A systematic review of gender and forest ownership in the global north: Empirical trends and theoretical challenges

Research interest in gender and its implications for forest ownership in the Global North has increased over recent decades, contributing to a growing body of empirical studies. At the same time, the historical dominance of men and masculinities in forestry and forest management has shaped both policy and knowledge production, creating persistent biases in how forest ownership is understood. To assess the current state of scientific knowledge on gender and forest ownership in the Global North, this systematic literature review examines patterns of knowledge production, the nature of the knowledge produced, and remaining research gaps over the past 25 years. Following PRISMA guidelines, 103 studies were included after the search and screening processes. The results reveal a strong geographical concentration of research in the United States, Sweden, and Finland, and a clear methodological dominance of surveys, which constituted the primary method in 80% of the studies. Only 6% of the studies applied a mixed-methods approach. Consequently, gender is most often treated as an empirical variable used to identifying differences, rather than as a relational or institutional factor shaping forest ownership and management. Although approximately half of the studies explicitly focused on gender, many equate gender with women, reinforcing a narrow conceptualization. The limited integration of gender theory constrains the explanatory power and policy relevance of existing research. To strengthen future forest research and policy, this review highlights the need for more theoretically grounded and methodologically diverse analyses that conceptualize gender as a relational and meaning-making dimension of forest ownership. • Research on gender and forest ownership has grown steadily in the Global North. • Survey methods dominate, with gender mainly treated as a comparative variable. • Limited use of gender theory in research weakens cumulative knowledge development. • Gender is largely conceptualized as women rather than relationally. • Normative approaches risk reproducing existing gender biases.