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Mariella Noto, Academia & Multilateral Partnerships Director
Gendered Impacts of Chemical Exposure, Inclusive Decision-Making, and the Role of Women in Science
Each year, an estimated nine million people die as a result of environmental pollution caused by exposure to toxic substances in air, water and soil. Similar to the climate and biodiversity crises, pollution is a growing global challenge, one that affects people differently and can deepen existing inequalities.
Both UNEP and WHO emphasise that women and girls are often disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution due to a combination of biological and socio-economic factors, while recognising that harmful chemical exposure affects everyone, including men.
Biologically, men and women can react differently to chemical exposure due to differences in body composition, metabolism, and hormone levels. Socio-economically, exposure risks may vary depending on occupational roles, working conditions, and societal expectations. Understanding these gender-specific dynamics is therefore crucial for identifying the causes of unsustainable practices in chemical management and for developing more effective and inclusive solutions.
Supporting sex- and gender-disaggregated data collection, as well as training and knowledge sharing, is essential. Without these insights, important exposure pathways and health impacts can remain overlooked.
Women play a critical role in advancing the goal of a pollution-free planet. Their participation in decision-making on pollution prevention and environmental health can be a game-changer. Expanding opportunities for women to participate in leadership, policymaking, and technical decision-making related to chemicals management is therefore vital.
Research published in The Lancet in September 2024 highlights that current systems for understanding, managing, and governing chemicals contain systemic gaps that reinforce structural inequalities. Integrating gender perspectives offers an opportunity to strengthen research and support more effective, evidence-based policies on chemical pollution.
First, collecting sex- and gender-disaggregated baseline data allows for a more accurate understanding of exposure pathways and health impacts. This knowledge can support the development of targeted policies and interventions.
Second, integrating gender into research raises important questions about power and representation, encouraging reflection on whose knowledge and experiences shape scientific research and policymaking.
Third, a gender perspective can strengthen connections across public health, environmental health, occupational safety, and planetary health. In other words, a gender-responsive approach helps reveal how pollution is not only an environmental issue, but also a social and health challenge that requires collaboration across traditionally separate disciplines.
These issues formed the backdrop for ZDHC’s third Global Women’s Breakfast, held online on 10 February. The event continues a global tradition first initiated in 2011, when over 5,000 female chemists from 44 countries participated in an international networking event titled Women Sharing a Chemical Moment in Time ahead of the launch of the International Year of Chemistry to celebrate achievements, expand professional networks, learn from one another, and raise awareness about the challenges women scientists face across academia, industry, and government.
Building on this legacy, ZDHC’s Global Women’s Breakfast brought together keynote speakers from UNEP, African ministries, international brands, and other organisations. The discussion created space to exchange ideas, share experiences, and explore how female scientists can help shape solutions for safer chemical management.
The conversation also provides an opportunity to continue recognising the women working across our community who are advancing safer and more sustainable chemical management. In the weeks ahead, ZDHC will share perspectives and experiences from women scientists whose work contributes to shaping the future of responsible chemistry.
At the global level, a draft Gender Action Plan (GAP) has been developed under the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC) for consideration at the first International Conference (Resolution V/4). The plan aims to ensure that gender equality is systematically integrated into chemicals and waste management.
As work continues to translate the Global Framework into sector-specific implementation plans, integrating a gender lens into these efforts represents an important next step.
Within its own industrial sector implementation approach, the ZDHC Foundation can play a meaningful role in advancing this agenda. This includes examining how data is collected and evaluated, how exposure pathways and health effects differ across genders within the industry, and how these differences relate to job roles, workplace conditions, and representation in decision-making processes.
By collecting and analysing sex- and gender-disaggregated data, the industry can better identify exposure risks and develop more effective interventions. At the same time, supporting equal representation of women and men in chemistry and chemical management will help ensure that roadmaps, tools, and guidelines reflect diverse perspectives and address existing knowledge gaps related to health impacts.
Ultimately, integrating gender perspectives into chemical management is not only a matter of equity—it is also a pathway toward more effective solutions for protecting people and the planet.
In case you missed it here are videos from the breakfast:
- Interview with Tiffany Gomez
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