This factsheet examines women’s roles in plastic waste management within a context of rapidly increasing global plastic waste and heavy reliance on informal systems in developing countries. It outlines how women dominate lower-tier activities such as collection and sorting, while facing low pay, insecurity, and limited advancement. It describes structural inequalities, gendered labour divisions, and stereotypes shaping opportunities, alongside case evidence showing integration efforts and persistent vulnerabilities including health risks and social marginalisation.
Gender roles refer to social and behavioral norms that, within a specific culture, are widely considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex. These often determine the traditional responsibilities and tasks assigned to men, women, boys, and girls (see gender division of labor). Gender-specific roles are often conditioned by household structure, access to resources, specific impacts of the global economy, occurrence of conflict or disaster, and other locally relevant factors such as ecological conditions. Like gender itself, gender roles can evolve over time, in particular through the empowerment of women and transformation of masculinities.
Source: UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, UN Women (2016): Gender Equality, UN Coherence and You.