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UNEP has a comprehensive Policy and Strategy for Gender Equality and the Environment, which guides the organization’s efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in its operations and programmatic work. All UNEP staff are encouraged to familiarize themselves with it and to refer to it as they carry out their individual tasks.
Waste, unwanted and discarded material is a growing problem worldwide that concerns everyone. Existing gender inequalities, responsibilities and roles largely shape how waste is situated in many social and economic systems.
In both the public and private sectors, men hold most upper-level administration roles, from city managers and planners to landfill operators and managers of waste collection companies. Women are more engaged in informal, household and neighbourhood activities related to waste, which are typically voluntary, unpaid or minimally compensated.