Understanding the diversity of objectives among women forest owners in Finland

Abstract

Women forest owners control a significant share of private forests in Finland, but they are often underrepresented in forest-related surveys. It also seems that women forest owners are less active in performing forestry work or selling wood; however, the information on women forest owners is sparce. The purpose of this study is to deepen understanding of the association between women forest owners’ activities and their ownership objectives. The study analysed a large survey ( n = 6468) collected as part of the Finnish Forest Owner 2020 research project. Overall, women forest owners were found to be less active in many aspects compared to their men counterparts. With k-means clustering, four different clusters of women forest owners with different ownership-objective profiles were identified. Differences in ownership activities between the clusters were compared using Pearson's chi-square test. Multi-objective women forest owners were more active than other women owners. Moreover, women forest owners who valued nature and recreation were less active than other women forest owners. This might indicate the lack of service-dominant logic in forestry-related services. By providing a more detailed understanding of women forest owners, the results aid the design of more equal and inclusive forest policies and forest services.