A Third of Female Sustainability Professionals Have Experienced Discrimination in Their Careers
% of Respondents Not Identifying as Male Who Have Experienced Discrimination in Sustainability (n=161), 2021
In GlobeScan and The SustainAbility Institute by ERM‘s recent survey of 496 sustainability experts in 75 countries, only 39 percent identify as female, suggesting the sustainability field remains male-dominated overall.
The gender gap narrows to about 50-50 in corporate roles and among experts in North America. Around the world, newcomers to the profession are more likely to be women.
Of those who do not identify as a male,* more than one-third say discrimination has negatively affected their career in sustainability.
These findings show that the sustainability profession is not immune to the gender discrimination affecting other sectors and that there is a lot of work to do to combat gender discrimination in the field.
Notes:
- * Includes respondents self-identifying as female and in another way.
- Data source: GlobeScan / The SustainAbility Institute by ERM State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Sustainability Professionals, 2021.
