Climate crisis is not gender neutral and here’s how women are affected more than men

Climate crisis is not gender neutral. Over the years, scientists, policymakers and climate activists have tried to study the connection between climate change and its impact on women. The results revealed how uneven the effect of climate change is for men and women.

Women are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. Given the injustices linked to gender inequality, climate change presents a crisis within a crisis for women. It poses a threat to the livelihood, economic stability and well-being of women in times to come. It's time to talk about how women are at the bearing end of climate change and what can be done to improvise the misplaced damage.

Women's unique knowledge and experience of resources is necessary in the decision-making process for effective climate solutions. Therefore, Mid-day Online reached out to climate activists who are initiating a dialogue on gender-inclusive climate action.

How does climate change affect women more than men?
Sneha Shahi, conservationist and the UNEP Plastic Tide Turner Champion from India shares: "Due to pre-set social roles and a lack of access to resources, women are hit more due to climate change." In developing countries, the dependence on nature for livelihood is high. Additionally, women predominate the world's food production (50-80 per cent) and manual labour."

Consequently, women become more exposed to extreme weather events, water scarcity, and crop failure occurring due to shifting climate patterns. Thus, climate change has a direct bearing on all the three factors: social, economic, and cultural - leaving women more vulnerable than men.

"Among these, the economic aspect has particular significance as disasters, displacement and migration strain the family income and savings, thus exerting more pressure on women to work harder and plan for caregiving with low resources" shared Neha Naikwade who is currently running zero-waste initiatives alongside working with Climate Collective Foundation to support climate tech startups.

Besides these roles, women are often responsible for collecting water and firewood, growing food, and caring for family members, all of which become more difficult and time-consuming in the face of climate change. Thus, women further get pushed to the marginalised sections of the society.

Since women at grassroot level lack the skills and education to find other means of livelihood, many women start surviving below the poverty line. Lower access to resources and education makes it harder for women to understand and adopt the measures leaving them economically vulnerable. In addition, women have a lesser access to capital and technology, limiting their ability to adapt to climate change. Therefore, their overall economic growth gets limited by the adverse impacts of climate change.

How are women from rural backgrounds bearing the brunt of climate change?
Women from rural backgrounds are often subsistence farmers, and therefore rely heavily on the land and its resources in order to survive. Shahi reveals that women have had small scale farms or have had to rely on rented farmscapes for their income. With changing climate patterns, we observe a loss of crop productivity and this in turn makes these small-scale farmers even more vulnerable to recuperate from the losses.

They are also more likely to experience water insecurity due to insufficient access to clean water, and are more likely to have to travel longer distances to access water. In case of fisher-women the major economic constraint is the purchase of large nets and boats. Fish population is moving inwards due to overfishing and climate change, as fishers observed low catches. Deep sea fishing is not economically viable as it requires more inputs while the profit remains negligible.

Climate change has serious ramifications for food security. How does it affect women farmers?
Naikwade echoes that agriculture contributes significantly to the economies of the Global South. Women form more than 50 per cent of the farming and fishing workforce globally. Increasing uncertainties due to climate change and increasing global population have strained the food production systems to a point of breakdown.

Climate change has decreased agricultural production because of extreme events affecting the rain cycles, soil fertility, pest and plant diseases. For millions of women, agriculture is a life-support system - providing food, resources and jobs. Decreased yields push women into more hardship affecting their health, and economic positions.

Heeta Lakhani, founder of Climact Foundation & Youth Negotiators Academy speaks, "As climate change makes it more difficult to grow crops, women farmers end up working for longer hours to take on additional tasks. This increases their workload and limit their ability to participate in other activities such as education and community decision-making."

Empowering women farmers can be a powerful tool for mitigating and adapting to climate change. When women have access to education, health care, and economic opportunities, they are better equipped to cope with the impacts of climate change and adopt sustainable practices. For example, women who are involved in agriculture can learn about sustainable farming techniques to adapt to changing weather patterns and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What are some of the initiatives that can be undertaken by women to improve their plight?
Women can act through various initiatives to negate climate adversity. Some of the initiatives shared by Sneha Shahi are: advocating for women's rights and access to resources; promoting sustainable agricultural practices; increasing access to financial services; forming networks and support groups such as Women Climate Collective (WCC); and raising awareness of the impacts of climate change through communication.

Additionally, women can participate in community and policy initiatives to mitigate and adapt to climate change, such as advocating for renewable energy sources, developing climate-resilient infrastructure, and engaging in disaster risk reduction and preparedness. "As women we need to advocate for the inclusion of gender-responsive policies in climate change initiatives to ensure that the needs are addressed and solutions not centered around just one gender", added Shahi.

What can the government do to improve their situation?
Lakhani and Shahi share practical methods that the government can adopt to empower women to overcome the adverse impacts of climate change:

1. Creating gender-responsive climate policies and plans

2. Providing education and training for women to adapt to and take action to deal with climate change

3. Supporting women's entrepreneurship and economic empowerment

4. Increasing funding for women's adaptation and mitigation projects

5. ddressing gender-based violence

6. Strengthening the legal protections of women's rights

7. Increasing access to resources and technology

8. Promoting sustainable agricultural practices

9. Investing in renewable energy sources and developing climate-resilient infrastructure.

Additionally, the government can provide financial and educational support to women with small landholdings or limited income. The sustainable livelihood framework advises diversification of crops and livelihoods to reduce vulnerability to stressors such as climate change, which needs to be promoted as well. Finally, the government can also provide support to women in the event of climate-related disasters, such as through cash transfers, food aid, and access to safe shelters through climate finance and risk reduction schemes.

What are some gender-sensitive strategies to respond to the environmental and humanitarian crises caused by climate change?
"Climate emergency will continue to exacerbate humanitarian crises and gender inequality" says Naikwade. Inequalities experienced by marginalised girls and young women are amplified by the impacts of climate change affecting their education, safety, health, and job security. There is a need for a systematic approach to empower women to solve these challenges.

This includes protecting their access to education, enforcing women leadership at all stages, providing equal employment opportunities and planning adaptation measures keeping women and children at the center. We should also encourage more women to take up stem and innovation education which will enable them to solve the problems for their gender.

How can women be more instrumental in building solutions for climate change?
Women can use their voice to advocate for climate change solutions in their local and state governments. This includes advocating for renewable energy sources, green transportation initiatives, and other sustainability solutions. Women with platforms, such as influencers, celebrities, and business owners, can use their influence to spread the word about climate change solutions and encourage their followers to take action.

Sneha is of the opinion that women have the potential to educate and inform others about the impacts of climate change, which are often not looked through the same gender lens and share resources on tackling the problem. Inspiring a new generation of independent women who wish to create impact and action towards climate change is essential.

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