![2DU Kenya 84 (5367322092)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/2DU_Kenya_84_%285367322092%29.jpg)
Climate change and gender is a way to interpret the disparate
impacts of climate change
The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea leve ...
on men and
women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
,
[Olsson, Lennart et al]
"Livelihoods and Poverty."
''Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.'' Ed. C. B. Field et al. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 793–832. Web.(accessed 22 October 2014) based on the social construction of
gender role
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
s and relations.
[CARE]
"Adaptation, Gender, and Women's Empowerment."
Care International Climate Change Brief. (2010). (accessed 18 March 2013). Climate change increases
gender inequality
Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which men and women are not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empi ...
,
reduces women's ability to be financially independent,
and has an overall negative impact on the social and political
rights of women
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
, especially in economies that are heavily based on agriculture.
In many cases, gender inequality means that women are more
vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. This is due to gender roles, particularly in the developing world, which means that women are often dependent on the natural environment for subsistence and income. By further limiting women's already constrained access to physical, social, political, and fiscal resources, climate change often burdens women more than men and can magnify existing gender inequality.
[Aboud, Georgina. "Gender and Climate Change." (2011).][Dankelman, Irene. "Climate change is not gender-neutral: realities on the ground." Public Hearing on "Women and Climate Change". (2011)][Birkmann, Joern et a]
"Emergent Risks and Key Vulnerabilities."
''Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.'' Ed. C. B. Field et al. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 1039–1099. Web. (accessed 25 October 2014).
Gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
-based differences have also been identified in relation to awareness, causation and response to climate change, and many countries have developed and implemented gender-based climate change strategies and action plans. For example, the
government of Mozambique
Politics in Mozambique takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Mozambique is head of state and head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by ...
adopted a Gender, Environment and Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan in early 2010, being the first government in the world to do so.
[Republic of Mozambique]
Mozambique Climate Change Gender Action Plan (ccGAP) Report
, accessed 25 December 2019
Analysis of gender in climate change, however, is not limited to women. It also means not only applying
a binary male/female system of analysis on sets of quantitative data, but also scrutinizing discursive constructions that shapes power relations connected to climate change,
[MacGregor, Sherilyn. "A Stranger Silence Still: The Need for Feminist Social Research on Climate Change." ''The Sociological Review'' 57 (2010): 124–140. .] and considering how gender, as a social factor that influences responses to climate change,
intersects with other variables such as age, caste, marital status, and ethnicity. This binary also excludes individuals who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and those who are non-binary and do not fit into gender norms.
Public opinion and actions
![Wangari Maathai in 2001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Wangari_Maathai_in_2001.jpg)
A study of young people in Finland shows that concern over
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
has a higher impact on
climate friendly consumption in women compared to men. This may be incidental to differences in perception of climate change.
Women
tend to agree with the scientific opinion that anthropogenic
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
are mainly responsible for climate change (m: 56%, f: 64%) and are more concerned about its effects: 29% of men and 35% of women in the US "worry about global warming a great deal".
Another study was conducted in 2016 using men and women from
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and Sweden to measure and inspect the effects of gender and political orientation on perceptions of climate change. Data was collected via online questionnaires from 367 participants from Brazil consisting of 151 men and 216 women, and 221 participants from Sweden with 75 men and 146 women. The results of the study showed a strong positive correlation between conservative men and denial of climate change in both groups (rSweden = .22, rBrazil = .19) indicating that men (typically with conservative political orientation) are more likely to deny the existence of climate change. Women in both groups mostly showed the opposite results, indicating that women are more likely to believe in the existence of climate change.
A study published in 2020 found that there are also differences in the coping strategies. The study, conducted among rice farmers in
Mazandaran Province in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, found that men tend to believe that better techniques for conservation management of land is a good way to manage
climate risk
Climate risk refers to risk assessments based on formal analysis of the consequences, likelihoods and responses to the impacts of climate change and how societal constraints shape adaptation options. Common approaches to risk assessment and risk ...
, while women believed that education is the most important way to adapt, since they could find out what are the better techniques and technologies to face climate risk.
A key enabler to
climate change adaptation
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...
is access to useful climate information, however in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
access to information has been found to be gendered with women having poorer access to climate information. In a study published in 2020 of smallholder sugarcane farmers in Malawi, it was found that more women than men do not access forecast information to guide adaptation decisions. Gendered access and preferences of climate information may be tied to varying marital status and well as education and literacy levels among women and men.
Contribution to climate change – through emissions of greenhouse gases – is correlated to gender.
A study on car use in Sweden, for example, found that men are likely to use the car more, for longer distances and alone compared to women, thereby emitting more (a
greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...
).
Vulnerability
Disasters
Death rates
A study by the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
found that, in natural disasters in 141 countries, gender differences in deaths correlated to women's economic and social rights in those countries.
[Adeniji, Grace. "Adapting to climate change in Africa." Jotoafrika. no. 6 (2011).] Due to their social standing, women in developing countries are not generally taught
survival skills
Survival skills are techniques that a person may use in order to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life which include water, food, and shelte ...
like swimming or climbing, meaning they are more likely to die in a natural disaster.
When women have fewer rights and less power in society, more of them die due to climate change, but when there are equal rights for all groups, death rates are more equally matched.
Sexual abuse and disease transmission
Natural disasters disrupt daily routines and complicate gender and family roles, which can cause victims of natural disasters to feel powerless and frustrated.
[Curtis, Thom, Brent C. Miller, and E. Helen Berry. "Changes in reports and incidence of child abuse following natural disasters." Child abuse & neglect 24, no. 9 (2000): 1151–1162.] These feelings often result in aggression against less powerful groups.
Women and children in developed and developing countries are at higher risk of
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
during and after natural disasters than before.
[Lane, Ruth, and Rebecca McNaught. "Building gendered approaches to adaptation in the Pacific." Gender & Development. 17. no. 1 (2009): 67 – 80.] Cases of child marriage and sex trafficking have risen in some areas of the
Indian Sundarban delta after the devastating effects of
Cyclone Amphan
Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Eastern India, specifically in West Bengal and Odisha, and in Bangladesh, in May 2020. It was the strongest tropical cyclon ...
and ongoing stress caused by
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, impacting the lives of young girls. Condom use during disasters is also lower than at other times, because of decreased access to condoms.
Combined with the accelerated spread of diseases and infections in developing countries, the breakdown of the social order and the malnourishment that sometimes accompanies climate change have led to higher rates of dengue fever, malaria,
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
, and STI transmission, especially for women.
[Rodenberg, Birte. Climate Change Adaptation from a Gender Perspective: A Cross-cutting Analysis of Development-policy Instruments. German Development Institute, 2009.] Elderly women are also particularly at risk during natural disasters and times of crisis because they are more susceptible to
climatically induced health risks like disease and because they are often isolated from social support to which men and some younger women have access.
Agriculture
The poor and impoverished are dependent on the environment and its natural resources for
subsistence
A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...
and income; poverty research reveals that many of the poor are women because, as a group, they have less social power.
Many women in
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
are farmers, but women as a group have trouble obtaining education, income, land, livestock, and technology, meaning climate change may negatively impact female farmers more than male farmers by further limiting their resources.
[FAO]
"Women in Agriculture: Closing the gender gap for development."
The State of Food and Agriculture. (2011) (accessed 18 March 2013). In 2009, women produced between 60 and 80 percent of all food in the developing world, yet they owned ten percent of all agricultural land and approximately two percent of land rights.
![WomenWorking SeaweedZanzibar 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/WomenWorking_SeaweedZanzibar_2.jpg)
As the planet warms and access to water changes, the crop yields tend to decrease.
[Rosenzweig, Cynthia, and Martin L. Parry. "Potential impact of climate change on world food supply." Nature 367, no. 6459 (1994): 133-138.] These effects are not uniform, and they have the largest impact on areas of the world where the economy depends on agriculture and the climate is sensitive to change.
In developing countries, women are often in charge of obtaining water, firewood, and other resources for their families, but these resources are directly impacted by climate change, meaning women must travel further and work longer to access them during crisis.
Climate change increases burdens placed on women by society and further limits their access to education and employment.
[United Nations Development Programme]
"The Contribution of UNDP-GEF Adaptation Initiatives Towards MDG3."
Millennium Development Goals and Climate Change Adaptation. (2010). (accessed 18 March 2013). A changing climate has adverse impacts on agricultural production and in India's Mahanadi delta, this has forced the male farmers to migrate, leaving behind the responsibility of cultivating the small land-holdings to the women under "increasingly uncertain climatic conditions".
Strong gender norms around roles and access to resources in semi-arid regions often confine women-led businesses to climate-exposed sectors, particularly agriculture, but also limit the options women have to build resilience within their businesses. Despite these limitations and the need to addressing inequalities, women entrepreneurs can harness significant adaptive capacity and take advantage of new opportunities.
In fact, a
UN Food Agriculture Organization report shows that women farmers will be more affected by food insecurity due to climate change. Even though they represent 43% of farmers in developing countries, female farmers find it hard to compete with men farmers. This is due to their responsibility to be more present at home, and their limitations to market credit access. In addition to that, women don't usually invest more money in sectors that might increase agriculture productivity. An FAO dossier on Women and Agriculture reported in 2011 confirms that "The obstacles that confront women farmers mean that they achieve lower yields than their male counterparts... Yet women are as good at farming as men. Solid empirical evidence shows that if women farmers used the same level of resources as men on the land they farm, they would achieve the same yield levels."
Increased inequalities
The
IPCC Fifth Assessment Report
The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the fifth in a series of such reports and was completed in 2014.IPCC (2014The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) leaflet/ref> As h ...
concludes that there is 'robust evidence' for an increase of gender inequalities as a result of weather events as well as for the perpetuation of differential vulnerabilities.
The increase of inequalities due to climate change can have several reasons. For example, girls often face more serious risks than boys due to unequal distribution of scarce resources within the household. This effect is amplified by climate change induced resource scarcity.
[Demetriades, Justina, and Emily Esplen. "The Gender Dimensions of Poverty and Climate Change Adaptation." ''IDS Bulletin'' 39.4 (2009): 24–31. .] Furthermore, climate change often results in an increase of out-migration of men. This leaves women with an increased work-load at home, resulting in a ''feminization of responsibilities''.
Climate change is predicted to increase frequency and magnitude of natural hazards such as extreme heat.
During and after these hazards especially women are burdened with increased care work for children, the sick and old, adding furthermore to already significant amount of household duties.
Women also tend to donate their food in times of food scarcity, leaving them more vulnerable to health, social and psychological damages.
Energy poverty
Scientific field
![Gender gap in science 2019 - ICTP Trieste 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Gender_gap_in_science_2019_-_ICTP_Trieste_05.jpg)
According to a survey conducted IPCC WGI Co-Chairs and Technical Support Unit (TSU) on 25 April 2014, many of the polled authors stated that they saw the need for a better gender balance.
[IPCC]
"WGI Questionnaire for WGI AR5 Authors and Review Editors – Synthesis of Results."
Bern: N. p., 2014. Web.(accessed 25 October 2014). This is reflected in the gender balance of contributors to the fifth IPCC assessment report. Only 27% of contributors to Working Group II, concerned with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability
[IPCC]
N. p., 2014. Web.(accessed 27 October 2014). and 18,5% of contributors of Working Group I, concerned with the physical science basis, are female.
[IPCC]
"AR5 Contributors, WGI."
N. p., 2014. Web.(accessed 27 October 2014). This also applies to other organisation, as for example only 7% of leadership positions in the offices of National Weather Services are women.
[Smyth, Ines]
"Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction, Manila, October 2008."
''Development in Practice'' 19.6 (2009): 799–802. Web.(accessed 20 October 2014). On a similar note, a study conducted by the University of Oxford in cooperation with the Nielsen Company found that 18 of the 22 'most influential spokespeople on climate change' are male.
[Nielsen Company]
"Climate Change & Influential Spokespeople Global – a Global Nielsen Online Survey."
''The Nielsen Company and the Oxford University Environmental Change Institute'', 2007. Web.(accessed 24 October 2014). Female spokespeople were neither politicians nor scientists and their direct connection to climate change is therefore doubtful.
Policies
Mitigation policy attempts to moderate the intensity of global warming's effects through measures like reducing
greenhouse gases
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane ...
and enhancing sinks.
[Verbruggen, A. "Annex I: glossary." Climate Change (2007).] According to research, men and women use their knowledge of their environments to mitigate disasters, transferring this knowledge through informal education.
Some of this knowledge includes
food preservation
Food preservation includes processes that make food more resistant to microorganism growth and slow the oxidation of fats. This slows down the decomposition and rancidification process. Food preservation may also include processes that inhibit ...
processes, methods of construction, and understanding of natural resources in the area.
Examples of mitigation efforts include
carbon emissions trading
Emission trading (ETS) for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) is a form of carbon pricing; also known as cap and trade (CAT) or carbon pricing. It is an approach to limit climate change by creating a market with limited ...
.
Mitigation efforts largely ignore gender.
Adaptive policy involves spontaneous or planned efforts to tolerate the negative
effects of climate change
The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea level ...
and take advantage of the beneficial effects.
[United Nations]
"Glossary of climate change acronyms."
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (2012). (accessed 18 March 2013). Men and women respond differently to climate change
[Hardee, Karen]
"Population, Gender, and Climate Change."
''BMJ (Clinical research ed.)'' 339.7731 (2009): 1157–1158. Web.(accessed 20 October 2014). and subsequently also to adaptation measures, which can affect men and women unequally, when the gender perspective is ignored in the policy.
[Roehr, Ulrike]
"Gender , Climate Change and Adaptation. Introduction to the Gender Dimensions."
''unpublished paper'' (2007): n. pag. Web.(accessed 20 October 2014). For example, the IPCC report AR5 points out that adaptation measures in agriculture can in some cases lead to increased gender inequalities.
[Cramer, Wolfgang et al]
"Detection and Attribution of Observed Impacts."
''Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.'' Ed. C. B. Field et al. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 979–1037. Web.(accessed 25 October 2014).
Most effective approaches for gender-sensitive policies
Some scholars recommend incorporating gender dimensions into research and using human-rights approaches like the Millennium Development Goals and CEDAW as frameworks for climate change responses.
[Terry, Geraldine]
"No Climate Justice without Gender Justice: An Overview of the Issues."
''Gender & Development'' 17.1 (2009): 5–18. Web.(accessed 23 October 2014). Several organizations believe that linking mitigation and adaptation approaches, equally funding both types of efforts, and integrating gender into mitigative and adaptive policies will better address the consequences of climate change.
The UNDP mandates
gender mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the implications for people of different genders of a planned policy action, including legislation and programmes. Mainstreaming offers a pluralistic approach that values the diversi ...
in all adaptation measures, meaning adaptive responses to climate change must consider gender and gender equality from their inception and cannot incorporate a gender component late in their development or only in certain areas.
Others believe that imposing mainstreaming agendas on communities can make gender-sensitive policy less effective and may even be counter-productive, emphasizing gender differences and isolating gender issues from other areas affected by climate change.
Gender-blind mitigation policy
In 2009, a forest-protection mechanism called
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Reduction, reduced, or reduce may refer to:
Science and technology Chemistry
* Reduction (chemistry), part of a reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction in which atoms have their oxidation state changed.
** Organic redox reaction, a redox reacti ...
(REDD) was agreed upon by attendees of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
Many development organizations praise the REDD mechanism, but others criticize its function as a market-based instrument and its impact on local communities.
Over the past 13 years, they have partnered with 65 countries to meet their forest goals.
Some examples of this include: UN-REDD partnered countries have submitted 700 million tCO2 of forest emission reductions, and 25 UN-REDD countries have integrated REDD+ policies at the ministerial or cabinet level, meaning these countries have now seen reductions in deforestation.
Their 2020 Executive Summary notes that Myanmar and Peru created strategic policies for the reduction of emissions in the forest and land-use sector.
The UN-REDD program has created a plan for 2021–2025 to reduce forest emissions and enhance carbon stocks.
The first priority
[https://www.un-redd.org/how-we-work-1] is to have forest solutions realized, in which they focus on reducing emissions.
The second priority
is to reward these forest solutions, and they have allocated $5 billion from Results-based Payment schemes, carbon markets, and private-sector carbon investments.
Additionally, transactions under the 6th Article of the Paris Agreement are included in this.
The third priority
of this plan is to have at least 15 countries alter their
Nationally Determined Contributions
A nationally determined contribution (NDC) or intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) is a non-binding national plan highlighting climate change mitigation, including climate-related targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions. These ...
by 2025 to include more about forests, particularly with the goal of lowering emissions.
The fourth goal
involves REDD+ leading a Nature-based Solutions movement to speed up changes around climate action.
Gender-blind adaptation policy
Some scholars believe that climate change policy that does not address gender is not effective.
Much of the climate change policy created before the 21st century focused on economic rather than social effects of climatic change and global warming.
Climate change research and policy began to look at gender in the 21st century.
The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...
, and the
Beijing Platform for Action
The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China.
At this conference, governments from around the ...
are all gender-aware initiatives that may affect climate change policy.
Some of the international responses to climate change that do not address gender or employ gender-sensitive approaches include Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development, the
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...
and the
Bali Action Plan
After the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference held on the island of Bali in Indonesia in December 2007, the participating nations adopted the Bali Road Map as a two-year process working towards finalizing a binding agreement at the 20 ...
.
The
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...
(CBD) and the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in th ...
have incorporated gender dimensions, the latter through a Gender Action Plan.
Roehr
notes that, while the United Nations officially committed to gender mainstreaming, in practice gender equality is not reached in the context of climate change. Little data and research results in insufficient gender awareness in enacted gender policies.
Indian state of Odisha's Climate Change Action Plan for 2018–2023 has an entire chapter dedicated to gender and climate change, which outlines a gender-sensitive approach of "empowering women as agents of change and not victims". This is a refreshing change from the earlier Climate Change Action Plan 2010–2015 where gender in the context of climate change has not been fully explored and is thus not included in the government's own Progress Report on the Implementation of the Climate Change Action Plan. This indicates "an exclusion of women's voices from decision-making and financial processes" and further removing them from the policies which have direct impact on their lives.
The five priority areas of the Gender Action Plan include: capacity building, knowledge management and communication, gender balance, participation in women's leadership, coherence, gender-responsive implementation and means of implementation, and monitoring and reporting.
Capacity building, knowledge management and communication requires gender consideration to play a larger role when creating policy and action plans.
The goal of this is to not only make sure the genders are considered equally, but to increase outreach and awareness to do so.
The second part, gender balance, participation and women's leadership, explains a goal of having more women participate in UNFCCC process.
The next, which is coherence, emphasizes the need for gender-related mandates.
Gender-responsive implementation and means of implementation is ensuring the importance of having women mentioned in legislation such as the Paris Agreement. And finally, the monitoring and reporting would monitor these changes under the Lima work program to see whether or not the gender action plan is being implemented properly.
Including women in policy-making processes
![Dina Titus listened to Greta Thunberg on Climate Change](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Dina_Titus_listened_to_Greta_Thunberg_on_Climate_Change.jpg)
Gender inequalities do not only emerge in context of climate change as a physical reality, but also within discourses of and negotiations over climate change.
[Tuana, Nancy]
"Gendering Climate Knowledge for Justice: Catalyzing a New Research Agenda."
''Research, Action and Policy: Addressing the Gendered Impacts of Climate Change.'' Ed. Margaret Alston and Kerri Whittenbury. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2013. 17–31. Web.(accessed 21 October 2014). This is reflected in the fact that men are dominant in all levels of
climate change debate – from the science to policy, from the local to the global level.
This has an effect on climate change policies.
Women can be important players in climate change policy because they have gendered knowledge about things like managing water resources.
[Terry, Geraldine. Climate Change and Gender Justice. Oxfam GB, 2009.] While women in rural areas depend on the environment heavily, they are not usually represented in climate change decision-making processes.
CARE's research shows that, when women are in control of the family income, it is more likely to be spent on human development.
Women are also generally more risk averse than men and make safer decisions.
Yet, in 2008, the EU Commission and Council on adaptation policy did not address gender at all.
Furthermore, gender roles and subsequent institutional and social pressures can pose constraints to adaptive capacities.
[Klein, Richard J.T. et al.]
"Adaptation Opportunities, Constraints, and Limits."
''Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.'' Ed. C. B. Field et al. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 899–943. Web.(accessed 22 October 2014). Most scholars and organizations working to address climate change agree that policy-makers must work with both women and men and take them into consideration at all levels.
Research supports the role women play in leading climate action: nations with more female parliamentary representation are more likely to ratify environmental accords and pass laws that deal with the implications of climate change.
Patriarchy and climate change science and policy
Some feminist scholars hold that the debate on climate change is not only dominated by men but also primarily shaped in 'masculine' principles, which limits discussions about climate change to a perspective that focuses on technical solutions, and accounts for the inability to adapt to and mitigate climate change
[Jabeen, H]
"Adapting the Built Environment: The Role of Gender in Shaping Vulnerability and Resilience to Climate Extremes in Dhaka."
''Environment and Urbanization'' 26.1 (2014): 147–165.(accessed 3 September 2014). points out the impact of spatial practices that manifest power relations and marginalise women. The often-hidden subjectivity and power relations that actually condition climate change policy and science, lead to a phenomenon which Tuana terms 'epistemic injustice'.
Similarly, MacGregor criticizes the scientific discourse from a less quantitative perspective but focusses on discursive aspects. She attests that by framing climate change as an issue of 'hard' natural scientific conduct and natural security, it is kept within the traditional domains of hegemonic masculinity.
Seager
[Seager, Joni.]
"Death by Degrees: Taking a Feminist Hard Look at the 2° Climate Policy."
''Kvinder, Køn & Forskning'' 34 (2009): 11–21. Web.(accessed 25 October 2014). maintains that the 2 °C aim, which is a reoccurring topic in the climate change debate, is not, as often assumed, a safe goal for all people on the planet. Rather it will ensure the stability of a patriarchal capitalism and subsequently the continuity of power for those who are powerful today.
Individual action by women
Women can play a role in climate change response and can often help at the local level, which can inform specific aspects of climate change policy. Women contribute their local knowledge of leadership, sustainable resource management, and how to incorporate sustainability into both the household and community. This also demonstrates how women play a vital role in natural resource management.
Additionally, evidence demonstrates communities are better prepared for natural disasters when women play a pivotal role in the early warning systems and reconstructions.
A 2000 study in South Asia demonstrated that women were crucial in hazard preparation and rebuilding/managing communities after a disaster, as well as ensuring food security and safety for specific groups of people.
Gender inclusivity
Sexual and gender minorites
Many marginalized groups are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis the world is experiencing, and this includes both gender and sexual minorities.
Following a disaster, same sex couples risk not receiving relief support if they are not recognized as a legitimate couple by the government.
Additionally, non-binary individuals lack access to gender-specific services that target men or women. Initiatives to reduce this risk and danger includ
MapBeksto map LGBTQ+ safe spaces, HIV testing facilities, and access through roads and buildings for disaster management.
US policy and strategy
In recent years, initiatives toward gender equality in relation to climate change have been created. One of these initiatives is th
National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality which was proposed by the Biden-Harris administration.
This is a strategy that aims to have full participation of all people, which includes women, in the United States.
In this Strategy, they recognize that there is gender-based discrimination and exclusion in the development of climate policy.
These policies, which are exclusionary, make it difficult to make effective policy about issues such as climate change if groups of people are being left out.
The goal of this strategy is to promote gender equity in relation to climate change policy and mitigation, as well as address how climate change might affect public health differently based on gender.
This goal of promoting gender equit
in mitigating and responding to climate changeinvolves multiple steps.
The first is to pursue this gender parity in both negotiations and science that center around climate change.
To promote the education of women, the administration hopes to create a focus on climate science in education and ensure their inclusion in the environmental protection plans and climate action plans.
The next priority is to create more leadership trainings for women to create better participation in clean energy economy.
Another goal is to utilize the Justice40 Initiative to deliver 40% of benefits from investments for climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities.
Additionally, they plan to create
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
Other legislation, such as the Women and Climate Change Act of 2019. hopes to highlight initiatives led by women to not only combat climate change itself, but the gender inequality that exists within this area.
They hope to establish th
Federal Interagency Working Group on Women and Climate Change and to create a more comprehensive strategy on how to involve women in climate policy in the future.
Case studies
Bangladesh
Madagascar
![Cut Forest, Madagascar (21794304082)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Cut_Forest%2C_Madagascar_%2821794304082%29.jpg)
80% of species of plants and animals found in
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
are not available anywhere else on Earth.
Due to this exceptional uniqueness of the species,
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
in Madagascar will have serious impact on the
global biodiversity
Global biodiversity is the measure of biodiversity on planet Earth and is defined as the total variability of life forms. More than 99 percent of all species that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. Estimates on the number of Earth ...
, and this arguably makes the country the highest priority for world's
biodiversity conservation.
Climate change effects in Madagascar, a country of predominantly rural and vulnerable population is expected to exacerbate the occurrences of powerful
cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
s,
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
ing,
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
s and unpredictability in climate patterns which will further threaten food security,infrastructures, and the ecosystem of the country. The Policy Research Brief published by
International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth {{unreferenced, date=August 2012
The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), formerly the International Poverty Centre, is a partnership between the Poverty Practice of the Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP and the Government of ...
(IPC-IG) titled "Greening the Economy and Increasing Economic Equity for Women Farmers in Madagascar" identifies that the lived realities of climate change in Madagascar are distinctly gender-differentiated.
The relevant national policies and strategies such as Madagascar's National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) related to climate change have not been gender focused, hence, resulting to vital gender related policy gap that tends to further reinforce
women marginalization in policy processes relating to
climate adaptation
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...
, funding and mitigation.
The report recommended organization of women's
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
s and improved inclusion of women in leadership role to improve social inclusivity in the
green economy
A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politi ...
.
Mozambique
The government of Mozambique adopted a Gender, Environment and Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan in early 2010, being the first government in the world to do so.
In its phase II action plan, Alcinda António de Abreu, Mozambique's then Minister of Environment, comments that "climate change adaptation and mitigation
ely Ely or ELY may refer to:
Places Ireland
* Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely
* Ely Place, Dublin, a street
United Kingdom
* Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England
** Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral, formal ...
upon the sustainable use and equitable control of, as well as benefits derived from, natural resources – and all citizens, regardless of their social status or their gender, in all spheres of economic and political life, have a role to play in this critical effort". Sustainable use and management of natural resources training have been provided to over 12,000 women. Similarly, thirty-six communities have learned and gained knowledge about more effective methods for prevention and control of fires, plantation of drought resistant crops, and production and usage of improved stoves.
South Africa
In 2010,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
was the region with the largest economy in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, yet more than half of the population lived in poverty and many were unemployed.
[Babugura, Agnes]
"Gender and Climate Change: South Africa Case Study."
Heinrich Böll Foundation. (2010). (accessed 30 March 2013). Impoverished populations of South Africa depend heavily on agriculture and natural resources to live.
Coal and metal ore mining were also significant contributing sectors of the economy, but are decreasing in the 21st century due to climate change and
globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
.
In 2007, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...
(IPCC) predicted that Africa would warm due to climate change 1.5 times more than the rest of the world and that South Africa, specifically, would be 3 – 4 °C warmer by 2100.
Water, agriculture, mining, and forestry would all be affected by these changes in temperature and weather.
The
Human Sciences Research Council
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa is Africa's largest dedicated social science and humanities research agency and policy think tank. It primarily conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific projects for publi ...
found in 2004 that 57% of South Africa's poor were at risk for negative climate change effects because they depended on rain-fed agriculture and climate change in Africa was expected to cause longer and more intense periods of
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
over time.
Many of the rural poor in South Africa are women who have only limited access to property, income, credit, resources, and social power.
In South Africa, men traditionally look after the livestock while women look over the garden, but in extended periods of drought, many households lose their livestock.
In response to this loss and to increasing unemployment, men are turning to alcohol to deal with the
psychological stress
In psychology, stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a type of psychological pain. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial, as it can improve athletic performance, motivation and reaction to the environment. Exces ...
.
Some are also increasing their number of sexual partners, increasing their risk of contracting or spreading HIV.
In response to these changes, more women are entering the workforce, either formally or informally. Some are now working in traditionally male occupations like mining and construction. Others are making and selling goods locally.
Social grants from the South African government further support households affected by the changing climate.
These grants include pensions, disability payments, and child support.
In some cases, when men are responsible for the distribution of social grants in the household instead of women, they use the money to purchase alcohol.
In response, the government tends to give grant money to women, which can cause domestic disputes within households.
Understanding of
climate change in South Africa
Climate change in South Africa is leading to increased temperatures and rainfall variability. Evidence shows that extreme weather events are becoming more prominent due to climate change.Republic of South Africa, National Climate Change Adaptation ...
is based mainly on experience and local knowledge, which is communicated orally.
Women tend to hold more of this knowledge than men do because of their experience with farming and gardening.
In response to drought, some women plant crops near
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
or other water sources.
They also preserve food for periods of drought or crop failure.
Despite their knowledge of climate change, many responses in South Africa (like the South African Country Study on Climate Change Vulnerability & Adaptation Assessment) do not address gender.
While women in South Africa are represented in the government at national and provincial level, there are not many women in government at a municipal level.
India
To understand gendered vulnerabilities one needs to understand it in conjunction with caste, class, and ethnicity. In India's Mahanadi Delta, women from
Scheduled Castes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
exhibited high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem in spite of facing deprivation. While women from higher castes are bound by "stronger patriarchal control and restricted mobility", women from Scheduled Castes "often without even realizing it" are capable of doing away with patriarchal limitations and "acquire mobility with greater ease".
The perception of women as being "only vulnerable and marginalized in the context of climate change" is incorrect. Women's agency to cultivate vegetables in water logged fields of Totashi village of Odisha has turned the disadvantages caused by water logging on its head by providing them with additional income to support their families and nutritional requirement. Women of Odisha's Jeypore village volunteer twice a month to clear out water hyacinth from the water bodies by forming a chain to "pull floating sections of water hyacinth prior to uprooting them". This has not only improved the water quality of the ponds and enabled villagers to engage in duck farming and fishing but also checked the reduction of soil fertility and spread of diseases, snakes, and poisonous insects.
A study conducted between 2014 and 2018 in five districts of the Mahanadi delta of Odisha show that female-headed households experienced "more monetary losses due to failure of crop, livestock and equipment damages as well as loss of life" as compared to the male headed households during extreme events. The female headed households had the existing responsibilities of looking after the family, and coupled with lower incomes, lower resilience or adaptive capacity, they were worse off than male headed households during extreme events. The inequalities were further compounded by the women's age, marital status, lack of education, and income where a proportion of women had no income, many had low income, and a significant proportion were widows of mature age with no education. Not only were these women living under vulnerable physical conditions in the delta owing to a changing climate but were also socio-economically more vulnerable than the male-headed households.
Controversies regarding gender and climate change
"Women as vulnerable" vs "Women as virtuous"
There are two concurring themes that emerge when examining climate change and gender: "Women as vulnerable or virtuous in relation to the environment."
This means that women living in countries in the global South are more likely to be affected by climate change than men in those countries and that men in the global North are more likely to contribute to climate change than women. These assumptions about women's vulnerability and virtuousness are negative because they are reinforcing the global north–south biases, which is that women in the global South are poor and helpless and women in the global North are well-educated and pro-environmentalists. These debates are also negative in that they are deflecting the attention away from climate change.
Women furthermore possess unique skills and knowledge, which are important in building equal and sustainable responses to climate change. The UNFPA report State of world population 2009 – Facing a changing world: women, population and climate identifies women as important actors in mobilizing against climate change. The report quotes Wangari Maathai that "Women hold the key to Climate's Future"; "when we talk about reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation, we need to focus on women
.. Specifically, Carolyn Sachs discusses the struggles women face on a global scale against environmental factors such as gender arrangements in agricultural development. Often women become oppressed by their corporate counterparts as a more focused point of reference in women's vulnerability. Women labor is exploited as a way to keep them from fighting back in turn, during the mid year season change they face vast struggles of extreme climate change and availability to natural resources.
See also
*
Climate change adaptation
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...
*
Climate change and poverty
Climate change and poverty are deeply intertwined because climate change disproportionally affects poor people in low-income communities and developing countries around the world. Those in poverty have a higher chance of experiencing the ill-effec ...
*
Climate justice
Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change. "Justice", "fairness", and "equity" ar ...
*
Feminization of poverty
Feminization of poverty refers to a trend of increasing economic inequality, inequality in living standards between men and women due to the widening gender pay gap, gender gap in poverty. This phenomenon largely links to how women and children ar ...
*
Women in climate change
References
Sources
*MacGregor, Sherilyn. "A Stranger Silence Still: The Need for Feminist Social Research on Climate Change." The Sociological Review 57 (2010): 124–140. Web. 25 October 2014.
*Nussbaum, Martha C. Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011.
*Olsson, Lennart et al. "Livelihoods and Poverty." Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Ed. C. B. Field et al. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 793–832.
*Schneider, Stephen H., Armin Rosencranz, Michael D. Mastrandrea, and Kristin Kuntz-Duriseti. Climate Change Science and Policy. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2010.
*Tuana, Nancy. "Gendering Climate Knowledge for Justice: Catalyzing a New Research Agenda." Research, Action and Policy: Addressing the Gendered Impacts of Climate Change. Ed. Margaret Alston and Kerri Whittenbury. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2013. 17–31.
External links
Contributions of WGII in the IPCC Fifth Assessment ReportsConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against WomenGlobal Gender and Climate AllianceMillennium Development Goals
{{Climate change
Climate change and society
Gender and society