Gender and Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities

Oksana Senja

doi:10.12681/hapscpbs.29494

Abstract

Women are more vulnerable than men to climate change. According to the literature, this vulnerability is the result of pre-existing gender inequalities, social marginalization, less access to education and knowledge, poverty, insecure land rights, heavy reliance on agriculture and lack of mobility. This paper focuses on rural women’s vulnerability to climate change, through three case studies, and also on the empowerment and the involvement of them in the policy-making processes in order to combat the climate crisis. Women should participate and contribute with their knowledge and their life experience, which is a result of particular strengths, perspectives and priorities. The empowerment of these women is vital for successfully combating the impacts of climate change and for the mitigation and adaptation efforts to thrive.

Highlights

Existing literature shows that climate change is a serious threat to humanity
Women are the ones who are mostly affected by natural disasters and climate change, though their vulnerability is not inherent; it is rather a result of poverty, gendered social roles and discrimination, which heighten exposure and undermine women’s coping capacity
Women are more impoverished than men, less able to adapt to adverse climate change impacts, and less likely to take part in the policy-making process which facilitates mitigation efforts or gender-specific adaptation (Van Aelst and Holvoet, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Existing literature shows that climate change is a serious threat to humanity. This threat is gendered disproportionately and very few studies have dealt with women’s vulnerability due to the changing climate and the factors responsible for this vulnerability. In order to support this argument, the paper adopts the eco feminist theory as a framework so as to further explain how patriarchy impacts on women’s lives. This theory emphasizes on the fact that both women and nature are treated with disadvantage by patriarchal society (Holy et al, 2021). The term itself indicates a connection between the degradation of nature and the oppression and subordination of women (Mellor, 2018)

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Findings

Conclusions and Recommendations