Families, Gender, and Environmental Labour in the Anthropocene

Tuesday, 8 July 2025: 09:00-10:45
Location: SJES001 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
RC24 Environment and Society (host committee)
RC06 Family Research

Language: English

Is sustainability labour an extension of domestic labour within households or something else entirely? The literature on families and the household division of labour has documented that women play a key role in emotional work and housework in negotiating with the partners in heterosexual households. Unpaid work within the household inevitably squeezes paid labour participation and has great impacts on the wellbeing and life satisfaction of householders. Likewise, the literature on sustainability has documented that concern about the environment and environmental action is also gendered - women are more concerned and more likely to support sustainability strategies. Against the emerging awareness and institutional promotions of sustainable living it is important to investigate the dynamics of sustainability labour. In this session we explore what types of sustainability labour are undertaken within families and households, and how is this divided? What are the wider implications of sustainability labour undertaken in households as communities across the globe seek to mitigate and adapt to climate change?

In summary, this session explores the organisation of household sustainability labour within families in the context of climate change. We invite empirical papers that focus on the gendered dynamics of sustainability labour, the relationships between sustainability tasks and other unpaid and paid work between couples, and the potential effects on wellbeing and life satisfaction. Studies from different sociocultural contexts with cross-national comparative perspectives are welcome.

Session Organizers:
Jo LINDSAY, Monash University, Australia and Pei-Chun KO, Monash University, Australia
Chair:
Pei-Chun KO, Monash University, Australia
Oral Presentations
He Gendered Division of Sustainable Work in Moroccan Households: Cultural Legacies and Contemporary Challenges
Kholoud MILANI, HASSAN II AIN CHOCK CASABLANCA, Morocco
“If Only a Man Could Control the Rain!” - Strategies of Polish Farming Households in Times of Drought
Marta GOSPODARCZYK, Poland
Communal Sustainability: Mobilizing Social Reproduction Theory for the Study of Sustainability
Manisha ANANTHARAMAN, Sciences Po, France
Perceptions Sexo-Specifiques Du Changement Climatique Et Ses Effets Dans l’Oasis De Figuig, Région De l’Oriental. Maroc
Kamal MELLAKH, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de Mohammedia Université Hassan II de Casablanca, Morocco; Abdellalh HMOURI, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines d'Al Jadida Université Chouaib Doukkali, Morocco
Female Rural Entrepreneurship - an Integrated Approach of Gender and Lifestyle Entrepreneurship through the Prism of "Environmental Justice"
Marina NEDELJKOVIĆ /, College of Vocational Studies for Teachers and Business Informatics Sirmium, Serbia
From Increased Workloads to Health Risks Amongst Women and the Elderly: A Case Study of the Impact of Ecological Breakdown through an Intersectional Lens in Baltistan, Pakistan
Fazila BHIMJI BHIMJI, Evangelische Hochschule Berlin, Germany
Climate Crisis, Livelihood Vulnerability, and Human Health: A Study of Coastal Women in Bangladesh
Shaikh Mohammad KAIS, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh; Mst. Jesmin AKTER, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Distributed Papers
Gender Roles in Waste Management: Women's Participation in Delhi
Deepti KAUSHIK, Ismail National Mahila PG College Meerut, CCS University ,Meerut Uttar Pradesh India, India; Pradeep KUMAR, India
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