From Gender Blind to Gender Bind: Political Strategies of the Women and Gender Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2020 Joanna Flavell School of Social Sciences Politics Table of Contents Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................2 List of Acronyms ...................................................................................................................6 List of Tables..........................................................................................................................9 List of Figures ........................................................................................................................9 Declaration ...........................................................................................................................10 Copyright Statement ............................................................................................................10 Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................11 Abstract ................................................................................................................................12 Chapter 1 - Introduction .......................................................................................................13 1.1. Why ‘Gender and Climate Change’? ........................................................................18 1.1.1. Research Questions ............................................................................................22 1.2. Intersectionality as Feminist Intellectual Inquiry and Critical Praxis .......................22 1.3. The UNFCCC as a Site of Inquiry ............................................................................25 1.4. Overview of the Thesis .............................................................................................30 1.5. Original Contributions ..............................................................................................37 Chapter 2 - Enduring Debates in Feminist Climate Praxis ..................................................39 2.1. Theorising Feminist Climate Activism .....................................................................39 2.2. Enduring Debates ......................................................................................................46 2.2.1. Dilemmas of Rhetorical Strategy ...........................................................................47 2.2.2. Radical Outsiders versus Pragmatic Insiders .........................................................54 2.2.3. Questions of Power Dynamics and Hierarchies .....................................................62 2 2.2.4. The Activist - Academic Divide ............................................................................64 2.3. Conclusion ................................................................................................................67 Chapter 3 - Ecofeminist Intersectionality: Inquiry and Praxis .............................................69 3.1. Ecofeminist Intersectionality as Critical Inquiry ......................................................74 3.1.1. Social Inequality.....................................................................................................74 3.1.2. Intersecting power relations ...................................................................................76 3.1.3. Contextuality ..........................................................................................................81 3.1.4. Relationality ...........................................................................................................83 3.1.5. Complexity .............................................................................................................87 3.1.6. Social Justice ..........................................................................................................88 3.2. Transversal Politics as Ecofeminist Intersectional Praxis .........................................89 3.2.1. Solidarity Politics ...................................................................................................90 3.2.2. Epistemic Communities .........................................................................................91 3.2.3. Flexible Dialogue ...................................................................................................93 3.3. Conclusion ................................................................................................................95 Chapter 4 - Methodology .....................................................................................................96 4.1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................96 4.2. Collecting Data: Gathering Data, Conducting Interviews and Observation ...........100 4.2.1. Gathering Data .....................................................................................................100 4.2.2. Elite Interviews ....................................................................................................101 4.2.3. Direct Observation ...............................................................................................108 4.3. Interpretation and Analysis of Documents ..............................................................110 3 4.4. Internal Validity and Limitations of the Research ..................................................113 Chapter 5 - From Zero Gender to GAP: Foregrounding gender in UNFCCC history .......116 5.1. Phase 1: Zero Gender -1992 – 2007 ........................................................................117 5.1.1. Early Days: 1992 – 2002 ......................................................................................118 5.1.2. Getting Organised: 2003 – 2005 ..........................................................................121 5.1.3. Gaining Momentum: 2006 – 2007 .......................................................................126 5.2. Phase two: Mainstreaming Gender into the UNFCCC - 2007 - 2013 ....................130 5.2.1. Getting Noticed: 2007 – 2009 ..............................................................................131 5.2.2. Feminist Leadership: 2010 – 2011 .......................................................................133 5.3. Phase 3: Gender Action Plan - 2014 – 2017 ...........................................................138 5.3.1. Towards Implementation: 2014 – 2015 ...............................................................139 5.3.2. Extending the Lima Work Programme on Gender: 2016 ....................................143 5.3.3. The Gender Action Plan: 2017 .............................................................................147 5.4. Conclusion ..............................................................................................................151 Chapter 6 – Political Strategies Mobilised by the Women and Gender Constituency.......154 6.1. Rhetorical Strategies ...............................................................................................159 6.1.1. Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women ..................................................159 6.1.2. Universalising lived experience ...........................................................................164 6.1.3. Equating Gender with Women .............................................................................169 6.1.4. Intersectionality in Baby Steps ............................................................................172 6.2. Procedural Strategies ...............................................................................................175 6.2.1. Identifying entry points for gender aspects into the climate change debate ........176 4 6.2.2. Raising awareness and disseminating information ..............................................181 6.2.3. Building women’s capacity and joint strategizing ...............................................184 6.2.4. Developing a future research agenda ...................................................................189 6.3. Conclusion ..............................................................................................................192 Chapter 7 – Lessons for Ecofeminist Intersectional Praxis ...............................................195 7.1. Lessons from the WGC for Intersectional Inquiry and Praxis ................................198 7.1.1. Lesson One: There are No Easy Solutions ...........................................................198 7.1.2. Lesson Two: Prevalent domains of power have hindered intersectional praxis in the UNFCCC ..................................................................................................................199 7.1.3. Lesson Three: Intersectional inquiry and practice cannot be separated ...............207 7.2. Towards an Ecofeminist Transversal Politics .........................................................209 7.2.1. Option One: Fold and Withdraw ..........................................................................210 7.2.2. Option Two: ‘Business as Usual’ .........................................................................211 7.2.3. Option Three: Ecofeminist Transversal Politics ..................................................213