Women huddled together, looking at information on the phone together in MSK's vocational training center

Power in Praxis

Women Enabling & Leading Eco Practices

Women and sustainability are intricately linked. "Environmental degradation and climate change have disproportionate impacts on women and children" with almost a third of women’s global employment in agriculture, including forestry and fishing (UN Women). Many studies including a 2018 study find the crucial role of women in desirable sustainable development outcomes in light of effective foreign aid but also new findings emerge on the likelihood of women being more effective corporate sustainability leaders.  

The education arm of Center for Sustainable Development at The Earth Institute, Columbia University, has the pleasure of working with women who are leading eco-friendly practices across India, Rwanda, Ghana, Myanmar and Indonesia, some without realizing the potential scale and impact of their work.

The women artisans learn various technical and vocational skills surrounding their trade that results in products that encourage eco-friendly lifestyles. The processes of production include usage of recycled materials, producing materials that would reduce single-plastic use, as well as sharing information with others in the community.

To further the discussions on gender and sustainability, the broader Eco Ambassador network began, "Power In Praxis".

Power in Praxis is a forum for amplifying work at the intersection of research & practice for sustainable development & gender equity.

The space came about to discuss the cross-linkages between gender and the sustainable development. We used this space to connect with like-minded people and to develop work synergies. The various events and discussions through Power in Praxis helped to showcase applied research, theoretical framework, latest developments and hearing from amazing people and their views on various topics. 

Selections of the previous work with Power in Praxis can be found in the Eco Ambassador Blog: 

https://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/edsdcsd/