Global education unions strategise systemic climate-gender justice integration through union-led pedagogy and policy

Indigenous knowledge systems frame climate and gender justice as interconnected with land stewardship, intergenerational responsibility, and non-human kin relationships, challenging the anthropocentric and extractivist paradigms embedded in Western education systems. The omission of Indigenous pedagogies—such as Māori *mātauranga* or Sámi *siida* systems—in union-led climate education reflects a deeper epistemic injustice. Indigenous women’s leadership in climate justice (e.g., Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim’s work with Indigenous women’s networks) is critical but sidelined in favour of institutionalised union frameworks. True systemic change requires ceding epistemic authority to Indigenous knowledge holders.

Education unions have historically been sites of resistance against colonial education systems that erased Indigenous knowledge and enforced gendered hierarchies, yet this legacy is rarely acknowledged in contemporary mobilisations. The 1970s feminist education movements in Latin America linked gender justice to anti-colonial struggles, while Nordic unions in the 1980s pioneered eco-pedagogy—precedents that could inform today’s climate-gender strategies. The current framing overlooks how neoliberal education reforms (e.g., marketisation, standardised testing) have depoliticised unions and undermined their radical potential. A historical lens reveals that union-led justice movements are cyclical, often rising during crises but collapsing under structural pressures.

Cross-culturally, justice is often framed as relational rather than individualistic, as in Ubuntu philosophy ('I am because we are') or the Māori concept of *whanaungatanga* (kinship), which could reorient union demands toward collective care rather than rights-based individualism. In South Asia, women-led climate movements like the Chipko Andolan (1970s) integrated gendered labour and ecological defence, showing how care work and climate action are inseparable. However, global union narratives often prioritise Western feminist and climate justice models, erasing these alternative epistemologies. Centring cross-cultural wisdom could transform unions from advocacy groups into epistemic communities.

Research consistently shows that gender-just climate policies are more effective, as women’s leadership in adaptation and mitigation leads to better outcomes (IPCC AR6, 2022). Studies also highlight the disproportionate impact of climate change on girls’ education (UNESCO, 2023), yet unions rarely ground their demands in this evidence. The scientific consensus on intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) is underutilised in union strategies, which often treat climate and gender as parallel rather than intersecting struggles. A robust scientific approach would integrate climate attribution science, gender-disaggregated data, and labour economics to design targeted interventions.

Artistic and spiritual traditions across cultures frame climate and gender justice as sacred responsibilities, from Hindu *yajna* (sacrificial offering to nature) to African feminist spiritualities that centre ancestral wisdom. Indigenous art forms, such as Māori *whakairo* (carving) or Navajo sand painting, encode ecological and gendered knowledge, offering models for decolonising education. However, unions rarely engage with these traditions, instead prioritising policy frameworks over embodied, creative knowledge. Incorporating artistic-spiritual perspectives could transform climate education from abstract discourse into lived practice, fostering emotional and ethical engagement.

Future scenarios must account for the cascading impacts of climate collapse on education systems, including mass displacement, teacher shortages, and curriculum irrelevance in disrupted ecologies. Unions could model futures where education is decentralised, community-led, and grounded in ecological literacy, countering the current extractivist model. Scenario planning should also anticipate backlash from fossil fuel interests and authoritarian regimes targeting unionised educators. A feminist, decolonial future would prioritise care work, intergenerational knowledge, and non-human rights in education governance.

Marginalised voices—Indigenous women, disabled educators, queer teachers, and Global South unionists—are often tokenised in union narratives but excluded from decision-making power. For example, the Global South bears 80% of climate impacts but receives <10% of climate finance, a disparity rarely addressed in union demands. Disabled educators face barriers in climate mobilisations, while queer teachers are often silenced in heteronormative union spaces. Centring these voices requires structural changes, such as quotas, participatory governance, and funding for grassroots-led initiatives.