Do women make a difference? Analysing environmental attitudes and actions of Members of the European Parliament

Gender differences regarding the perception of and behaviour toward environmental
problems are well documented: across countries, women express
higher concern about the environment and are more likely to act proenvironmentally
than men. Investigations of an environmental gender gap
at elite level are, however, limited. To fill this void and to inquire whether
female representatives are more likely to hold pro-environmental attitudes
than their male colleagues and adjust their legislative behaviour accordingly,
survey and roll call vote data of the sixth and seventh European Parliament
are analysed. Male and female legislators expressed similar concern for the
environment, yet women were significantly more likely to support environmental
legislation than men – even after controlling for political ideology
and nationality. In light of the continuing underrepresentation of women
across legislatures, these results indicate that environmental policies are
disproportionally shaped by men’s preferences.