Climate Change and Gender

In comparing its own findings with the Gender Inequality Index published by the United Nations Development Programme, the Monitor discovered a strong correlation between gender inequality, multi-dimensional poverty and vulnerability to climate change. Taken from the Monitor´s 4 in-depth case studies, Denmark, 12th in gender development, registers as low in vulnerability to climate change. The Dominican Republic, 74th in gender development, has a high vulnerability. The Maldives, 77th and Mozambique, 111th in gender development, are both acutely vulnerable to climate change.
 

• Climate Change and Millennium Development Goal 3: Promoting gender equality and empowering women 

Promoting gender equality and empowering women is Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals for 2015. Gender development is particularly important in terms of the human health impacts of climate change. It is disease and not disasters that account for the vast majority of human deaths due to climate change. Higher temperatures and stress on water and food supplies affect human health, increasing susceptibility to malnutrition, diarrhea and malaria. Children are hit hardest by these illnesses, as gender disparities in access to resources limit the ability of society as a whole to provide adequate care for children at the local level. In addition, a disproportionate number of women have limited access to the care and resources they need to support themselves and climate change only exacerbates these conditions of poverty.

• Gender development strategies

Gender development strategies have been shown to have a major positive effect on the health of children. These gender programmes are more successful when combined with the establishment of strong socio-political environments. Reducing gender inequality involves encouraging the participation of women in the labor market, supporting female ownership, promoting female education, involving women in decision-making, and improving women’s access to health care and necessary resources.

• Women in Agriculture - Development as Poverty Reduction

Gender development pograms are necessary to reduce poverty and preserve economic prosperity since women make up a large number of the workforce in the agricultural sector, which is heavily impacted by climate change. 

• Gender and Climate Change Adaptation

Women have a role to play across all aspects of the Monitor, given their recognized positive contributions to enhancing democratic governance, education, and disaster risk reduction work, as well as to economic prosperity, food production and social cohesion. However, there are climate adaptation responses that apply to women in particular, such as breastfeeding programmes targeting child malnutrition, etc.

• Breast-feeding promotion

Breastfeeding promotion, among the least costly actions available to the health community today, involves encouraging new mothers to breastfeed their infants for the first six months of life. Technical specifications and guidelines for implementing this programme already exist, and global training programmes are well developed and accessible. Exclusive breastfeeding, improves child nutrition, eliminates the intake of potentially contaminated food and water and significantly lowers the risk of transmitting infections to children. Studies have shown that in developing countries, breastfed children under six months of age are 6.1 times less likely to die of diarrhea than infants who are not breastfed.

• Women and Water Security

Other programmes from the Monitor’s Adaptation Performance Review address the effects of climate change on water safety in order to reduce the incidence of water-bourne diseases and diseases from unwashed food products. Implementing accessible water supply systems also reduces the work involved in obtaining safe water, a task often delegated to women. In India, for example, searching for water occupies an average of 2 hours per day. The Monitor’s suggestions for water programmes include canal lining, water desalination procedures, and the installation of hand water pumps, standposts and house connections. All of these programmes enhance availability, access and efficiency of water use in the face of harsh climate conditions.

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