Ecofeminism holds that the preservation of biodiversity requires maintaining the entire ecosystem intact, that there are intimate connections between all the creatures of the Earth, that women have traditionally tended to pity the weak and vulnerable, and that women tend to maintain harmonious relations with all the members of the group. However, these feminine traits are denigrated and marginalized in capitalistic, patriarchal society, which tends instead towards competition and exclusivity.
生態女性主義點出，由於「生物多樣性」強調整個生態循環的完整性，及天地萬物休戚與共的緊密關係，而女性在傳統上，本來就傾向於護惜弱勢，並和每一個成員保持和諧關係；然而，此種女性特質在資本主義父權體制的排他與競爭取向下，卻遭到了貶斥與邊緣化。