Nazanin Khaksari
Sustainability Month: Asper PhD Candidate Studies the Gender Gap Among Vegans
What you eat says a lot about who you are.
Asper School of Business PhD candidate Nazanin Khaksari studies consumer behavior, with a focus on sustainability. Originally from the massive city of Tehran, Iran, she comes from a Marketing background with a lifelong interest in psychology.
Lately, she’s been researching the gender gap in veganism.
While it may differ from country to country, an overwhelming majority of vegans tend to be women.
“There’s a lot of literature about how guys see their masculinity by eating more meat and steak and burgers and all of those things” she says.
“A buddy comes and says, ‘I’m vegan’ – they make fun of him.”
Veganism, and by extension, sustainability, is often associated with feminine traits.
“Sustainability is all about caring. Caring, it’s traditionally a feminine characteristic – as a mother, as a woman, you should care and be nurturing and kind and empathetic” says Khaksari.
Changing the Gendered Narrative on Veganism
All the thinking that Khaksari has done about this topic is part of her PhD thesis that explores how marketers can help overcome this gender gap in the vegan space.
Khaksari doesn’t propose a full move to veganism overnight, but rather small steps that both men and women can take that result in big long-term differences.
“My study was about just trying a vegan restaurant – not going and being vegan. Just trying it,” she says.
Khaksari also shares that her research goes beyond the absolutes of traits and associated behaviours embodied by all men and all women. The issue isn’t that simple.
Instead, she looks at “how people represent their gender in society and the effects of that in their choices of consumption.”
There’s a difference between the “tough guy who drives an F-150,” and a man with a softer, more feminine side. The same goes for women who display varying degrees of feminine and masculine traits, and buy different things depending on these traits.
Khaksari found that in the case of men who display highly masculine traits, there is a “gender identity threat” that serves as a barrier to sustainable tendencies.
In the world of consumer behavior, an “identity threat” stops people from buying things that don’t align with who they see themselves as or want others to see them as. Brands that understand what consumers perceive as threatening, can reverse-engineer their marketing mix to effectively target this audience.
As it applies to veganism, marketers must ask what exactly is threatening about it to men that embody highly masculine traits.
“Some brands can be masculine, some brands can be feminine. So, it’s about different elements of the brand, like the fonts, the colors, all the ways they use their tools to communicate,” Khaksari says. “I try to figure out which way is best.”
Her PhD supervisor, Professor and F. Ross Johnson Fellow Dr. Namita Bhatnagar, says that Khaksari is innovating in marketing research: “Nazanin’s thesis expands on the work linking gender and sustainability, suggesting that softer feminine traits embodied by both women and men relate to eco-friendly outcomes.”
As the research is in progress, Khaksari can’t share all of her results yet. But we can’t wait.
How to be Sustainable in your Everyday Life
October is sustainability month, a great time to pick up habits that will benefit the planet for everyone. Khaksari emphasizes that sustainable habits can be genuinely fun.
Example #1: Thrifting
Thrifting is all upside. It saves money, saves the environment by recycling old clothes, and not to mention, it’s very fashionable.
“You buy brand new clothes, there is nothing to brag about. But when you find something from the 90s or 80s, it’s unique, and not everybody has that.”
She says that when you spend a lot of time looking and find something to show your style, “it gives you the feeling of treasure hunting.”
Example #2: Different modes of transportation
Khaksari encourages walking and biking whenever possible, which benefits the environment but also boosts your health and mood.
Taking public transport like buses is also a great way to be sustainable. But she says that the social stigma of using public transportation needs to change. “There are some memes on the internet that say, I saw a cute guy on the bus, but he’s also on the bus.”
“We can change the idea that being attractive and successful is not just being resourceful, but also how considerate a person is, for example,” Khaksari says.
Example #3: Try a vegan meal
To the skeptical guys out there—Khaksari wants you to know about this article she just read.
“It was about how women see and perceive men that are vegan or who adopt those sustainable behaviours. So women, they find those guys really attractive.”
“Part of it is about self-control. When you see that self-control or discipline in a man, it sends a good signal. It’s like a green flag,” she says.
“He’s not a cheater. You know he’s a kind and empathetic person.”
—
Celebrate Sustainability Month with the Asper School of Business
Sustainability Management: Lessons from Research to Practice
Guest researchers and practitioners will lead a sustainability-focused presentation highlighting both local and global perspectives.
Friday October 17, 2025
10:30AM – 12:00PM
Room 106 Drake Centre
UM Campus Commute Survey Lounge
How do you commute to campus? Share feedback, exchange ideas and complete the commuter survey.
Monday October 20, 2025
11AM – 1PM
Student Commons Area, Drake Centre
Asper Green Team Book Exchange
Bring new life to old reads! Discover something new to read, learn about sustainable resources, enjoy snacks and take part in a free book exchange that celebrates reuse and connection. Book donations can be dropped off in the Asper Dean’s Office, 3rd floor Drake Centre, between Oct 1-29.
Thursday October 30, 2025
2PM – 4PM
Student Commons Area, Drake Centre
This sustainability month, learn more about the Asper School of Business commitment to sustainability initiatives in our academic programs, research, community and beyond.