In a report published by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and the Sierra Club earlier this year, it was made clear that consideration of gender is essential to developing effective and just climate policy. That point has been emphasized by two recently published articles. 

In a piece for New Security Beat, Mara Dolan (WEDO) and Jessica Olson (Sierra Club) argue that “where the climate crisis affects people, it’s likely that gender inequity does, too.” Therefore, both issues must be addressed together. According to Dolan and Olson, two key stumbling blocks are the persistence of outdated notions of gender and a lack of intersectionality. All too often, ‘women’ in studies and reports actually refers to ‘females,’ failing to take into account the experiences of those across the gender spectrum. Beyond the obvious exclusion of non-binary experiences, this also perpetuates a gap in what we know about the experiences of men and boys, both points we raised in a May PERSPECTIVES feature:

“There is a tendency in humanitarian affairs - actually the entire international affairs field - to approach gender issues primarily as issues impacting women and girls...No discussion on gender is complete without examining climate displacement impacts on men and other groups as well...It bears noting that since cultural norms do grant more rights and mobility to men, anyone non-binary, or who society identifies as gender non-conforming, could be subject to the same oppression or limitations and vulnerability faced by women.” — Amali Tower, Climate Refugees

Similar issues are raised in a recent Carbon Brief article, which reminds us that climate change can have differing health impacts on men and women. In a review of 130 peer-reviewed studies, Carbon Brief found that women tend to be more affected in many areas, such as food insecurity, poor mental health and partner violence, following extreme weather events. Women are also more likely to die in heatwaves in France, China and India. However, men also face particular issues based on their gender. For example, they may be at higher risk for infectious diseases, likely to become more problematic with increasing temperatures and sea level rise, because they more frequently work outside. Men also comprise the majority of workers in sectors that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, such as energy production and construction. 

The importance of gender in discussions about climate change policy is not new, and it is something we have highlighted in previous SPOTLIGHT entries, such this one from March of this year. The gendered impacts of climate change are various. Carbon Brief’s piece focuses on health impacts, while the article from New Security Beat covers health, economy and labor, and representation in decision-making bodies. Beyond these important issues, it is also crucial to consider how gender impacts climate change-induced displacement, which requires an intersectional approach like the one called for in the WEDO-Sierra Club report.

The intersection of gender and class is just one example. Just as climate change exacerbates existing poverty for all, it also deepens existing gender inequalities. Traditional gender roles that see men as breadwinners may relegate women to positions in which they are less able to implement mitigation and adaptation strategies for their family, including whether to relocate either before or after a disaster. A lack of financial assets and/or freedom may make it impossible for women and those not perceived as men in particular to move, trapping them in areas where climate and disaster risk is high (known as hot spots, as we recently highlighted). 

These uneven impacts of climate change are not limited to ‘developing’ countries. For example, studies of multiple major hurricanes in the US found that while women are more likely than men to follow evacuation orders, they also tend to view temporary shelters as unsafe due to concerns about sexual violence. This is an issue that certainly impacts more than just biological females in the West though, even if remains understudied. So even when women want to relocate, they face particular issues in being able to do so safely. Concerns about financial ability are also relevant in the US. In cities where evacuation due to a major weather event is possible, women workers are less likely than men to be part of a car-owning household, an issue that is likely even worse for Black women. 

As policymakers are increasingly confronted with climate displacement, they must do more than simply keeping gender in mind. A CARE report published in July provides a useful starting place for addressing climate displacement in a “gender-transformative and human-rights based way.” Echoing a recommendation from the New Security Beat article, the report demands that women and girls are able to play meaningful roles in building resilience strategies and developing effective policies and programs. Increased funding to projects that particularly impact women and girls are also called for, as is a strengthening of institutional and legal frameworks in order to better protect women displaced as a result of climate change. 

But in all of this, we have to remember that while women are often disproportionately impacted by climate change and resultant displacement, that does not tell us the whole story. It is critical to maintain a gender-inclusive strategy that both acknowledges existing disparities and works towards equity without relying on an outdated binary lens. (New Security Beat, Carbon Brief)

In case you missed it: Climate Refugees’ Executive Director Amali Tower spoke on a Johns Hopkins panel on the Gendered Impacts of Climate Migration and the need for consideration of gender across the spectrum in a discussion hosted by SAIS Global Women in Leadership in August. Watch here.