<p>What should be the priority of a modern society, environmental sustainability or employment? Employment and environmental protection are two significant global challenges. While the relationship between employment and environmental sustainability has been explored, studies often lack depth and breadth, particularly concerning women’s employment. Previous research has shown a positive relationship between pollution and employment, known as the environmental Phillips curve. This study examines whether women’s employment moderates the relationship between unemployment and pollution. Focusing on the environmental Phillips curve, this study investigates the effects of women’s political and economic participation on per capita CO₂ emissions in two groups: 25 emerging countries and the top 10 emerging carbon-emitting countries. Using data from 1998 to 2022 and applying the panel method of moments quantile regressions (MMQREG), the results reveal a negative and significant relationship between women’s political empowerment and carbon emissions in both groups. Moreover, in certain quantiles, women’s economic empowerment leads to a reduction in emissions. These findings suggest that, unlike previous studies that report increased employment causes environmental degradation, women’s employment can contribute to environmental improvement. In emerging economies, accounting for women’s employment disrupts the environmental Phillips curve. The results provide important policy implications for addressing the unemployment-pollution relationship and contribute to the growing field of environmental gender studies.</p>