Understanding the “who” in conservation: why gender matters

Environmental management and conservation practices are at their core greatly affected by who is making the decisions for how to manage and address issues. Thus, it is of great importance to understand how the makeup of conservation decision making bodies affects environmental management processes and practices. This research looks at how gender factors into the environmental management space through the investigation of the major overarching question: In what way(s) does gender play a role in conservation / environmental decision making in a developed country context? In particular, it asks: 1) what is the representation of men and women in conservation leadership in New Zealand, 2) how, if at all, do male and female practitioners differ in their environmental values, priorities and strategies for management, and 3) how does gender factor into the decision making space and its processes? To answer these questions, a sample of five large national and seven small local Dunedin-area organizations were selected based on their significance nationally or locally. Secondary data on gender representation by tier (i.e. upper level executive to low-level job position) was procured through contact with each organization, and interviews were conducted with 32 executive members of these organizations. Additionally, a survey aimed at understanding gender differences in conservation values, priorities, and strategies was distributed to employees of various environmental organizations across the country. Results demonstrate that women make up a large portion of conservation organizations generally but a small portion of leadership roles. Male and female practitioners overall are quite similar in ideology with a few important exceptions such that increasing female leadership presence in conservation may lead to increases in indigenous iwi involvement, education investment, regulation of mining and forestry practice, length of deliberation on issues, cautiousness in approach, openness to ideas, and overall communication. Women’s inclusion also appears to affect the work environment of conservation organizations through increasing focus on more interpersonal and “human” aspects. All in all, this research provides an extensive discussion of the representation of women in conservation, gender dimensions of conservation ideology, and gender dimensions of the conservation work environment, providing a strong argument in favor of increasing gender equity in conservation leadership