Gender and the environment : Womenʹs time use as a measure of environmental change

Women are thought to have a multiplicity of roles as agents, victims and saviours in relation to environmental change. This paper takes an innovative approach to the study of gender and the environment by utilizing womenʹs time use as a surrogate measure of changes in gender roles under conditions of environmental stress. Case studies are drawn from dryland areas of Sri Lanka, Burkina Faso, Ghana, the Sudan and the Caribbean. There is considerable evidence that women have shorter hours of rest than men, that gender roles are becoming more flexible and that environmental degradation increases womenʹs workload.