According to the Swedish research company Ungdomsbarometern, young people in Sweden still see political parties and organizations as good ways to influence society, but boys and girls have different priorities. Not least on the climate issue.

‘Far more girls than boys see supporting or joining an organization as the best way to influence society. Young girls are also more concerned about the climate than young boys.’, said Johanna Göransson, senior consultant at Ungdomsbarometern.

She presented the 2024 survey on social engagement among young people in Sweden, at Nordregio’s webinar “Where are the boys in climate action? How to break the bubbles and join forces” (see the embedded video on this page) on August 28. The webinar launched the report “Climate, Youth and Gender – Inclusive strategies for Nordic youth movements”, which NIKK has written for Nordregio within the Sustainable Living programme.

Based on interviews and a survey among board members of youth organizations in the Nordic countries, the study draws attention to challenges at the intersection of climate engagement, gender and other categories, with a particular focus on young people in the Nordic region. The study identifies patterns of youth engagement related to aspects of gender, equality and diversity, and the report provides examples of how youth organizations address these patterns in terms of inclusion and recruitment.

Several strategies for breaking patterns

The report suggests and describes in depth several strategies to break the patterns, both for the internal and external outreach and engagement of members; 1) put the issue of inclusion and diversity on the agenda, 2) adopt a code of conduct with policies on discrimination and harassment, 3) create a safe space and a culture of openness to different views, 4) search beyond established patterns in recruitment and outreach, and 5) lower thresholds and formal requirements for engagement.

Education has impact on engagement

Previous research shows that people, both women and men, who are more care-oriented are also more interested in climate issues and more willing to adapt to sustainable lifestyles. The findings from the survey by Ungdomsbarometern, that young people seem to be more concerned about the climate while differences are visible at group level between boys and girls, are also confirmed in the new report.

‘People who are uninterested in or even opposed to action on climate and sustainability are mostly those who identify themselves as men,’ said report author Jimmy Sand, analyst at NIKK.

While young women are overrepresented in environmental organizations, the report suggests that education level and field of study can be a strong explanatory factor. Those studying social sciences at university level are more likely to be involved in these issues than, for example, those in vocational training at upper secondary school.

‘This reflects patterns in educational choices that are also evident in other contexts, where more women than men continue their studies in higher education and where men predominate in technical education,’ said Jimmy Sand.

Diversity may require compromise

The lack of resources is a major challenge for diversity and recruitment efforts, as highlighted by Alva Danielsson from the Nordic-Baltic network organization ReGeneration2030, one of the webinar’s youth representatives.

‘This is one of the toughest dilemmas we have. With little resources, we need to build capacity and create resilience within the organization. At the same time, we need to bring in more new members. We need more people involved, as this is the only way to bring about change in society’, said Alva Danielsson.

The question of recruitment was tested in the discussion: should resources be spent on increasing diversity by trying to recruit people who are not interested – or even opposed to the issues? Or on those who are interested but just haven’t taken the step to get involved yet? The study shows that organizations need to take into account and compromise with the lack of diversity on the one hand, and how social dimensions are integrated into environmental and climate issues on the other.

‘The gender bias in organizations may be related to which groups are most affected by climate change. The focus on gender, equality and climate, which men as a group are less interested in, may also alienate young men. One way to address this could be to also focus on aspects such as class, regionality, minority issues, race and ethnicity for example,’ said Jimmy Sand.

Watch the Nordregio webinar: