Gender and Environmentalism: Results from the 1993 General Social Survey

This research tests the proposal that women will be more concerned about the environment than men because of their socialization to the caregiver role and because of their structural position relatively outside the labor market and in the home. The authors employ data from the 1993 General Social Survey to explore the issue of gender differences in environmental concern in more depth. The survey includes over 40 items measuring environmental beliefs, attitudes, and reported actions, from which 10 environmental orientation indexes were derived. Specifically examined were the effects of social status, knowledge, trust in science, and religiosity. Results show that while women tended to show somewhat more personal concern than did men, they were no more likely to engage in environmental action than men. Women (and men) of higher social status, with more knowledge, and with greater trust in science were more likely to engage in pro-environmental action, not less. It is argued that, while there appear to be a few gender differences in environmental orientations, these are not strong or consistent, and they do not extend to actions.