Climate Action Through a Feminist Lens: The Role of Gender Inequality Awareness, Nature Empathy, and Climate Change Concern

Abstract This study examines how feminist identity (i.e., self-identification as a feminist) relates to climate action. Drawing on theories on consumer, business, and feminist ethics, environmental psychology, and identity-based behavior, we propose a theoretical model in which the effect of feminist identity on climate action is mediated by awareness of the gendered impacts of climate change, concern about climate change, and empathy with nature. An online survey of a representative US sample ( N = 840) confirmed the proposed model and showed that the indirect effect of feminist identity on climate action, mediated by climate-related gender inequality awareness, was strengthened by media exposure to climate change news. Results validated for the specific case of climate action that the traits associated with a feminist identity (i.e., empathy, care, collaboration, and a commitment to equity) can be leveraged to motivate individuals towards sustainable practices based on ethical principles. Findings contribute to business ethics theory by showing how identity-based ethical orientations shape sustainability engagement and have significant implications for ethical business practices because they disentangle the interplay between feminist identity and individuals’ pro-environmental behavior and imply that integrating feminist values into organizational practices can address climate change in socially inclusive and morally grounded ways.