The Effects of Climate Change on Women: Yet Another Inequality

By Ryan McBride

Climate change is an agent which exacerbates gender inequalities, according to Oxfam. Across the globe, women have roles and responsibilities that are different than those of men and in many cases these roles serve as the pillars of their societies. Women are responsible for producing up to 90% of food in rural communities. In many societies women are also responsible for the collection of water and firewood. In addition to this women are usually the primary caregivers to their families.

As global climates shift, changes to precipitation patterns make it very difficult to predict when farmers are to plant their crops. In certain areas dry seasons are now showered with rain whereas rainy seasons can be drier than usual or so wet they wash away entire crops. Generations’ worth of traditional knowledge passed from mothers to daughters is largely unreliable in dealing with these changes. Climate change can also alter insect patterns leading to increases in pests such as locusts or disease carrying insects. As climates change, areas that were once free of disease carrying insects (like mosquitoes and tsetse flies) are now warm enough to allow these insects to flourish. This puts women and children at an increased risk to malaria, dengue fever and African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness).

According to Oxfam, of the 1.3 billion people worldwide living in extreme poverty, 70 percent are women. This severely limits women’s access to education, especially concerning the causes and effects of climate change. It also limits the resources available to women to prepare for disasters as well as provide relief aid for their families after a disaster. Oxfam also states that, in climate-induced disasters, three to four women usually die for every man who dies, or 85% of deaths.

Some cultures prohibit women from learning how to swim and climb trees. In a disaster situation, particularly floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis, it is often these skills that make the difference between life and death. The (forced) traditional garments for women in some cultures are often very restrictive to movement making it difficult to flee either by running or swimming during natural disasters. It is also customary in some cultures that women must seek permission from a male superior in order to leave their homes. In a disaster situation they may wait for this permission rather than leaving to seek refuge which can lead to their death.

It is the lack of empowerment of women across the globe that results in their feeling the impacts of climate change the hardest. However, there are many organizations that are working to change this. In Ethiopia, Oxfam is working with communities to teach women how to raise livestock. This gives them an income which can be used towards gaining an education and greater control over their own lives. In Kenya, the Green Belt Movement, which was started by Wangari Maathai is an attempt to allow Kenyan women (and men) the opportunity for self determination, equity and environmental sustainability, through the act of planting trees.

Movements like these not only inspire and empower women around the world, they are needed to combat the effects of climate change.

For more information on this issue, some great resources can be found at EcoWorldly.com, Motherjones.com,