Gender and Waste Nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal

Gender and waste management

Over the past few years, academics and practitioners have paid increasing attention to the issue of gender in waste management, which has highlighted a myriad of ways in which waste production and management are not gender neutral, either in concept or in practice (UNEP 2016; International Environment Technology Centre [IETC] 2015; UNEP 2015). 6 Existing gender inequalities, responsibilities and roles shape the position of waste in social and economic systems, which is inevitable to a certain extent, as social and institutional structures are formed by social constraints such as gender norms. It would be unreasonable to image that the waste sector would be separate from gender attitudes and perspectives that shape all other socially constructed activities and economic sectors. This study contributes to and builds on the growing literature on gender and waste by mapping the many gender-related aspects of waste in Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal, including: • waste-related livelihoods, both formal and informal • impacts of the formalization and professionalization of waste management • exposure to waste-related health risks • perceptions and views of what constitutes waste • preferences about waste handling and management • assumptions and attitudes about the nature of “women’s” and “men’s” jobs. Mapping the gendered nature of waste management has an important cascade effect that expands policy prospects and approaches, pointing them in directions that could enhance gender equality in the waste sector through introducing goals, which in turn, could produce a ripple effect into broader social domains.

Although each country’s waste management practices are linked to broader gender relations and policies, specific actors and presumptions construct the sector’s profile in terms of gender. Within the informal waste economy, studies show that women are often limited to lower-income tasks, such as waste picking, sweeping and waste separation, whereas men are able to assume positions of higher authority, dealing with the buying and reselling of recyclables for example (Dias and Ogando 2015; Dias and Fernandes 2012; Horn 2010; Beall 1997; Huysman 1994).When informalorvoluntarywaste-related activities become formalizedwith pay, men often engage in the work, thereby displacing women (IETC 2015; UNEP 2015). Throughout the formalwaste economy, women are typically excluded from higher-income, decision-making and policymaking positions (Nzeadibe and Adama 2015; Samson 2003), indicating that gender norms and opportunities clearly shape people’s livelihood options within the sector (Dias and Ogando 2015; Horn 2010; Beall 1997; Huysman 1994). Health impacts and safety needs also differ between women, men and children, since the labourinvolved in formaland informalwastemanagement and task handling is differentiated by both gender and age, thus exposing these populations to different health risks (Amugsi et al. 2016; IETC 2015; Thomas-Hope 2015; McAllister et al. 2014; Loan and Thu 2003). At the household level, several studies demonstrate how women tend to be responsible for care and maintenance activities, which also extend to managing household waste (UNEP 2015; Gani et al. 2012; Fredericks 2008; Poswa 2004). In many places this responsibility also falls on women in public spaces, putting them at the centre of community cleanliness (Macawile and Su 2009; Fredericks 2008; Gonzenbach and Coad 2007; Huong 2003). In many societies, men and women have different perceptions of what is considered waste, which can influence preferences for waste management services (IETC2015). Suchfindingsunderscore theneedtoconsider households’ social and economic aspects when planning waste management systems that provide services, as well as how these intersect with the neighbourhoods and cities inwhich they are located (Beall 1997). Unfortunately, the participation of women at the policy and governance level, and in planning and decision-making activities, remains low in most places in the world. The past few decades have seen a rise in the formation of cooperatives, movements and initiatives working on waste management in the informal sector, some of which also focus on gender. Many of these are run by, and for, workers directly engaged the sector, such as SolidWaste Collection and Handling (SWaCH), a cooperative of self-

Recycling in Bhutan. Photo by Ieva Rucevska.

Gender and waste nexus

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