Climate change and gender policy

Abstract

As gender inequalities persist around the world, “women and men are experiencing climate change differently, affecting the ability of individuals and communities to adapt”. The intersection of climate change and gender policy is more concerned with gender differences and gender mainstreaming. Though men and women are negatively influenced by the impacts of climate change, women quite often experience more burden and are indeed more vulnerable than men, due to the factors like “social status”, working conditions and hardships. Indeed, the vulnerability of women owes to prevailing socio-economic conditions and social fabric. Many women in developing countries depend on the natural environment for subsistence and income. They even played a central role in agriculture and natural resource management, but due to lack of economic opportunities, women have very limited or no access in decision-making processes. Therefore, it is important that the consequences of climate change should not lead already marginalized sections of communities into further deprivation. The threats posed by climate change have failed to impress on policy-makers the importance of placing women at the heart for ensuring a sustainable future by combining development and climate change issues. Skewed participation of women in the processes involving “decision-making”, “planning”, “policy-making” and “implementation” results in increasing their vulnerability to climate change impacts. Gender mainstreaming is the need of the hour as it can engender viable and pragmatic solution to climate change.