Department of Sociology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Department of Sociology, Research Center for Environment and Society, Hohai University, Nanjing, China.
Work. 2024;79(1):191-202. doi: 10.3233/WOR-230227.
In the discourse on the heterogeneity of gender and environmental concern, gender equality awareness can further illuminate the complexity of gender and environmental concern across different cultural backgrounds.
Differing from prior research, our study focuses on exploring the relationship between different genders, gender equality awareness, and environmental concern, as well as investigating whether gender equality awareness has distinct effects on environmental concern among different genders.
Utilizing data from the 2021 China General Social Survey (CGSS), we conducted a theoretical investigation into gender differences in environmental concern. First, we used descriptive statistics to observe the differences between the samples. Secondly, in order to compare the influence of gender equality awareness on different genders, we conducted t-tests on gender subgroups. Subsequently, an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model was employed to examine the effects of gender and gender equality awareness on environmental issues. Finally, gender equality awareness was introduced as a moderating variable to explore its potential interaction with gender and investigate whether a moderation mechanism exists between gender and environmental concern.
Findings indicate that 1) male respondents in China exhibit greater concern for the environment compared to female respondents; 2) higher levels of gender equality awareness are positively correlated with higher levels of environmental concern; 3) the influence of gender on environmental concern is moderated by the degree of gender equality awareness. Specifically, when gender equality awareness is strengthened, female respondents exhibit a higher degree of environmental concern.
Enhancing gender equality awareness contributes to improving both social gender equality and equitable concern for the environment. The findings could provide insights for similar developing countries like China.
在关于性别和环境关注的异质性的论述中，性别平等意识可以进一步阐明不同文化背景下性别和环境关注的复杂性。
与以往的研究不同，我们的研究侧重于探讨不同性别、性别平等意识与环境关注之间的关系，以及调查性别平等意识对不同性别环境关注是否具有不同的影响。
利用 2021 年中国综合社会调查（CGSS）的数据，我们对环境关注的性别差异进行了理论探讨。首先，我们使用描述性统计来观察样本之间的差异。其次，为了比较性别平等意识对不同性别的影响，我们对性别亚组进行了 t 检验。随后，采用普通最小二乘法（OLS）回归模型检验性别和性别平等意识对环境问题的影响。最后，引入性别平等意识作为调节变量，以探讨其与性别之间的潜在交互作用，以及性别和环境关注之间是否存在调节机制。
研究结果表明：1）中国男性受访者比女性受访者更关注环境；2）性别平等意识水平越高，对环境的关注程度越高；3）性别对环境关注的影响受到性别平等意识的调节。具体来说，当性别平等意识增强时，女性受访者对环境的关注程度更高。
增强性别平等意识有助于提高社会性别平等和对环境的公平关注。研究结果可以为中国等类似发展中国家提供启示。
