Women and Sustainable Development

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Canadian Perspective Women and ESD Women and Sustainable Develpment

Abstract

This Discussion Paper provides an approach to ensuring women s perspectives and needs are incorporated into the formulation of Ecologically Sustainable Development strategies.

Women's levels of risk from, and responsibilities for changes to the environment are explored. using Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data on workforce, income, education and health; economic analyses of the household sector. and an analysis of natlonal survey data.

Women's uses of the environment prove to be sufficlently different from those of men to represent a distinctive habitat in the ecological sense.

The female environment includes female industry sectors and the unpald household sector. Female industry sectors are those where women's representation is greater than the average for all Industries. Female industry sectors contribute 46% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provide 59% of the paid labour force. Unpaid household labour has been estimated as equivalent to 52-62% of GDP. of which women contribute 65%.

To be effective. a National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development will need to encompass adequately both the female and male uses of the environment.

The Paper develops five policy principles for sustainable development, taking into account women's environmental risks and responsibilltles, and their concern with human, social and economic development:

1. protectlon of social equity:
2. safeguarding national and personal security:
3. precautlonary resource management:
4. full valuing of resources (including unpaid work): and
5. environmental education which includes women's concerns.

Suggested strategies put forward in the paper are related to current Government priorities.

It is our view that a national ESD strategy cannot be effectively implemented without the informed particlpation of women. Women and men contribute to maintaining environmental, economic and social sustainability in distinctive ways. For women these contributions are made through:

• their public roles as the majority of the workforce in the health, education. welfare and service industries:
• their private roles as household managers, primary care givers, farm managers. educators of children, and the principal purchasers of food and consumer goods; and
• the many public (paid) and private (unpaid) arenas where women have a major responsibility for the management of change and the transmission of social values

Key Recommendations

The Office of the Status of Women calls on the current ESD process and all future deliberatlions on ESD to take account of the following key recommendations for engendering the debate:

1. That ESD working groups draft papers are reviewed for gender balance and impact by the Office of the Status of Women. as occurs in the development of other major government policies which have an impact on women;
2. That DASETT, in conjunction with the Office of the Status of Women and the Social Justice Secretariat, develop a means of evaluating and monitoring the social impact on women and their dependants of ecologically sustainable development policies:
3. That the role of the household sector be examined in the context of the ESD process;
4. That strategies for sustainable household management be developed in the context of, and as an integral part of, ecologically sustainable development:
5. That the precautionary principle be adopted as a key principle: that the responsibility of establishing no increased risk to women as workers in industry or in the home be placed with the proponent of a policy or development:
6. That all agencies responsible for developing environmental impact assessments review their terms of reference to incorporate health and social impact considerations:
7. That affirmative action principles be applied to encourage women to participate in all stages of resource planning, management and impact assessment:
8. That women disadvantaged in their employment prospects as a result of ESD policies be retrained and resourced to gain alternative employment;
9. That the household sector, community support systems and the health of children be valued as part of full resource accounting;
10. That standards for monitoring toxic chemicals and other environmental hazards in the home be developed and promulgated by the appropriate federal and state agencies;
11. That informatlon on health risks to household workers and their environment be provided for all products which may be harmful;
12. That women and men be encouraged to develop their expertise and skills in mediation, negotiation and conflict management of environmental issues.

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