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Hemmati, M. 2000. Gender-Specific Patterns of Poverty and (Over-)Consumption in Developing and Developed Countries. In: E. Jochem, J. Sathaye & Daniel Biulle (eds.). Society, Behaviour, and Climate Change Mitigation. Proceedings of IPCC Expert Group Meeting on Social Scientific Approaches to Climate Change Mitigation. 169-190. Klewer Publications
4. Points for Discussion and Future Work The concepts and evidence discussed above creates a complex picture - and leaves us with the question, what now? I would like to suggest a few points for further exploration. The way we address these issues and questions will be as important as finding solutions and implementing them.
What is the good life? Equity is evidently the underlying issue to be addressed when looking at gender differences in consumption with a global perspective, linking the gender category with that of access to and control over resources. The challenge of empowering women clearly needs to be part of climate change mitigation, e.g. through participation of women in decision-making at all levels, change of gender roles, and addressing the issue of equity. Wendy Anneke asked me in her review to this paper: "How do we even out, redistribute, and reduce energy consumption?" Some of the points put forward above address issues that need to be kept in mind, sources of information to be tapped into, and practical strategies to influence consumer behaviour. However, I believe there is a need for - yet another? - dual approach: On the one hand, we need to address some fundamental ethical questions; we need re-orientation of some basic values. In the history of humankind, societies and groups have gone through phases of shake-ups of value systems and of re-consideration of their value base. For example, we are currently observing this with regard to the lively discussions about biotechnology and genomics. We need to ask ourselves, what is a good life? Do we want a good life for all people on this planet? Do we want to believe that development needs to become sustainable? Many people in the wealthy nations - who account for most of the current consumption of energy, goods and services - seem to have forgotten this question, living in societies where materialistic values and individualistic life-styles are the most visible pattern. But value systems are not given; they are based on choices which people make. Coming back to the 'dual approach', we need, on the other hand, to engage in numerous 'small' steps of changing consumer behaviour, providing and promoting sustainable consumptions choices, providing information about environmental consequences, creating appropriate economic incentives, etc. These 'small' steps - which are not indeed small, neither politically nor economically - will complement re-considerations of values and ethics. They need to be in place to change behaviour, as a subversive as well as a reinforcing factor. Given the fact that values influence actual choices only to a limited extent, new and different values will have to be reinforced by education, regulation, and the creation of new social images and desirable identities - as well as providing information, choices and access.
Governance How could we bring such parallel processes about? This is fundamentally a question of governance, and I would want to argue for a multi-stakeholder consultation approach. In human history, we have tried and experienced various governance approaches and systems. There are not many that we haven't tried, among them multi-stakeholder approaches, a process implying new forms of interaction, leadership decision-making, and responsibility. A multi-stakeholder approach develops because stakeholders - i.e. all affected by an issue and all who are able to influence it - identify a problem which needs to be addressed, such as climate change. Given the political space and a transparent link into the government decision-making process, stakeholder groups such as industry, NGOs, civil society organisations, trade unions, experts, etc. can come together and consult about the reasons and possible solutions for a given problem. In the context of the issues of gender, poverty and consumption, these would be women's organisations and grassroots women's groups, climate change experts of various specialties, representatives from all parts of societies (Global North and Global South), governments, specialised agencies and local authorities, etc. They could then become part of pilot projects implementing identified strategies, monitoring progress and outcomes, and developing necessary adjustments. All stakeholders, including governments, need to take on the responsibility of asking the questions about the good life and about what we want to believe in, what equity and justice should mean in practical terms in the lives of people. We need the information, expertise, perspectives and creativity of all stakeholders to address the fundamental questions about our value choices and identifying practical strategies and solutions. Without that, we will not have the necessary expertise to adequately address the problems. Maybe even more importantly, we will also not have the necessary commitment to implementation of necessary changes. Any radical strategies that involve sharing between rich and poor and changes of the power relations between women and men would require enormous mobilization of commitment. An open, transparent, democratic and accountable approach to universal participation in problem solving and implementation has not been tried often in human history. The global, complex and extremely challenging problems we are facing today, such as climate change, justify the social, political and financial investment into developing a new approach.
Social Equity vs. Environmental Protection Looking at consumption opportunities and consumption choices of women and men, Global South and Global North points to some fundamental questions. On the one hand, poverty can lead to unsustainable or environmentally damaging behaviour, the most prominent example being the cutting down of trees for firewood. In such cases, pursuing the goal of social equity and the eradication of poverty goes hand in hand with the goals of environmental protection: Alleviating poverty could include providing modern technologies for cooking and heating and thus limit environmental damage and greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, more ‘sustainable’ behaviour patterns of women (and/or poor people) are due to lack of access and opportunities for (over-)consumption. In such cases, social equity and poverty eradication goals and environmental protection goals do not necessarily go hand in hand. As we know, we cannot strive to provide consumption opportunities for all citizens of the world, as they are available in the highly developed countries today. Consumption levels in the North are correctly labelled ‘over-consumption’ and need to change. However, poverty levels are scandalous and need to change urgently to provide all human beings with fair opportunities for a decent life and life expectancy. To achieve sustainable and just consumption levels, there is an urgent need for change both in the Global South and the Global North the resources for which need to be invested by the developed countries. Tackling over-consumption will be as difficult as tackling poverty eradication. To identify feasible strategies and to implement them will require a concerted effort of all stakeholders, including the full and equal participation of women at all levels. It will require re-thinking basic cultural values in the Global North.
Analysing Consumer Behaviour As pointed out in the present paper, gender is an important social category determining consumer behaviour. However, it is not the only one - age, income level, ethnic groups, religious groups, etc. can be important determinants as well. Therefore, analysing consumer behaviour needs to be conducted with a view to differences between social categories. Relevant social categories and their specific behavioural and motivational patterns need to be identified. Researchers, policy makers and stakeholders working on production and consumption patterns should integrate a strong focus on consumer behaviour and different consumer groups in their work. Social structural issues should be integrated into indicators that are being formulated to measure changes in consumption patterns. Indicators should reflect regional, national and global realities. The general aim should be to provide more information on consumption behaviour of different social groups. It is equally important to conduct surveys that examine what factors and motivations contribute to consumer awareness, behaviour and positive actions with regard to the sustainable practices to complement the on-going work. Factors that influence consumption patterns, such as, poverty, the gendered nature of poverty, rural-urban migration, international migration change, trade and investment, advertising, globalisation and tourism, need to be further clarified. Household decision-making and the gendered division of labour are also factors, which need to be taken into account when formulating strategies towards sustainable consumption. It will also be important to analyse the consequences of deconstruction of gender roles.
Influencing Consumer Behaviour In general, consumption choices can be influenced by values and ethical considerations, such as environmental ethics, information and knowledge, the availability of affordable choices, and the social meanings and images associated with different choices. Based on identifying relevant social categories, activities aiming to influence consumption behaviour and increase sustainable consumption can be specifically tailored towards the information base, access, motivation, status definition and stereotypical images of the specific categories and groups in question. The data, knowledge and experience of commercial advertising and marketing companies on how to effectively target consumers to strengthen their efforts in promoting sustainable consumption (for example, sensitise consumers in order to promote sustainability) should be brought into the discussion. Marketing companies have extensive and detailed knowledge about different consumer groups and have expertise with regard to influencing consumer behaviour. Also, we need to build on practical experiences: Success factors of gender-specific campaigns that have aimed to promote fairer consumer rights and sustainable consumption practices should be documented and analysed in order to enable governments and other stakeholders to use successful strategies in the future. It should be recognised that changing the existing power relations between women and men is crucial for attaining sustainable consumption. Evidence of gender inequities in terms of access to resources, choices, and information as well as social roles and images causing (over-)consumption choices, which have been briefly outlined above, prove that gender needs to be given a major focus when aiming to influence consumption behaviour towards more sustainable choices.
Impact of Environmental Protection Measures Policies, new technologies and measures that aim to promote sustainability must be cautioned about the already heavy work burdens that women shoulder. As women are still responsible for the majority of housework and shopping worldwide, activities such as recycling, handling of garbage and buying sustainable products can impact on their time. New technologies and measures should aim to promote equity and the emancipation of women. Services and facilities which help consumers to integrate re-cycling, re-use and other practices into their daily routine, should be put into place at local community level. |
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Copyright © Minu Hemmati, 2006 |
