Empowering Mexican Rural Women to Protect Forests 

What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:

Natural Resource Management (NRM) initiatives are vital for economic recovery and environmental resilience. In Mexico, where many of the 12 million forest dwellers belong to marginalised communities, NRM programs have been implemented. However, in 2020, only 1.15% of forest sector funds went to women-led projects, with most funds managed by men.

A 2017 World Bank behavioural diagnostic identified barriers to women’s participation, including:

• Time, financial, and aspirational scarcity: Women’s dual roles in household and agricultural duties, combined with limited resources, cause them to miss opportunities to improve income and explore beyond immediate needs, such as government programs.
• Gender norms and social identity: Cultural norms assign men to labour and income generation, while women are expected to focus on domestic tasks, ultimately discouraging their involvement in economic and environmental activities.

The Green Nudge:

The World Bank, Rainforest Alliance, Climate Investment Fund, and Mexico’s National Lab for Public Policies conducted a Randomised Control Trial in 113 localities, by testing a specific communication strategy to explore what motivates rural women to join NRM initiatives.

One treatment group used behavioural science-informed posters that:

• Addressed gender norms by showing women who had already applied and worked on similar projects, thus normalising their involvement.
• Created urgency with action-oriented messages like „Now fill sections C and D!“ and leveraged loss aversion with phrases like „Don’t miss this opportunity!“

WhatsApp reminders and a simple one-page application checklist were also provided.

The result: Localities using this strategy saw a significant increase in women applicants, showing that challenging gender norms and using targeted decision-making cues boosted participation in forestry initiatives.

By challenging traditional gender norms and employing the right decision-making cues, more rural women were motivated to participate in forestry initiatives.

Are you aware of any other nudges that help marginalised communities to participate in pro-environmental behaviour? Feel free to get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com