Gender Injustice Definition

Gender injustice occurs when people have inequitable experiences as a result of their gender. Gender injustice does not affect only women–it also negatively impacts people who are outside of the gender binary and, in some ways, men. Like racial injustice, gender injustice is about more than individual interactions. Many forms of gender injustice are caused by structural gender inequality. Famous examples of this include the gender wage gap, where women are systematically paid less than men for the same work, and the “second shift,” or the expectation that women will perform the unpaid labor of housework and childcare in addition to paid work in the labor force.

Gender intersects with other forms of injustice to make women and non-binary people more vulnerable to the effects of environmental injustice. Women have less access to education, may be excluded from decision-making processes (as of July 2022, the US ranked 69th on inclusion of women in national parliaments), and often have more family responsibilities. As a result, 70% of people below the poverty line worldwide are women. Taken together, this means that women are more vulnerable to environmental disasters.

Gender Injustice Quiz Questions

  • Researchers have shown that women in many settings are likely to have less control over environmental rules and decisions than men.  This points to both

    • gender injustice and procedural injustice

    • gender injustice and reproductive injustice

Gender Injustice Quiz Answers

  • Researchers have shown that women in many settings are likely to have less control over environmental rules and decisions than men.  This points to both

    • gender injustice and procedural injustice

    • gender injustice and reproductive injustice