Put Women Into the Equation

Women often face different vulnerabilities to climate change than men. In the developing world, where most women depend on natural resources for their livelihood, climate-change can place an incredible burden on their ability to provide for their families. In addition, gender inequalities in certain regions may put women at greater risk during natural disasters and prevent them from contributing to strategies designed to stop and adapt to climate change.

Rural women in less developed countries are often the main food producers, providing such staples as rice and wheat, which account for up to 90% of the food eaten by poor rural populations throughout the world. Climate change-induced disasters such as flooding can wipe out these crops, ruining major food sources and potential income for women that sell their crops in markets.

In addition, many women in less developed countries are also in charge of collecting wood and water. Climate changes such as deforestation and drought, therefore, have a major impact on a woman’s ability to complete these tasks. Limited wood and water supplies mean longer walks in search of such resources. This physically draining task can take up hours of a woman’s week and may cause her to pull her daughter(s) out of school to assist. As a result, women have less time to spend on other important tasks and girls are deprived of an education.

Resource scarcity can also put women at greater risk of assault since they must travel further away from their communities to secure such items as water and wood. In the Congo region of Africa, which suffers from environmental degradation and conflict, Mercy Corps is helping women displaced by conflict spend less time looking for wood. The organization has trained women to construct cooking stoves that consume less than half the firewood as the traditional campfires used to prepare food and boil water. As a result, women do not have to leave their displacement camps as often to search for firewood, which is dangerous since armed groups often hide along the routes women walk to attack and assault them. Initiatives such as efficient stoves are critical to help women adapt to deforestation as close to 80% of rural women in Asia, 60% in Africa, and 40% in Latin America are affected by a shortage of firewood.

How Gender Inequality Leads to Greater Vulnerability

In some countries, cultural constraints on women’s movements and social prejudices may hinder their ability to escape in time during a disaster and may prevent them from seeking shelter. For example, restrictions on women’s movements in Bangladesh hinder their ability to seek shelter or medical attention when cyclones or floods strike. During the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, it was easier for men in Sri Lanka to survive because mainly boys are taught how to climb trees and swim. This social prejudice means that women and girls are more vulnerable during such disasters.

Due to thse gender inequalities, it will be important to create gender-sensitive responses to climate change-induced disasters. Responses that take into account women’s special needs will help decrease their vulnerability during such events.

Effective Leaders in Climate Change Initiatives

Given the fact that women in the developing world often have an intimate knowledge of the land due to their daily responsibilities, they have a lot to contribute to climate change initiatives. However, since women in many regions are socially excluded from decision-making, they will not be able to shape initiatives that could be most beneficial for them. For example, the United Nations Development Programme believes that women should be trained on how to reduce and prevent fires since this will be an effective prevention effort to manage protected areas and wooden zones. In order to train women in initiatives such as this, they will have to be included in decision-making.

Women in Iran and China are proving how their unique experiences and perspectives can help shape climate change initiatives. In Yazd, a city in Iran that is often referred to as the “desert capital,” women have devised new methods of agricultural, such as producing food in underground tunnels, to adapt to climatic changes. Chinese women living in areas affected by desertification have mobilized their communities to plant willows and poplars to halt the deserts and create fertile land for vegetable production.

Since climate change will disproportionately affect less developed countries (where women are the main caretakers) and people living in poverty (which women make up the majority of), it is crucial to include women in actions to fight climate change. Without women in the equation, we will leave out a population that has a lot to offer.