Elaborating on Gender Differences in Environmentalism - Statistical Data Included

Journal of Social Issues, Fall, 2000 by Lynnette C. Zelezny, Poh-Pheng Chua, Christina Aldrich

We also predicted that females would report significantly higher levels of value-based ecocentric environmental attitudes than males. This prediction was partly supported. Compared to males, females reported stronger ecocentric environmental attitudes in 12 of the 14 countries (Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela); and males reported higher ecocentric environmental attitudes than females in 2 of the 14 countries (the Dominican Republic and Ecuador). Overall we found that females in our 14-country sample did report greater ecocentric environmental attitudes than males, F(1, 2042) = 20.43, p [less than] .001. However, significant gender differences in ecocentric environmental attitudes within countries were found only in Argentina and Panama.

Finally, we predicted that females would report greater participation in proenvironmental behaviors than males, which was partly supported. Females reported greater participation in proenvironmental behaviors than males in 11 of the 14 countries (Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela); and males reported greater participation in proenvironmental behavior than females in 3 of the 14 countries (the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Panama). Overall analyses revealed that females in our 14-country sample did report greater participation in proenvironmental behaviors than males, F(1, 1870) = l4.64, p [less than] .001; within countries, however, significant gender differences in proenvironmental behavior were found only in Paraguay and Venezuela.

The effect sizes of gender on environmental variables were calculated using the results from Study 2. The effect of gender on NEP environmental attitudes was r = .04, on value-based ecocentric environmental attitudes was r = .10, and on proenvironmental behaviors was r = .09 (see Table 2).

As a group, females across 14 countries did, in fact, report significantly stronger NEP environmental attitudes, stronger value-based ecocentric environmental attitudes, and greater participation in proenvironmental behaviors, although gender differences in environmental attitudes and behaviors within countries were less convincing. When significant gender differences in environmental attitudes and behaviors were found within countries, however, females were consistently more proenvironmental than men. Moreover, the descriptive patterns among countries were also notable; among the range of average scores, females consistently reported higher ratings than males on all variables, including proenvironmental behaviors (e.g., political activism).

These findings attenuate Davidson and Freudenberg's (1996) claim that gender differences in environmentalism are not universal. Gender differences in environmentalism were found across 14 countries, not just the United States, which leads us to question the role of gender socialization in environmentalism. We are careful, however, to note the limitations of our investigation. Our sample in Study 2 was not representative in many ways. All of the individuals in this multicountry study were university students; therefore, sampling bias and generalizability were a concern. We recognize that female university students, especially those from underdeveloped countries, may have been more nontraditonal in their gender attitudes and behaviors, which would result in weak gender effects, as we found in Study 2. Further, we did not find gender differences in environmental attitudes and behaviors within countries, which we attributed partly to lack of statistical power within countries.