towards Paris next year. not come close to reaching this goal.”
conferences, conducted advocacy train- Bridget Burns, of the Women’s Although COP 20 did see the launch of
ings, wrote articles, released reports and Environment and Development Organ- the ‘Lima Work Programme on Gender’,
briefing papers, joined demonstrations ization in the US, and co-focal point of which aims to advance implementation of

PHOTOGRAPH: WOMEN AND GENDER CONSTITUENCY

50 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


gender-responsive climate policies and women’s human rights and we won’t rest not an “add-on issue”. Women are half
mandates across all areas of the negotia- until every single word is fair and serves the world’s people. We are most of the
tions, this critical initiative faced challenges to create a just, sustainable and equitable world’s farmers, health-care workers and
as well, with governments trading language future for women and men.” teachers. We deserve and demand equal
on “gender equality” for “gender balance.” Sabine Bock, Energy and Climate partnership in climate negotiations and
Burns continued: “The WGC insists Director for Women in Europe for a implementation.”
that a fundamental framework of a strong Common Future said, “We can only get an Osprey Lake of the Women’s Earth
“rights-based” agreement that is focused on ambitious and adequate agreement, if and Climate Action Network (WECAN)
climate justice must be the goal for COP 21 women and men equally decide, contribute in the United States, where the battle
to be held in Paris, France, in 2015. Without and benefit from all climate policies and over the Keystone XL Pipeline and the
gender equality, women’s rights, indigenous actions. Provisions on Technology and development of the Alberta Tar Sands is
peoples rights and climate justice, including Mitigation will also only be effective when raging, addressed the failure of the COP to
financing for loss and damage, a rapid tran- Gender Equality is included in the imple- deal with the central point of ending fossil
sition to safe and renewable energies, mas- mentation of climate-safe technologies. And, fuel extraction: “With the COP taking
sive commitment and emissions reductions in fact, at WECF, we have seen in our work place in Peru, it is the first time a UNFC-
by the developed world, and full participa- on a daily basis that women and men are CC meeting was held in an Amazon coun-
tion of those most impacted, the programme already jointly implementing climate solu- try. Indigenous women from the Amazon
of work to be done will be incubated and tions in local communities — for example echoed what social movements are
launched within an empty shell and will do solar collectors in the South Caucuses and demanding worldwide: if we want to
little to support the lives of millions nor pro- Eastern Europe. These solutions must play address climate change, we have to have a
tect the precious ecosystems upon which we a major role in the Paris Agreement — and transition away from extractive economies.
depend for our survival.” the Agreement must reject completely big We must leave 80 percent of the current
Reinforcing the frustration felt by all, the hydro, nuclear and fossil fuels of any kind.” fossil fuels reserves in the ground.”
words of Marina Parvin, from the Mrinalini Rai, an indigenous The climate talks have again failed to
Indigenous Mundas community in activist from India and Nepal, added, reflect the daily realities of peoples and
Bangladesh and representing the Asia “It is time to recognize that we need ‘System communities around the world, and the
Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Change, Not Climate Change’, and that words of Usha Nair,co-focal point of the
Development (APWLD) were read by System Change should begin by recognizing WGC from All India Women’s
Carmen Capriles of Bolivia to bleary-eyed the rights of the most vulnerable and mak- Conference, are clear. “The Women and
delegates around 3:00 AM in the closing ing them central to the climate discussion, Gender Constituency wants the agreement
moments of the extended negotiating ses- not in the periphery.” to focus on real solutions — not false solu-
sion, “I have travelled all the way from Isis Alvarez, from Colombia and tions like nuclear energy, fracking, geo-
Bangladesh, leaving my home and family, representing the Global Forest engineering and mega dams. We are con-
hoping to see a commitment to an effective Coalition in the WGC, found encourage- cerned at increased corporate involvement
and equitable new agreement that is binding, ment for the future outside the walls of the in climate action that encourages profit
ambitious and transformative; a commit- UNFCCC meeting. “I am glad the Peoples’ motives and moves away from social com-
ment to uphold human rights, gender equal- Climate Summit was also held in Lima par- mitment and compassionate involvement.
ity, and the rights of future generations.” allel to the UNFCCC COP 20 negotiations. We urge increased focus on public-citizen
Parvin continued: “It pains me that While listening and following at the latter, participation for more democratised actions
when I go back, I will tell my people that one could lose all hope for real climate on climate change. We also call for suffi-
wealthy governments just talked about action and climate justice, but at the cient finance, appropriate technology and
which lands will be lost, communities dis- Summit, you could actually get to know the adequate provision for loss and damage.”
placed, cultures destroyed and which lives ‘real’ people on the frontlines of climate “From now to Paris we need leader-
are less important.” change, listen to their voices and hear their ship at all levels — local, national and
AWLPD’s Regional Coordinator proposed solutions. It helps you believe international. And we need leaders to deal
Kate Lappin, based in Thailand empha- again in local and genuine actions that we seriously and honestly with the crux of
sized the key demands of the Women and can take now. If we all wait in line for an these talks — global inequality and his-
Gender Constituency at COP 20, “We did- agreement between governments (that might torical responsibility — and to make
n’t come here to negotiate gender equality already come too late or not even come at progress on a fair, just, equitable and
on a dead planet. We’re not asking for all) we might just cook ourselves together transformative global partnership to com-
women to be half the displaced popula- with the planet while we are waiting.” bat the ever escalating climate crisis.”
tion, half of those killed, half of those who Trish Glazebrook, U.S. Represent- For further information visit the
lose their livelihoods and future. Every ative for Gender CC: Women for Women and Gender Constituency website
single word of this document relates to Climate Justice, made clear: “Gender is at www.womengenderclimate.org

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 51


COP20 Closing Statement
You have negotiated only which lives, communities and lands will be lost!
[Lima, Peru; Sunday, 14 December]
By Bridget Burns

t the close of COP20, two days Thank you Chair. I am Marina Pervin, from Bangladesh, where up to
A behind schedule, Carmen Capriles
delivered the statement prepared
by Marina Parvin, from the Indigenous
20 million people may be displaced by 2020.
For the Indigenous Mundas women that I work closely with, poverty
Mundas community in Bangladesh and and extreme vulnerability are a daily reality. We no longer have any
representing the Asian Pacific Forum for soil to plant, and we fight harder and harder to make our families and
Women in Law and Development communities survive floods, salinity, droughts and typhoons.
(APWLD), to bleary-eyed delegates
around 3:00 AM in the closing moments I expected that negotiations would lead to an agreement that will
of the extended negotiating session: assure the Mundas women and all women, children and men, the right
“I have travelled all the way from to imagine a future. I have travelled all the way from Bangladesh,
Bangladesh, leaving my home and fami- leaving my home and family, hoping to see:
ly, hoping to see a commitment to an
effective and equitable new agreement • a commitment to an effective and equitable new agreement that is
that is binding, ambitious and transforma- binding, ambitious and transformative?
tive? a commitment to uphold human • a commitment to uphold human rights, gender equality, and the
rights, gender equality, and the rights of
rights of future generations.
future generations.”
Parvin continued: “It pains me that I am deeply horrified to see you negotiating away women’s futures,
when I go back, I will tell my people that women’s rights and the security of our planet. It pains me that when I
wealthy governments just talked about go back, I will tell my people that wealthy governments just talked about
which lands will be lost, communities dis-
which lands will be lost, communities displaced, cultures destroyed
placed, cultures destroyed and which lives
are less important.” and which lives are less important.
Read the full statement below: It shocks me that even gender equality was traded away. Ministers, don’t
backtrack! You have mandates established over twenty years ago through
the Beijing Platform for Action and other international conventions.
Restore your commitment to women’s rights. Ensure gender equality
as a guiding principle for the new agreement.
We simply cannot achieve a sustainable, just and livable planet without
gender equality and there can be no gender equality on a dead planet.
Your lack of urgency and will in this meeting has left us dismayed. But
it’s not too late. You must shape a new future and design a new world
–redistribute wealth, power, resources and opportunities to allow
Mundas women to imagine a future.
Ministers, you have to prove that all life is important. We will not
allow you to fail us.
Thank you

52 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 MAY 2015


WE Resources
RECENT SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES ON GENDER AND FEMINIST METHODS
CLIMATE CHANGE The resources in this section provide examples of
Jessica L. Knowler and Skyler M. Warren incorporating feminist approaches to research methods
that include gender and intersectional analysis, as well as
GREEN ECONOMICS social dimensions, which have been largely excluded in the
The advent of climate change has feminists looking for dominating discourses on climate change.
solutions to the ecological and economic crises caused by
the austere neoliberal policies of the past forty years. Green Carr, E. R., & Thompson, M. C. (2014). Gender and climate
jobs are crucial for a sustainable future, but the intersectional change adaptation in agrarian settings: Current thinking,
aspects of current ‘gray’ jobs and future green jobs must new directions, and research frontiers. Geography Compass,
be examined to ensure equitable development in greening 8(3), 182-197.
economies. Exposed here is that most contemporary environmental
analyses are predicated on a construction of gender as
Bauhardt, C. (2014). Solutions to the crisis? The Green binary (men versus women), that are likely to result in
New Deal, Degrowth, and the Solidarity Economy: increased vulnerability of the most marginal, and therefore
Alternatives to the capitalist growth economy from an advocates for intersectional methodological innovations.
ecofeminist economics perspective. Ecological Economics,
102, 60-68. Chalifour, N. (2010). A Feminist Perspective on Carbon Taxes.
Demonstrated here is how alternative approaches to the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law. 21(2), 169-212.
capitalist growth economy can be improved upon by the The author argues that it is important to consider how policies
integration of eco-feminist economic principles. In order to will impact upon different segments of society and to ensure
achieve economic change that also meets claims for gen- that they are designed in a way that is fair and without further
der equity, it must be recognized that many proposed alter- entrenching systemic inequalities. This is done by examining
natives are still deeply gendered in their assumptions con- carbon taxes from a feminist perspective, specifically
cerning women’s labour. considering how carbon taxes impact upon women.

Hegewisch, Ariane, Hayes, Jeff, Bui, Tonia, Zhang, Analan. Cohen, Marjorie Griffin. (2014). Gendered Emissions:
(2013). Quality employment for women in the green Counting Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Gender and Why
economy: Industry, occupation, and state-by-state job it Matters. Alternate Routes: A Journal of Critical Social
estimates. Washington, DC: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 25, 55-80.
Research. A feminist approach to quantitative methods is applied by
This report examines women’s share of employment in the measuring the greenhouse gas emissions through work by
occupations predicted to see the highest growth in the gender. It shows that aspects of consumption can be separated
green economy in the US, and investigates strategies for by gender, and that knowing the gendered distinctions in
improving women’s access to quality employment in the GHG emissions can be informative for climate justice issues
green economy. and public policy strategies to mitigate climate change.

International Labour Organization (ILO). (2011). Promoting


work in a green economy: ILO background note to ‘Towards ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION AND GENDERED EFFECTS
a green economy: pathways to sustainable development OF CLIMATE CHANGE
and poverty eradication’ UNEP, 2011. Geneva: International In an attempt to illustrate alternative and effective
Labour Organization. approaches to mitigation and adaptation we have included
This report demonstrates that green investments contribute literature that best demonstrates adaptation and mitigation
to reducing environmental damage while boosting economic strategies from a bottom-up perspective and natural
growth and creating jobs, and considers social dimensions resource management at the community level.
as equally important in the process of shifting towards a
more sustainable economy. Figueiredo, P., & Perkins, P. (2012). Women and water
management in times of climate change: Participatory
Liu, Y.Y & Keleher, T. (2009). Green equity toolkit: standards and inclusive processes. Journal of Cleaner Production,
and strategies for advancing race, gender and economic 1(1), 1-7.
equity in the green economy. Oakland, CA: Applied This paper discusses community engagement focused upon
Research Center. the inclusion of women in water management and is a
This toolkit provides a guide for incorporating racial, gender valuable contribution to the discussion of global North-South
and economic equity into the design, implementation and collaboration in that their initiatives endeavor to expand
evaluation of initiatives involving green jobs. grassroots participation, especially of women, in political
processes.

FALL 2014/WINTER 2015 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com 53


Djoudi, H., & Brockhaus, M. (2011). Is adaptation to climate Rooke, A. (2012). Doubling the damage: World Bank and
change gender neutral? Lessons from communities climate investment funds undermine climate and gender
dependent on livestock and forests in northern Mali. justice.
International Forestry Review, 12(2), 123-135. This piece illustrates some problematic initiatives of the
This piece discusses the development of adaptive strategies World Bank and discusses how inequitable policy has been
by women in response to the drying out of Lake Faguibine resisted by environmental activists and gender justice
in northern Mali, which face barriers to success because of groups. http://boell-india.org/downloads/Doubling_the
the gendered barriers that women face. _Damage_Final_hbf-GenderAction.pdf.

Perkins, P. E. E. (2011). Public participation in watershed Tuana, Nancy. (2013). Gendering Climate Knowledge for
management: International practices for inclusiveness. Justice: Catalyzing a New Research Agenda. Research,
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 36(5), Action and Policy: Addressing the Gendered Impacts of
204-212. Climate Change. Eds. M. Alston and K. Whittenbury, pp.
This paper outlines a number of examples from around the 14-31.
world of participatory processes for watershed decision- Because knowledge and power reinforce each other, current
making, and discusses how they work, why they are understandings of climate change and its inequitable impacts
important, their social and ecological potential, and the omit many complexities related to women’s perspectives
practical details of how to start, expand and develop them. and knowledge.

CLIMATE JUSTICE USEFUL INTERNET RESOURCES


There is a need for accountability of governments in the Daub, Shannon, Jonathan Taggart, Shane Gunster, Josha
global North for climate policy that facilitates equitable McNab, and Amazing Factory Productions. (2014). The
collaboration with the global South in adapting to and Good Life — The Green Life. (film) Vancouver, BC: Canadian
mitigating the effects of climate change. Centre for Policy Alternatives. Available from:
http://goodlifegreenlife.ca.
Agostino, A., & Lizarde, R. (2012). Gender and climate
justice. Development, 55(1), 90-95. United Nations Women Watch: http://www.un.org/women
Using a gender lens, the authors propose that those in the watch/feature/climate_change/#commit
South who are most affected by environmental changes
need to receive justice from those in the North who are United Nations Women: http://www.unwomencanada.org/
most responsible for climate change.

Featured artist Helma Sawatzky


ARTIST’S PROFILE

Helma Sawatzky lives in Surrey BC, Canada. Her interdisciplinary academic background
includes undergraduate degrees in music education (The Netherlands, 1991) and visual
arts (Emily Carr University of Art + Design, 2009), and an MA in Communication (2011).
Alongside her practice as visual artist and musician, she currently pursues PhD studies
at Simon Fraser University School of Communication. Her research focuses on
photography, embodiment and mediation.
In both her art practice and graduate research, she explores the phenomenological
dimensions of media — ways in which various media technologies participate in shaping
and transforming the lived experience of time, space and embodied being-in-the-world.
Using photographic image data as raw materials for image creation, Sawatzky explores
different thresholds between the virtual and the real.

54 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 94/95 FALL 2014/WINTER 2015


Helma Sawatzky, Data Transfers: Olympia (2009), archival inkjet print, 16 x 24 inches, edition of 5. See artist’s profile on page 54.

Вам также может понравиться