Women, waste, and justice: The gender dimensions of environmental governance in South Africa

This study critically analyses the gendered dimensions of waste management and environmental justice in South Africausing a qualitative, feminist policy and governance framework. Waste collection and recycling are predominantly feminised activities, yet women involved in these sectors experience systematic marginalisation, precarious working conditions, and exclusion from formal governance structures. Drawing on feminist political ecology and environmental justice theory, the study examines how gender intersects with environmental governance, focusing on informal settlements and peri-urban contexts where women shoulder disproportionate household and environmental responsibilities. Through policy analysis and qualitative evidence drawn from interviews and focus group discussions, South Africa’s constitutional and policy instruments, including the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and the National Waste Management Strategy (2020), are evaluated for gender responsiveness and implementation gaps. The analysis is contextualised through comparative insights from selected cases in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, illustrating shared structural challenges and transferable policy lessons. The findings demonstrate that despite progressive policy commitments, environmental governance frameworks often fail to recognise women’s lived  experiences and labour in waste economies, thereby reproducing gendered structural inequalities. The study argues for institutionalised, gender-responsive, and communitybased waste governance systems that recognise women as key environmental actors and rights-bearing citizens. Such an approach is essential for advancing substantive environmental justice and inclusive sustainable development in postapartheid South Africa.