BY MEGAN H. DOHERTY
Megan H. Doherty is an MAIR student (’23) concentrating on Latin America, with a focus on development, climate change, and sustainability.
As climate change drives conflict across the world, women and girls face increased vulnerabilities from structural inequalities, debilitating cultural norms, economic insecurity and increased risks to gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, human trafficking, and child marriage. According to UN Women, when disasters strike, women are less likely to survive and more likely to be injured due to long standing inequalities that have created disparities in information, mobility, decision-making, and access to resources. As more data reveal their clear correlation, the amplified impacts of climate change and gender and the linkages between women’s empowerment and effective climate action must be addressed
An example of the disadvantageous position women and girls face amid climate disasters was evident during the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. Data shows that three times as many women died during this disaster compared to men, and that gender factored heavily when it came to aftermath and recovery. Reasons for this disparity included the fact that more men could swim than women, as swimming is not a culturally acceptable activity for girls and women to do, severely inhibiting them to safely respond. Men were also more able to climb trees as the waters rose than women, as this too is an activity frowned upon for women to learn. Additionally, many women stayed behind to try to find and care for their families and loved ones, leaving them in highly vulnerable situations without the capacities to save themselves and others left behind.
Another example of a climate change crisis that disproportionately impacted women was the heatwave that occurred across Europe in 2003. Research states that mortality rates were 15% higher for females across areas of France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Those particularly vulnerable were elderly women, as scientists state that the ability of older women to lose heat from the body is the lowest compared to all other groups. This paired with the fact that these elderly women faced increased risk because they were more isolated within their communities and lived alone. An appropriate climate crisis response strategy needs to make sure that the most vulnerable groups are put at the forefront of strategy, policy, and action.
Climate change not only poses increased risks to women’s health compared to their male counterparts, but it also disproportionately exacerbates existing gender inequalities. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the United States, data showed that women were more likely to be financially "fragile" than men due to lower rates of emergency savings, reduced access to credit, among other hurdles standing in the way of their recovery. As many women attempted to rebuild, they encountered unsupportive environments for their businesses, furthering gender-based hardships, which caused many women-owned businesses to fail at higher rates than those run by men. Studies indicated that women felt highly marginalized in terms of recovery and advocacy to rebuild after the storm, as most key decisions were made by men and perpetuated pre-existing gender-based inequalities.
Sustainable, gender-inclusive climate action requires supportive policies and strategies for transformative change. Reports make clear that there is not enough being done, nor is action being taken with enough haste, to address climate change, and gender inequality is a major factor in slowing progress. According to the risk framework of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the UN’s IPCC, vulnerability to climate change is inextricably linked to “adaptive capacity” – the ability to which systems and institutions take advantage of opportunities, respond to consequences, and adjust to change. The way in which governments and corporations respond to climate change and take women and girls into consideration with policies and implementation strategies for action have major ripple effects on the success of attempted initiatives.
At the COP27 meetings in Egypt in late 2022, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, Dr. Sima Bahous, called on all parties to make gender equality and women's empowerment central to climate action. In her concluding remarks from the COP27 meeting, Dr. Bahous said, “The global ambition needed for effective climate action absolutely depends on the full, equal, and meaningful participation and leadership of women and girls.” She highlighted the need for women’s participation in all levels of decision-making on climate action. Gender-inclusive action, paired with strategies designed by and for women, are absolutely what is needed in order to achieve a sustainable, resilient, and just future. The big question remains: can we, as a society, finally accomplish that? The time is now.
PHOTO CREDIT: Vivian Eng Bendewald, 2022 Photo Contest Submission