Women’s autonomy and its impact on environmental sustainability agenda

Women’s autonomy remains under pressure from male dominancy in corporate business and household affairs. Women possess natural, analytical, social, political, and economic autonomy that acknowledges the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDG-5) to empower women and girls in inclusive business. The study analyzes different aspects of women’s autonomy in corporate business and the natural environment, leading to sustainable business outcomes in China between 1975 and 2019. In practice, Chinese women’s political power in the decision-making process is minimal. It needs to restructure its socio-political autonomy to move toward the SDG-5 agenda. The results show that women have the political wisdom to handle corporate sustainability affairs, manage matters of corporate environmental responsibility, and increase their participation in the workforce, enabling them to sustain their lives as knowledge workers. Corporate women hold more stewardship values than men, enabling them to handle corporate sustainability matters.