It takes two to tango: why and how addressing gender is ... · It takes two to tango: why and how addressing gender is important for waste minimisation Susan Buckingham, Gender Auditor

It takes two to tango: why and how addressing gender is

important for waste minimisationSusan Buckingham, Gender Auditor

Why?

• Justice & human rights• To improve performance

• Better decisions with more diverse decision making bodies:• ‘Not taking advantage of the skills of highly qualified women

constitutes a waste of talent and a loss of economic growth potential. Various studies suggest that companies with a higher representation of women at the most senior levels deliver better organisational and financial performance.’ (EC, 2016)

• To meet legal obligations for gender mainstreaming• UN – 1995, Beijing Platform for Action on Women• EU Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997• From COP 17 (2011) onwards & European Council devolved to

member states & EC, to have gender balance in climate change decision making

• Horizon 2020

2Urban Waste presentation title

Why?

• Because waste management, just like energy, water, transport, & mining ( all intense environmentally impactful activities), is male dominated in numbers and approaches• OECD finds that women make up between 12% and 28%

of employees in water supply, sewerage, waste management & remediation activities, in 5 of the European countries in Urban Waste (2017)

• At start of project: majority of pilot departments had male CEOs & professional staff, but female technical/associate professional staff; operatives overwhelmingly male


Why?

• Because domestic waste management is gendered• Eurobarometer surveys, 2014; 2018


Separates waste

Reduces consumption

Buys to reduce food waste

Buys to reduce packaging

Drinks tap cf bottled water

Believesreducing waste not important

F 73% 59% 85% 65% 70% 12%

M 68% 52% 81% 59% 63% 20%

How? gender was embedded through the project

• Application

• Initial gender survey

• Gender balance in stakeholders

• Gender in surveys & focus groups

• Mutual learning & webinars

• Gender impact of measures

• Changes in case study cities’ practices


Application

Baseline Data

TrainingProjects

Evaluation

Examples of professional changes & good practices

Copenhagen• Now requires that senior

posts must not have more than 10% differencebetween male and female

Ponta Delgada• Tenders now require a

minimum number of womento be employed by contractors

Kavala• Changed communications

material to engage both men and women



Lisbon• Has recruited a male to

diversify an all-female team

Nicosia• Ensured that waste

disposal bins can be usedby all;

• Made a deliberate effort for better gender balance at events



Santander• Recommends that general

waste strategy follows UW gender mainstreaming

• Included a breast cancer awareness campaign to glass recycling

Tenerife• Made deliberate effort to

have better gender balance for conference speakers


Influencing tourists’ gendered behaviour


Observations

Those pilot cities whowere most gender-equal/gender sensitive also made the greatestgross CO2e reductions

Those who were least gender sensitive made the lowest gross CO2e reductions


Observations

• Greatest achievement, those cities whichdeveloped a gender awareness, and took measuresto move towards gender equality

From this, to this


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It takes two to tango: why and how addressing gender is ... · It takes two to tango: why and how addressing gender is important for waste minimisation Susan Buckingham, Gender Auditor