Women and Climate Action

Women are often referred to as the “shock absorbers” of climate change, who are on the frontlines of the crisis. Across the country, many stories illustrate how women are most impacted by climate change and are responding with innovative solutions. In Zaheerabad, a semi-arid, drought-prone region in Telangana, women farmers have formed sanghams (village-level voluntary groups) to shift from water-intensive rice and wheat farming to grow millets, climate resilient and hardy grains. This has helped fight chronic malnutrition and food insecurity in the community along with replenishing the water table. The practice has become so widespread that more than 14,000 women across 50 villages are a part of the movement. While in Kendrapara, a coastal district in Odisha, which has been facing erratic weather patterns, with droughts one year and floods the next, women farmers have taken up climate-resilient methods for cultivating rice, with less water and fewer chemicals and getting higher yields.

It is now widely accepted that the climate crisis is not gender neutral. To begin with, climate change exacerbates existing gender inequalities and creates new vulnerabilities. As a threat multiplier, climate change worsens food, water, economic, and health insecurity. Women, particularly those from low-income households in rural and urban areas, often bear the brunt of disruptions caused by climate change. By 2050, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty, according to the United Nations.

Women, particularly those from low-income households in rural and urban areas, often bear the brunt of disruptions caused by climate change.

Women depend more on natural resources for their livelihoods and survival than men. In developing countries, women produce up to 80% of food. In India for example, agriculture has the highest percentage of female workers at 63%. Erratic rainfall, droughts, and floods are reducing crop yields posing a risk to food security and the livelihoods of women.

Women are also traditionally responsible for procuring water and fuel for their families. With extreme weather, women have to walk further and spend more time fetching water and fuel. The majority of people displaced by climate change are women and girls (80% according to UN Environment), who end up facing greater risks of poverty and violence.

These disruptions intersect with prevailing social norms such as women’s time poverty to compound the crisis. Globally, women undertake at least two and a half times more unpaid household and care work than men. In India, women carry out eight times more work than men, which is higher than in most other countries. It is estimated that with climate-induced displacement and migration, Indian women are burdened with both agriculture and unpaid work, adding up to 12-14 hours per day of work. Further, women’s caregiving responsibilities intensify with climate change which may lead to displacement, injuries, and illnesses.

Several studies show that climate change-related impacts on health are greater for women than men, especially in low and middle-income countries like India. In both rural and urban contexts, women are more vulnerable to heat stress and air pollution. Pregnant women are found to be at greater risk as these factors are known to increase the risk of miscarriages and premature births. Additionally, climate displacement affects women’s access to sanitation and reproductive healthcare services.

Pregnant women are found to be at greater risk as these factors are known to increase the risk of miscarriages and premature births.

For a long time, the role of women in climate change was little understood. Despite the differentiated impacts of climate change on women, it is necessary to underline that women are not “victims” of climate change. Rather, women are nimble at adapting to the crisis, for example, by practising climate-resilient agriculture, preserving indigenous knowledge like rotating crops and preserving native seeds, implementing water conservation and reuse strategies, and waste management strategies.

Women are key to building climate resilience and they must be at the centre of India’s climate agenda. India’s National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) acknowledges the disproportionate effects of climate change on women and the need to promote gender in climate policy. However, State Action Plans on Climate Change, which are sub-national plans for implementing the NAPCC are inconsistent across states and many states treat women as a vulnerable group without providing targeted strategies. There has been some improvement in recent years, particularly in states like Uttarakhand, Odisha, Assam and Madhya Pradesh.

In terms of policymaking, there has been progress in improving women’s access to drinking water infrastructure in rural areas under the Jal Jeevan Mission and access to clean fuels under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, but gaps remain.

India’s National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) acknowledges the disproportionate effects of climate change on women and the need to promote gender in climate policy.

To enhance climate justice for women, India must promote the participation and leadership of women at all levels of climate policy and negotiations. It must prioritise the insights and knowledge of women in climate strategies. It must provide targeted training and employment opportunities for women in green sectors. It must improve gender-disaggregated data and monitoring frameworks on climate.

It must ensure that women who are dependent on climate-vulnerable sectors like agriculture and fisheries can access adaptation finance and technology. It must tap into the private sector to bridge climate financing gaps.

Climate action requires a ‘whole-of-society’ approach and women cannot be left out of it.

This commentary originally appeared in Business Today.

• Gender
• India
• climate adaptation strategies
• climate justice
• climate-resilient agriculture
• gender and climate change
• gender-responsive climate policy
• rural women and climate
• women and climate resilience
• women farmers

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