“Climate change is not gender neutral: it both affects women more and exacerbates existing gender inequalities.”
This observation was the starting point of Angela Barca’s presentation on Women, gender justice & climate justice, during an event organized by GEA and Girl Up on April 5th. As a Social Policy Consultant at Development Pathways, part of Barca’s job is precisely to address this inequality by designing efficient policy.
Barca introduced this topic with the striking example of natural disasters. Women are 14 times more likely than men to die in the event of a natural hazard because the impacts of these hazards tend to intersect existing vulnerabilities, and in particular gender inequality. We, for example, know that in post-hazard contexts, gender-based violence tends to increase, boys tend to receive more protection than girls, and men are more likely to migrate while women stay and remain dependent on remittances. Natural hazards, therefore, become natural disasters because of established structures, systems, and norms. This example illustrates that climate change acts as a threat multiplier and exacerbates existing social issues and inequalities — inequalities of gender, but also of race, age, origin, and other characteristics upon which individuals are discriminated against.
So what’s the solution? Barca highlights that the vulnerabilities and risks exacerbated by climate change are not individual, but rather fundamentally political constructs and the result of history, development, and social and cultural norms. This implies that they can be addressed with efficient and well-designed political solutions. For gender inequality in the face of climate change, these solutions must ensure climate justice, but also go beyond climate change and address the broader inequalities that become vulnerabilities in events such as natural disasters. Barca insists: climate justice and gender justice must go hand in hand.
The event ended with an empowering discussion on how everyone can contribute to addressing these structural issues. For Barca, it all starts with having a voice in policy design — by increasing the involvement of women in international policy making, having better representation in expert committees, and covering gaps in data on the impact of climate change on women and gender inequality. At an individual level, we can also drive change by spreading awareness on social media, networking with individuals and organisations committed to driving change, and simply starting conversations about gender and climate injustice among our peers, families, and friends!
Thibaud Auzière
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