The gender bias of climate change is not just another “feminist fabricated” issue or a play to get power over the finite natural resources, but a reality that has still not hit the masses, particularly the global stakeholders, as it should.
How are Gender and Climate Change related?
One would think a natural, global crisis to be gender-neutral, but alas!
Think for a minute, which gender contributes majorly towards agriculture and animal husbandry that brings food to the table of many across the world? It’s the most unfairly-paid gender group identified as girls and women. Yet they have little to no direct access to these natural resources and are directly affected by climate change. How?
The structural gender inequality rooted in family systems across the world is often exacerbated as a result of climate change related events. Thus goes the saying: (1)
Climate change is a threat to all but does not affect all equally.
Katherine Catalano – The Nation’s Health
Understanding The Relationship Between Gender and Climate Change through Agriculture
The World Economic Forum (WeForum) Report of 2024 revealed that 43% of the global agricultural labor force consists of women who contribute 60-80% to food production in developing countries. However, most of these women are just caretakers of the land and its resources, doing all the hard labor under the informal, non-contractual employment of elite or upper-class landowners.
This means that if a natural disaster, like floods or heat waves, impacts crop yield, only the landowners are compensated by law, and social norms in most countries support this system.
Land ownership for women gets even more complicated because of various social stigmas that prevent women from inheritance, or getting an education, participating in workshops, and getting professional training. This is backed by the WeForum report, recording 4.8% and 12.8% of women landowners from Bangladesh and India, respectively.
Effects Of Climate Change On Women
The lack of direct access to resources in response to climate change events adversely affects women and corners them in the following ways and forms:
- Little girls have to drop out of school to help their mothers in agriculture and hard labor.
- Working in harsh environments affects them physically, and their reproductive capabilities.
- There is no job security and not enough knowledge or resources for guidance.
- They can be easily replaced for cheaper labor.
- The loss of employment and lack of capital deprives them of basic facilities, like food, water, and a roof over their head.
- Education deprivation leaves them uninformed about their rights and out of the loop of policy-making, effective change management, and climate action plans.
- Lack of resources often leads to an upsurge in criminal activities targeting women, girls, and children, including domestic violence, human trafficking, child labor, and child marriage.
Gender Inequality and Climate Change
A Case Study of the Pramuka Island, Indonesia
To understand gender inequality and climate change’s role in exacerbating the existing gender disparities, a study was conducted on the population of Pramuka Island in Indonesia, which is disadvantageously located on the shoreline of the country (2).
Source: Expedia
Although fishing is dominated by men, which is the major breadwinner activity, women also have significant roles as traders and managers of households. However, the conventional gender roles limit women’s involvement in decision-making matters related to climate change adaptation and environmental management plans.
The study revealed how the depletion of fish in the sea, probably due to climate change and overfishing, affects both genders differently. Men suffer the loss of earnings and increased vulnerability as they have to move further into the coastline in the hopes of finding more fish. This reduces their ability to meet their family and their needs for long durations. On the other hand, the sales for women decrease due to the lack of fish and related products and the burden of managing households with limited resources increases.
Moreover, the fluctuating climate and intense unpredictable storms play the role of salt to the wound, creating more challenges for both genders. Boys and young men are at greater risk when out at sea, while women traders lose their merchandise and have their stalls destroyed.
What’s The Solution?
Before diving into the solution, we must answer our main question; is climate change gender bias?
No!
Women end up bearing the brunt of climate change unequally and significantly because of the preexisting societal norms and flawed gender structure. These limit women’s access to natural resources and global policy decision-making power.
This issue can be addressed using a multi-pronged approach that involves the following:
1. Gender-Sensitive Climate Policies
All climate change action plans made by governments and organizations must be gender-inclusive towards all. This means ensuring women’s full and meaningful participation in decision-making processes at all levels, from local communities to international negotiations.
2. Women’s Economic Empowerment
Actively promoting women’s economic engagement to education, training, and financial resources, so that women can withstand the effects of climate change with resilience.
3. Challenging The Gender Norms
The changes in societal norms, rooted in the culture, that constrains women from exercising their true potential is very important. This can be done through mass awareness initiatives at the grassroots level and via education, employment and resource access for all.
4. Investing In Women-Led Initiatives
Women should be supported by giving their projects in climate change adaptation and mitigation more funding and recognition so that their contribution can be of greater impact.
Conclusion? Not Yet
The road to achieving gender equality in climate change is long and rocky, but with unified and consistent effort, it is certainly possible.
