People who have contributed the least to climate change are the ones most harmed. Climate justice examines the root causes driving climate change and advocates for better, fairer approaches to mitigate and manage this unjust reality.
As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres explained at the Commission on the Status of Women in 2022, the climate crisis is a human rights crisis — and a women’s rights crisis.
While climate change is a threat for everyone, it does not affect everyone equally. The impacts of climate change perpetuate and magnify structural inequalities, such as those between women and men. This is especially true in many parts of the world where women rely on climate-sensitive work like agriculture and manual labour to make a living.
The climate crisis, like nearly every other humanitarian and development challenge, has a greater impact on women. This is due to the unequal sharing of power between women and men, the gender gap in access to education and employment opportunities, the unpaid care burden, prevalence of gender-based violence and all other forms of deep-rooted gender-based discrimination.
To cite a few specific examples:
- JAMA Psychiatry published a study of over 194,000 women in three South Asian countries. It found a one-degree Celsius rise in average temperature was associated with a 6% rise in physical and sexual gender-based violence.
- A 2023 UNICEF report cited that every 10% increase or decrease in average rainfall was associated with a 1% increase in child marriage. Extreme weather events disrupt sources of income, exacerbate food insecurity and incur costs for rebuilding and recovery. Families choose child marriage to relieve their financial burden.
- Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, stated that one in five women who are refugees or who have been displaced because of a disaster has experienced sexual violence.
Given those sobering statistics, how do we best integrate gender considerations into climate action?
Per the United Nations Development Programme, the challenge for building capacities for gender responsive climate action over the next few years will be helping governments to shift systems and power structures that deepen gender inequalities and hold back women’s leadership as they simultaneously work on bolstering climate mitigation and adaptation.
Moreover, while the case for steering climate finance towards gender-responsive climate action is clear, it needs to be more widely known and understood. Inequalities impose development costs on the whole of society — more so as people struggle to contend with climate change impacts.
Without gender equality, there is little hope of meeting the necessary transformation required to address climate change and ensure a sustainable and just future for all.
Do you want to connect locally with others who share concerns about climate justice and gender inequality, and learn about potential solutions and actions that can be taken individually and collectively? On March 8, International Women’s Day, the Zonta Foothills Club will host its first Climate Justice Forum.
Panelists from CU Boulder and the Boulder County community will present their work and discuss policy and action. Local experts will discuss the challenges of climate change and its impact on women, children and families in our community and worldwide.
The all-volunteer Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County is excited to be addressing the critical issue of climate change and its negative impacts on our communities, especially affecting women and girls worldwide. Zonta now offers The Zonta Foothills Climate Justice Scholarship, which awards $5,000 to women attending CU Boulder who are pursuing degrees impacting climate justice.
Learn more: zontafoothills.org/zonta-says-now
Sara Gillespie is a Boulder resident and member of the Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County. Zonta Foothills Club members volunteer to advance women and girls locally and worldwide through education, health and wellness, economic stability, safety and legal equality.
Zonta Foothills Climate Justice Forum. 1:30-3:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8, East Boulder Community Center, 5660 Sioux Drive. Free