The Triple Nexus of Driving Sustainable Development: Unveiling the Roles of Ethnicity, Gender, and Sustainability in Marginalized Communities

This study explores the critical intersection of ethnicity, gender, and sustainability, referred to as the “triple nexus,” within the context of community-led development, particularly in the Global South. The objective is to examine how ethnic identity and gender roles impact sustainable development practices, leadership, and knowledge systems in marginalized communities. Employing a systematic literature review guided by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) framework, 57 studies published between 2020 and 2025 were analyzed. The findings reveal three key insights: (i) ethnic women are central to the preservation of traditional ecological knowledge and local sustainability efforts; (ii) structural barriers such as institutional exclusion, gendered workloads, and policy disconnections continue to limit their leadership and participation; and (iii) sustainable development initiatives often fail to integrate cultural knowledge systems, leading to superficial inclusion and limited impact. Building on intersectionality, decolonial environmentalism, and feminist political ecology, the article develops an integrated triple-nexus framework that specifies causal pathways between intersectional positions, access to resources and voice, and environmental and social outcomes, and proposes testable propositions to guide future empirical research and policy design. This research aligns with SDGs 5 (gender equality), 10 (reduced inequalities), and 13 (climate action). These approaches can foster more equitable governance, empower marginalized voices, and ensure culturally embedded sustainability. However, the study is limited by its reliance on secondary sources and potential publication bias, underscoring the need for future participatory and ethnographic research to empirically operationalize and test the proposed framework.