Why Is It So Important for Women to Lead the Climate Movement?

Author: Sanjana Sundar
Image: Burcu Köleli for UN Women, 2022

One of the most pressing social, political, and scientific crises of the 21st century is climate change. A central subject of public policy across the world, affecting global economies, human health, and the natural environment, climate change is a multifaceted issue and multidimensional threat to the world as we know it. However, in recent years a possible solution to the climate crisis has been uncovered and ushered into mainstream discourse, which has equipped climate activists to approach the issue with the same multidimensionality that it presents. How? By addressing the relationship between gender equality and climate action as catalysts to one another. 

What is the relationship between gender equality and climate change? 

80% of those impacted by climate change are women. Why? Women around the world are predisposed to the consequences of climate change due to the gender inequalities they already face. For example, women across the globe between 25-34 years of age are 25% more likely than men to live in extreme poverty. Displacement, violence, and disease due to food scarcity, drought, and the absence of sanitary facilities exacerbate these inequalities. 

Gender-based division of labour also directly exposes women to the impacts of climate change. In the global south, women are primarily responsible for gathering food, water, and fuel for their households. They are also designated for cleaning and caregiving roles, economically and domestically. Rising global temperatures, pollution of natural resources, and the spread of disease make these responsibilities more difficult and dangerous for women. This creates a loop in which vulnerable women are further marginalized due to environmental degradation. 

However, this is not irreversible damage. Studies show that equipping women with social and economic resources for upward mobility can reduce their exposure to such harm, and lead to large-scale social reform among men and children as well. The Indian context is empirical evidence of the same.

The Indian Context

As men migrate to urban cities seeking higher incomes, women lead the agricultural sector in rural India. 80% of economically active Indian women are engaged in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, three-quarters of the full-time Indian agricultural workforce is made up of women, who produce up to 80% of India’s food. Essentially, women contribute almost twice as much time in the fields as compared to men, logging 3,300 hours of farm labour during a crop season compared to the 1,860 hours logged by men. 

In this context, one of the most significant impacts of climate change on Indian women is the water crisis. In addition to agricultural production, women spend up to four hours a day travelling, queuing, and collecting (often contaminated) water. A growing water crisis will inevitably increase this burden, while also impacting health and the maintenance of women-run fields that require irrigation. 

However, while Indian women are the most affected, they have also been the most active in developing long-term strategies for water security. In 2013, a study by India Water Portal showed that training women in conservation and resource management played a key role in increasing awareness among men and children as well. Educated women became impactful in creating awareness due to their existing position as caretakers in their families and their handling of resources in their communities. In other words, their gendered experience of climate change provided them with the unique knowledge and tools to tackle it.

Women’s familiarity with the collection methods uses, and requirements of water in India has made them effective in mobilising government funding, managing infrastructure, and maintaining sustainable use of resources. Through the MGNREGA, Indian women have also directed manpower and funds towards building infrastructure for water sanitation and conservation. In 2017, it was reported that the role of rural women in changing agricultural practices in India is crucial to attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This is because, given their immediate experiences with climate change, women are extremely adaptive to changing practices and openly embrace technology and training when compared to men.

Women as Global Leaders of Climate Change

The prominence of women as leaders in the movement against climate change is not unique to India. In the past decade, Bangladeshi women have developed flood-resistant housing for their communities, women in rural Sudan formed the first-ever Women’s Farmers Union to improve food security in times of drought and famine, and indigenous women in Nicaragua set up seed banks to conserve local biodiversity from worsening hurricanes, among several other women-led initiatives across the globe to combat climate disasters. 

However, while women spearhead innovation and activism in the social sector, their representation in decision making bodies has remained low. This means that most change has remained confined to the community level, rarely translating into policy action. However, this does not mean that the power and momentum of women in the movement have any less of an impact. Conditions are improving, with women now making up over one-third of the globe’s environment ministries, their numbers steadily increasing over the years. Furthermore, a surge in women’s actions and voices has shown that gender-responsive policy measures can help to overcome systemic barriers to both climate action and gender justice. In light of this, the United Nations’ theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is fitting: “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” 

This women’s day, we at Sakshi continue to work towards a gender-equal tomorrow and recognise the effect that gender equality can have, whether on an individual or global scale. We hope you join us to explore, uncover, and learn more along the way. Happy Women’s Day!