As we continue the battle for equal rights, the negative consequences oil economies pose on gender relations cannot be ignored. Globally, the oil industry has created an impediment to the participation of women in the workforce. With a high dependence on oil worldwide, producing countries undertake a production system that completely transforms their economic structures and deepens the divide.
Entrenched in the system, women’s rights take the biggest hit. The oil production system aggravates a gap between men and women through its increasing physical and risk-prone activities. Therefore, it automatically affects who will participate in the labour force and isolates women. The result is a protracted domino effect that affects not just women in the workforce but also leads to an unfair allocation of equity. With no source of income, women are stuck to take on home-based activities and, in parallel, fertility rates increase. More responsibilities in the home implies more time in the home, hindering education. This trend is no surprise as anthropologists have found a strong correlation between women’s labour participation and social and political emancipation.
To break this down, when women are present in the workforce, it allows them to earn their own income. Personal income gives them greater independence from men but also from parenthood. Less child-rearing grants greater time and attention to social and political concerns. Not only do they gain more time, but the job environment incentivizes an exchange of information and ideals. Through this exchange, women can unify and support one another, leading to an increase in confidence and greater plausibility to take part in mobilizing for expanded rights and greater female representation. This holds true even as women often participate in poorly remunerated factory jobs, and as they are paid less than men for similar work.
When countries discover they are rich in natural resources, many fall into the trap of the resource curse. Natural resource wealth pushes out and undermines other types of economic development. Indeed, the curse is that governments become entangled with an abundance of resources and fail to manage and distribute the revenues generated from natural resources effectively. An impact is the growing dependency on natural wealth and lack of economic diversification. This focalization then causes inflation to rise and the exchange rate to appreciate, leading to an “export-based manufacturing” called the Dutch disease. In response to the rise in foreign exchange rates, local currency has more value and there is a greater demand for items manufactured abroad at the expense of domestic production. The vast revenues generated from resource extraction give purchasing power, resulting in importing being more cost-efficient than producing domestically. Women typically participate in low-wage jobs usually within the factory or agricultural sector. Since the resource curse homogenized the economy, if you are not working in the tradable sector, then all that is left is the non-tradable sector. This sector comprises construction and other heavy labour, once again excluding women. Oil increases wages, men’s wages grow, and hence discourages women from working.
With climate change increasingly becoming an unavoidable threat, pressure has reinforced a pattern of petro-masculinity. This concept by Cara Daggett suggests that “movements in the West are embracing a toxic combination of climate denial, racism and misogyny”. Indeed, it is all about ego. Specifically, studies have shown that white males are more prone to share climate denial views which can be explained through their positions of power within the industrial capitalist economic system. White males who typically are the architects, overseers, controllers, and principal benefactors have a disproportionate perception of risk compared to those in vulnerable positions who experience the brunt of the consequences.
The push for change often leads to cycles of helplessness in which we must persevere. Acknowledging the interconnectedness of climate change, women’s rights, and the entrenched capitalist patriarchal power dynamics is essential in the ongoing fight. It is not only a commitment but a necessity in our pursuit of an equitable and sustained future.
Edited by Elena Lee
Emma Benoudiz is in her last year at McGill university studying Economics with two minors in International Development and Political Science. Born in Venezuela and lived in the US and France her interests include a global perspective on sustainability, diplomatic relations, human rights, and political analysis on economic trends.