Tomorrow, March 8th, is International Women’s Day, so I’d like to talk about a subject that affects women disproportionately. Climate change impacts women very differently than it does men. If this is something you’ve never thought about, you’re not alone. This topic often seems to fly under the radar.
In an article entitled Climate Justice and Gender Justice: An Essential Pairing to Get Resilience Right, you’ll learn about some impressive women activists. The article also discusses a variety of ways that women and girls are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change and degradation. I’ll quote the article directly:
- Women and children are more likely to die than men in natural and man-made environmental disasters;
- When resources are scarce due to drought or deforestation, women have been subjected to sextortion in order to gain access to water or firewood; and
- According to the World Economic Forum, less than 20% of land in the world is owned by women. As a result, women’s livelihoods take longer to recover after economic and climate shocks.
The article also discusses the many ways that women have a positive impact on the initiation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of climate change policies. They bring different insights and solutions to the fore, and when women participate, it has been shown that more environmental treaties get ratified. Therefore, it is essential that more women be seated at the table. Unfortunately, we are extremely underrepresented.
However, there have been several strong and confident females that see what’s coming, and they have chosen to take action. Most of us have heard of the amazing Greta Thunberg, and you may also have heard that the actress Ellen Page made an eye opening documentary called There’s Something in the Water. But are you also familiar with Christiana Figueres, Rhiana Gunn-Wright, Hilda Heine, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Tessa Khan, Rachel Kyte, Kate Marvel, Sunita Narain, Anne Simpson, Kotchakorn Voraakhom, Miranda Wang, Katharine Wilkinson, and Wu Changhua? If not, I urge you to read this article by Time and see the many ways they’ve come up with to be part of the solution.
Another great article is by UN Women, and is entitled, Explainer: How gender inequality and climate change are interconnected. It goes into even greater detail about the fact that the climate crisis is by no means gender neutral. To quote this well-written article:
“Women bear a disproportionate responsibility for securing food, water, and fuel. Agriculture is the most important employment sector for women in low- and lower-middle income countries. During periods of drought and erratic rainfall, women, as agricultural workers and primary procurers, work harder to secure income and resources for their families. This puts added pressure on girls, who often have to leave school to help their mothers manage the increased burden.”
“As climate change drives conflict across the world, women and girls face increased vulnerabilities to all forms of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, human trafficking, child marriage, and other forms of violence.”
“Climate change risks are [even more] acute for indigenous and Afro-descendent women and girls, older women, LGBTIQ+ people, women and girls with disabilities, migrant women, and those living in rural, remote, conflict and disaster-prone areas.”
But perhaps the most disturbing quote of all is the following:
“If you are invisible in everyday life, your needs will not be thought of, let alone addressed, in a crisis situation.”
As we become more sophisticated in our activism, we are beginning to understand that quite a few human rights issues overlap and impact one another. Gender equality and climate change is but one example. Educating ourselves about these overlaps and taking action to correct them will go a long way toward addressing the problem.
On International Women’s Day, please be mindful of the fact that there’s still so much for us to do, all year ’round.
The ultimate form of recycling: Buy my book, read it, and then donate it to your local public library or your neighborhood little free library! http://amzn.to/2mlPVh5