Does gender make a difference in pro-environmental behavior? The case of the Basque Country University students

Identifying factors that promote pro-environmental behavior has become a key task in forecasting future environmental needs and trends in society and in designing products, educational programs and policies which meet society's environmental demands. The aim of this study is to contrast how gender affects environmental behavior through its influence on psychological factors that determine pro-environmental behavior and in a cultural context with laws that promote gender equality. A sample of 1089 university students is analyzed to estimate the effect of psychological factors (motivations, attitudes, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) and environmental knowledge) on behavior towards the environment from a gender perspective. To model such behavior and direct better environmental policies and strategies an ordered logit model is developed for each gender. Significant differences are found, with specific factors affecting each gender's pro-environmental behavior. Elasticity values are generally higher for men, so men are likely to be more sensitive to programs that attempt to change their behavior. This work adds new knowledge to the field of pro-environmental behavior from a gender perspective. It not only identifies how gender influences behavior towards the environment but also determines the different factors that affect the pro-environmental behavior of each gender and the extent of that effect.