Plasticisers in plastic products, per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in outdoor clothing, carpets or food packaging, formaldehyde in cosmetics – every day we are exposed to chemicals that are harmful to health and the environ-ment. Women, men, diverse genders, and children are affected differently by exposure to toxic chemicals and do not react in the same way to the impacts. This has to do with biological differences, social gender roles and gender specific division of tasks or occupational roles – in Germany and worldwide. These differences are often not taken into account in risk assessment and political regulations. However, in order to better protect women and girls in particular, it is imperative to introduce a gender-differentiated view into the topic of harmful chemicals and chemicals policy. The use of synthetic chemicals is widespread, we are exposed to them in almost every product we use in our daily lives. We can also be exposed to them in the workplace. These chemicals used are very persistent and, due to other negative properties, harmful to health. They can be found everywhere: in the Arctic, in deep-sea trenches, and in our bodies. There they can trigger allergies, irritate the respiratory tract and skin, impair fertility, disrupt the hormone system or cause cancer. Some chemicals are difficult to break down and pollute the environment for decades and longer. Analyses show that everyone is exposed to a wide variety of pollutants. As a result, consumers come into contact with a wide range of different chemicals and ingest them without knowing or being aware of their harmful properties. Along with the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, the United Nations calls pollution, including exposure to toxic chemicals, the third major environmental crisis of our time. The widespread use of toxic chemicals is a major cause of millions and millions of illnesses and deaths. Similar to the issue of climate change
and biodiversity, the issue of chemical safety affects many professional and working areas, e.g. ministries, agencies and organisations in the fields of environment, health, social affairs, labour, transport, education, economy, women, family and youth, finance, international cooperation and development, and last but not least, industry and commerce. Chemical pollution, however, receives far less attention in the public arena than climate catastrophy or the destruction of biodiversity. But in October 2021 the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) recognised for the first time that having a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right. At Women Engage for a Common Future, we support women around the world, to be seen and heard in their commitment to a toxic-free future for adults, youth and children. With this background paper, developed and written originally from a German perspective, we would like to bring the issue of chemicals and women home to you. To raise awareness of the far-reaching effects of toxic chemicals and to campaign for stricter and at the same time gender-responsive regulations. With this background paper, we are also targeting women’s associations and organizations, gender equality officers, experts and scientists. Their commitment and influence on political decisions are immensely important.
Gender refers to sociocultural norms, identities, and relations that: 1) structure societies and organizations; and 2) shape behaviors, products, technologies, environments, and knowledge (Schiebinger, 1999). Gender attitudes and behaviors are complex and change across time and place. Importantly, gender is multidimensional (Hyde et al., 2018; Dubois et al., 2025) and intersects with other social categories, such as sex, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and ethnicity (see intersectionality. Gender is distinct from sex (Fausto-Sterling, 2012). Historically, gender definitions have been based on a binary concept – women and men. In most key UN definitions, this binary framework continues to dominate, including in chemical policy. To avoid exclusions, newer definitions and guidelines often additionally use the term “all genders”. Beyond defining gender, applying a binary concept within the difference approach to Gender Mainstreaming remains valuable, productive and necessary, as it allows for comparing the experiences of women and men. Analyzing these differences and using binary-disaggregated data provides insights into social structures and inequalities. While we often work with binary categories for analytical purposes (also in chemicals management), we want to do so with a clear awareness of their limitations and with the aim of building more inclusive approaches in the future.
Gender mainstreaming refers to “the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.”