Rewriting the Green Agenda: Policy Interventions for Gender-Just Sustainability

bility, and the importance of green policies being informed by a gendered purview of environmental justice. Current frameworks and policies surrounding the environment focus on the notion of ecological sustainability but lack consideration of the unique challenges women face, particularly disenfranchised women, in the Global North and South, in regard to environmental justice. While feminist political theory and ecofeminism established in the previous chapters, indicates that women are more likely to experience the harmful effects of environmental destruction, climate change, and other ecological catastrophes, there is little attention directed to the impact of gender on sustainability and environmental action. There is an implicit underlying idea that women’s socio-economic roles, access to resources, and physical space marginalize them in ways that influence their vulnerability while facing climate change, such as chronic displacement, and the role of energy consumption in urban settings. Case studies demonstrate that although proposed green policies can be contextualized as inclusive of group and collective actions, they are ultimately ineffective in facilitating their acceptance of ‘gender equity’ and the continuation of public or private policies advancing sustainable development and environmental justice. The research critiques the progressive, and predominantly gender-neutral, approach to green policies that do little to displace the understandings and notions of structural inequalities that privilege men’s decision-making power and exacerbate women’s vulnerabilities when environmental challenges arise. As a theoretical view ecofeminism articulates the exploitation of both women and the environment are connected; as they stress that sustainable and green living should not only focus on ecological sustainability, they arguably and importantly include gender alongside sustainability. The study proposes a reimagined policy framework where gender equity is embedded in the core of environmental governance. It calls for targeted interventions such as the inclusion of women in decision-making processes, equal access to green technologies, and the recognition of women’s roles as primary agents of environmental stewardship. The paper concludes with actionable recommendations for policymakers, urging them to ensure that the transition to a green economy not only addresses ecological concerns but also fosters social justice, ensuring a fair, inclusive, and sustainable future for all.