At home, in public, and in between: gender differences in public, private and transportation pro-environmental behaviors in the US Intermountain West

ABSTRACT

Research in environmental sociology finds differences between men and women in the performance of pro-environmental behaviors, but gender effects change over time, and vary by location and type of pro-environmental behavior. Thus, research needs to explore gender differences in various pro-environmental behaviors across different contexts, in order to contribute to better understanding of the connections between sustainability and gender equity. This paper analyzes the gendered differences in pro-environmental behaviors in the Intermountain West region of the United States using survey data collected in 2016 from five states: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. Results of ordinary least squares and ordered logistic regression analyses indicate women are more likely than men to engage in pro-environmental behaviors in the private sphere. Gendered differences are also evident in public pro-environmental behaviors, though results suggest those may be a consequence of higher levels of environmental concern among women. An analysis of transportation behaviors yields mixed results. All three types of behaviors have implications for gender equity.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• pro-environmental behavior
• transportation
• environmentalism
• ecofeminism

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the editor and our three anonymous reviewers who all gave helpful suggestions which substantially improved this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Due to some surveys being returned with missing data these, and other values, may not add up to the full sample size of 569.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station [UTA01219].

Notes on contributors

Michael D. Briscoe

Michael D. Briscoe is a PhD student at Utah State University. His research interests include environmental concern, sustainability, and human-animal studies.

Jennifer E. Givens

Jennifer E. Givens is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Utah State University. As an environmental and comparative international sociologist, she studies environmental concern and actions both within and across nations. She also studies relationships between the environment, human well-being, global inequality, and development. Her research has been published in journals such as Environmental Sociology,Sociology of Development, and Social Science Research.

Shawn Olson Hazboun

Shawn Olson Hazboun is a Member of the Faculty within the Graduate Program on the Environment at The Evergreen State College. Her research focuses on social dimensions of energy and environment in the era of global climate change. She received a doctorate in sociology from Utah State University in 2017 and a masters of environmental studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2013.

Richard S. Krannich

Dr. Richard S. Krannich is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Utah State University. His recent research efforts have focused on the social responses to and consequences of utility-scale renewable energy development in the Intermountain West, the nature of socioeconomic linkages to public land natural resources, and the multidimensional nature of environmental concern.