To minimise negative impacts of chemicals on people and the environment as chemical production increases, future chemicals management must take into account the needs and realities of life for all.
To make this possible, the gender dimensions in international and national chemicals policy must be acknowledged and taken into account in practice. Gender inequalities in chemicals management, for example, in occupational safety and division of labour, and their negative impacts on human health and the environment shall thus be eliminated. Women, women’s organisations and gender experts shall be involved in chemicals management in the long term.
The linkages between gender and chemicals are receiving increasing attention in international agreements on chemicals management. As a result, the implementation of gender activities is also increasingly expected from Germany. In national chemicals management, however, ideas and approaches for practical implementation are still lacking, as many of the actors involved, such as research institutions, the chemical industry, governmental as well as non-governmental organisations, often have only a vague idea of the potential that tools such as gender analysis offer.
The project is aimed at public and private actors involved in chemicals management. Based on a Gender Road Map + Workbook, a guideline for action developed by the MSP Institute, initial impulses for the systematic integration of gender are set with workshops and longer-term support during implementation.
In this context, the key actor at the national level, the national SAICM focal point at the German Environment Agency, is provided with urgently needed expertise on the interconnections of gender and chemicals in collaboration with the gender equality team of the German Environment Agency. The dissemination of the German experience in the SAICM process is also intended to inspire other governments to consider gender in their chemicals management.