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

According to the national GNH statistics, women are less happy than men. Almost 51 per cent of men report that they are deeply or extensively happy compared with 39 per cent of women. Women sleep less and have less leisure time. The gendered landscape of waste management in Thimphu Employment in the waste sector is largely segregated by gender. Women mostly carry out unpaid tasks and there are more men than women in paid employment. As Figure 18 shows, in positions with higher salaries or decision-making authority, the gender disparity is large, with the top positions in the waste sector primarily occupied by men. The greatest gender differences in Bhutan’s division of labour occur in unpaid household work. Women are by far the main caretakers of the household and are responsible for childcare, cleaning, shopping and cooking. As a result, they are generally considered best suited to managing household waste, which in practice means waste segregation and home composting where possible. This in turn is reinforcing gender stereotypes. Households and communities

More women are now starting to participate in the labour force – a trendwhich is increasing. Amonghouseholdswhere men and women have both received tertiary education and are in paid employment, the share of household responsibilities appears to be more evenly distributed. However, it is still more common for women to be required to perform their household and caregiving duties in addition to their daily jobs. This acceptance of traditional roles carried out by women puts extra pressure on them and makes men even more estranged from household tasks. In addition, children grow up observing this example from their parents, which may make it difficult to change such attitudes and behaviour patterns later in life. The full responsibility for householdwaste management is yet another demand affecting women’s already limited free time and their ability to accept opportunities such as income-generating work, after-hours meetings, overtime or travel. Community leaders have the potential to improve the waste management in their areas and can mobilize and encourage the people living in their community to dealwith household waste effectively. These community leaders are elected by the community (most ofwhomaremen, elected both by men and women) and act as their spokesperson with the municipality (Thimphu Thromde). These leaders

Bhutan

GENDER MAP OF WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THIMPHU

TRAINING & ASSISTANCE

H

S

E

C

O

I

P

S

L

L

A

U

D

B

C

O

S

U

E

H

P

STREET PICKERS

HOUSEHOLD WASTE MANAGERS

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS

COMMUNITY LEADERS

N TRAINING & ASSISTANCE TRAINING & ASSISTANCE G O s

MALE MAJORITY

FEMALE MAJORITY

MUNICIPALITY DEPARTMENT LEADERS

PRIVATE WASTE WASTE PICKERS

E

C

N

A

T

S

VOLUNTEERS

I

S

S

A

TRAINING

&

T R U C K D R I V E R S

COLLECTION COMPANIES STAFF & HANDYPERSONS MANAGERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MANAGERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS

STAFF

MOST OF THE COLLECTION OF WASTE OUTSOURCED TO PRIVATE COMPANIES

STREET SWEEPERS

OF THIMPHU

TRANSPORTERS

OF SCRAP WASTE

T

U

W

O

B

A

A

S

T

N

E

O

I

-

T

E

A

D

LANDFILL OPERATORS

SCRAP DEALERS RECYCLING & REPAIR SHOPS CRAFT FROM WASTE

C

U

U

C

D

A

E

T I

TEACHERS

O N

A

WASTE PICKERS

B

O

U

S

T

M

M

A

L

W

E

L

L

I

M

L

F

A

E

E

S

D

L

N

T

E

N

A

S

S

T

A

I

K

E

R

L

R

H

R

A

P

T

A

E

N

S

P

O R TERS W ASTE

O

F

INDIA

Source: GRID-Arendal.

S

C

R

A

P

Figure 18

66 Gender and waste nexus