Role in a risk society: how women bear a disproportionate burden Premium

Explore the concept of risk society, examining how modernisation creates unforeseen risks and disproportionately affects women's vulnerability.

In 1986, the world was shaken by the catastrophic Chernobyl nuclear accident, which released massive amounts of radioactive material into the environment, affecting millions of people and the land for decades. The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan that took place in 2011 mirrored this tragedy, highlighting the dangers of nuclear energy in densely populated areas. These incidents exposed how the rapid pace of modernisation can amplify risks, with devastating consequences for human life and long-term environmental safety.

Another disaster is the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, which triggered global lockdowns, overwhelmed healthcare systems, and disrupted economies. Governments, despite efforts, struggled to respond as the global economy collapsed and millions of lives were upended. The pandemic exposed the deep vulnerabilities of an interconnected world, with its aftermath still rippling through societies. Financial instability deepened existing inequalities, showing how modern crises can amplify the risks built into the structures of global life.

Ever wondered why such unpredictable events keep occurring and why there seems to be no clear way to control them? Why, despite technological advancements and promises of progress, we find ourselves continually facing new, unforeseen risks? This is precisely what the concept of risk society explains.

Coined by Ulrich Beck in his book Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity, the term “risk society” describes a shift from an industrial society to one increasingly shaped by uncertainty and hazards created by technological and environmental developments. In such a society, the focus moves from the distribution of wealth to the prevention and management of risks, including health crises, pollution, and environmental degradation, that arise from modernisation itself.

Beck’s theory draws from the concept of “reflexive modernisation,” the idea that modern societies must constantly reflect on and adapt to the problems they have created. That is, the successes of industrialisation, such as nuclear energy and fossil fuel use, generated new, often unforeseen risks. Over time, these risks began to overshadow the benefits of progress, proponents of the theory argue, with disasters like nuclear explosions, pandemics, and climate hazards being examples of this.

Beck’s work recalls three distinctive epochs of modernity — pre-industrial society or the traditional society; industrial society; and risk society. In the pre-industrial era, society was characterised by a stable, agrarian economy where risks were largely natural and mostly localised, such as famine and epidemics. Risks were managed in such societies based on social order and traditional knowledge systems.

This was followed by the industrial society, the rise of which brought about large-scale production, urbanisation, and technological advancements that transformed both society and the global economy. The world became a more open place with increased global transactions. But it also introduced new risks, including pollution, depletion of natural resources, and the development of riskier technologies, which were often global in scale.