Women’s inclusion is now the norm in global and local initiatives to combat climate change. We examine how women’s representation affects climate deliberations using the case of community-managed forests in Malawi. We run a lab-in-the-field experiment randomly varying the gender composition of six-member groups asked to deliberate on policies to combat local overharvesting. We find that any given woman has relatively more influence in group deliberations when women make up a larger share of the group, a change driven by men’s assessments of women’s influence. Women’s presence also shifts the content of deliberations toward prospective solutions for which women have socially recognized expertise (cooking and replanting). Despite these changes, women and men do not prefer different deforestation policies, and women’s presence does not meaningfully affect group decisions. Our work demonstrates how women’s presence shapes climate deliberations but also calls into question claims that women’s inclusion will necessarily affect climate decisions.

About the authors

Amanda Clayton

Associate Professor, Political Science

Amanda Clayton’s work focuses primarily on the consequences of women’s political representation. This includes how the adoption of electoral gender quotas shapes the substantive representation of women’s interests in national legislatures and how exposure to women officeholders affects citizen behavior. Her current research examines questions related to gender and climate governance, including a book project that examines the origins of gender differences in climate attitudes worldwide.

Her work has appeared in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political ScienceJournal of Politics, and International Organization among other outlets. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP) research group. She also consulted for the World Bank (Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network, Africa Region), USAID (Women’s Political Participation and Leadership Program), and the OECD (Public Governance Directorate). She is a a founding member of EGEN and an active member of EGAP.

Boniface Dulani

Associate Professor of Politics and Government, University of Malawi

Katrina Kosec

Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute

Amanda Lea Robinson

Professor of Political Science, Ohio State University