The Gender Gap in Water Management Preferences: Analyzing the Influence of Environmental Concern and Political Knowledge

Abstract

To date, most studies on the role of women in water management have focused on local communities in developing countries, within which women are more vulnerable to hydrological risk. This study emphasizes the need to investigate the preferences of women in industrialized nations. The results of a representative opinion survey in Andalusia (Spain) reveal that, when it comes to water management, women tend to think primarily in domestic terms whereas men prioritize the efficiency of irrigation systems. In Andalusia (a region under severe risk of hydrological stress) irrigation has a much greater impact on the efficiency of water use than any other factor. To explain these differences of opinion, this study analyses the gender gap in terms of environmental concern and political knowledge. The results suggest that women¿s preferences relate not only to their greater environmental proactiveness in the domestic sphere but also to political-knowledge-related variables