GENDER AND THE ENVIRONMENT - WOMENS TIME USE AS A MEASURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGE

Women are thought to have a multiplicity of roles as agents, victims a nd saviours in relation to environmental change, This paper takes an i nnovative approach to the study of gender and the environment by utili zing women's time use as a surrogate measure of changes in gender role s under conditions of environmental stress, Case studies are drawn fro m dryland areas of Sri Lanka, Burkina Faso, Ghana, the Sudan and the C aribbean. There is considerable evidence that women have shorter hours of rest than men, that gender roles are becoming more flexible and th at environmental degradation increases women's workload.