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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">CLIMATE CHANGE & GENDER EQUALITY: CONNECTIONS THAT MATTER<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><img width="769" height="511" id="Picture_x0020_9" src="cid:image006.jpg@01D4F3CC.FAF49D40" alt="https://static.impakter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Photo-Credit_-Unsplash-Annie-Spratt.jpg"></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Photo-Credit_-Unsplash-Annie-Spratt<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">By
<a href="https://impakter.com/author/bridget-burns/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">Bridget Burns - Director at WEDO: Women's Environment & Development Organization
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">March 13, 2019 - Climate change is the most pressing challenge of our time, and both its causes and consequences are entwined with the unjust, inequitable, and destructive systems
that govern our world. As the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">IPCC report</span></a> released last October made crystal clear, we are at a critical juncture for necessary action to stabilize global warming below 1.5° C (2.7° F) to avoid greater threats and loss than
we are already experiencing. Meeting this challenge requires transformational change from how we power our homes and build our cities, to how we feed our families, buy products, and move around. Climate change — and
<a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg13" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">SDG 13</span></a>: “take urgent action to combat climate change and all its impacts” — is interwoven across and between these and multiple
other sectors, and failing to fully address climate change is a fundamental obstacle to attaining the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">The widespread and unprecedented impacts of climate change are already disproportionately burdening the poorest, most vulnerable and marginalized groups, magnifying existing
and overlapping inequalities. Gender is a critical intersectional dimension that must be recognized, understood, and addressed to successfully and sustainably mitigate, adapt and build resilience to climate change across our communities. Gender equality and
empowerment of all women and girls exists as an explicit goal under the 2030 Agenda (SDG 5), and is also a
<a href="http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2018/sdg-report-gender-equality-in-the-2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development-2018-en.pdf?la=en&vs=4332" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">driver and essential component of sustainable development</span></a> in all its dimensions: from ending poverty and hunger, to building peaceful, just and inclusive societies, and to promoting and protecting
the health of natural resources and our planet. It is central to effective climate action, and can move us toward positive systemic and transformative change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Women’s work, leadership and contributions positively impact social, economic and environmental progress around the globe, from rural to urban, and local to international settings.
<a href="http://www.fao.org/gender/resources/infographics/the-female-face-of-farming/en/" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">Women make up 43 percent</span></a> of the formal agricultural labor work force in developing countries, contributing a major share to the global food supply, and women in forest communities are able to generate
more than <a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGENAGRLIVSOUBOOK/Resources/CompleteBook.pdf" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">50 percent of their livelihood from forests,</span></a> compared with about one third for men. Women do this while also contributing the majority share of care (or reproductive) work, often unpaid, in developing
and developed countries. Yet, this burden of care contributes to women supporting the household functions from education to health services, energy provision, and shopping. Globally,
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/diversity-inclusion/blog/top-10-things-everyone-know-women-consumers/" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">women drive 70-80 percent of all consumer purchases</span></a> through a combination of buying power and influence. The majority of these household functions are connected to — either enabled or limited by
— the <a href="https://wedo.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/access_for_all_series_FINAL-FOR-WEBSITE.pdf" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">mobility, or transportation, choices</span></a> women must make.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://static.impakter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Photo-Credit_-Unsplash-_Adrien-Taylor.jpg"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="768" height="542" id="Picture_x0020_11" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D4F37E.EFF385D0" alt="https://static.impakter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Photo-Credit_-Unsplash-_Adrien-Taylor-768x543.jpg"></span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">In the Photo: A mother and son in Bangladesh. Photo Credit:
<a href="https://unsplash.com/@adrientaylor" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">Adrien Taylor</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Despite this pivotal role of women in household and global economies,
<a href="http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/810421519921949813/Women-Business-and-the-Law-2016.pdf" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">90 percent of 173 economies have at least one law</span></a> impeding women’s economic empowerment. Women’s roles, rights, knowledge, and access to resources and services are perpetually hindered and marginalized
due to entrenched patriarchal systems. These limitations and marginalization across sectors have resulted in women often being
<a href="https://wedo.org/gender-climate-infographic/" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">disproportionately impacted by climate change</span></a>. Socio-cultural systems may limit women’s voice and agency in decision-making,
where they are often ignored, excluded, and not represented as stakeholders, or lack the capacity to engage in conversations and decision-making processes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Women’s organizing is key to changing these norms. Women’s capacity to speak, innovate, and lead is a driver for sustainable change and is the reason why the
<a href="https://wedo.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)</span></a> was founded to act as a bridge builder for women into spaces of greater power. We know that “ensuring
women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life” (<a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg5" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">SDG
5.5</span></a>) is imperative as a driver for sustainable development, and in addressing climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">WEDO has been a historical leader in making spaces accessible and inclusive for women, feminist advocates and gender-related groups, recognizing stakeholders with diverse experiences,
interests and priorities must be brought to the table and engaged. Through advocacy and action, WEDO connects and facilitates access to and convenings for women’s organizations, governments, and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations,
to ensure that women’s human rights are at the heart of global and national planning and policies, particularly relevant to the environment and sustainable development. WEDO also, through training, mobilizing action and resources, delivers leadership development
providing technical skills and tools to equip themselves to fully and confidently engage as decision-makers and agents of change for a more just future.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://static.impakter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Photo-Credit_-Christine-Irvine-_-Survival-Media-Agency-1.jpg"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="778" height="519" id="Picture_x0020_12" src="cid:image007.jpg@01D4F3CC.FAF49D40" alt="https://static.impakter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Photo-Credit_-Christine-Irvine-_-Survival-Media-Agency-1-300x200.jpg"></span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">In the Photo: Women Climate Leaders led an aerial art piece for 100 percent renewable energy near the Eiffel Tower during the UNFCCC COP 21 climate negotiations. Photo Credit:
Christine Irvine / Survival Media Agency<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">The climate change SDG targets provide ample entry points for ensuring and enhancing women’s full and effective participation while simultaneously supporting progress toward
other SDGs’ targets, including SDG 5. Engagement needs to be strategic and dynamic, taking form in various ways as is fit for purpose, to synergize and maximize potential action and outcomes. The following highlights a few key links between the climate targets
and how engaging women and gender-related groups will drive a gender-responsive approach to climate policy, planning and action, and thus sustainable results, and how WEDO is supporting tangible action and results toward achieving SDG 13 — and others. From
these examples, it is clear that failing to take a gender-responsive approach to climate change is failing to comprehensively and sustainably combat climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Making progress toward the targets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries (13.1)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Women face the brunt of negative climate impacts, particularly from climate-related hazards and natural disasters. This stems from their limited access to technology when early
warning systems cannot reach them; mobility issues during events compounded by women’s common responsibility for the young, sick and elderly in households; and/or their (lack of) safety and health in emergency shelters and refugee camps. In the aftermath of
disasters, women’s access to services and rights may delay or hinder their resiliency anywhere from accessing loans, rebuilding, and re-establishing their lives and livelihoods. Women’s varied roles and experiences are a critical factor to consider when countries
are planning for and implementing adaptation and resilience strategies to ensure these very issues are addressed with equitable solutions. WEDO’s work supporting the establishment of, and now facilitation with, the Women’s Major Group on Disaster Risk Reduction
(DRR) <a href="https://wedo.org/where-are-womens-rights-in-the-sendai-framework-for-drr/" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">promotes this consideration</span></a> in the international framework on disaster risk reduction. The inclusion of the WMG within these dialogues at international, and transfer to national platforms, improves
the voice and agency of women. Their experiences and priorities to enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, for example in remote island states, promotes the empowerment of women (SDG 5.b), and is at
the forefront of climate change in negotiations (e.g., loss and damage) but as frontline communities already facing life-changing impacts.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning (13.2)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">As countries plan and prepare national policies and strategies, an inclusive gender-responsive and human rights-based approach needs to be utilized. A key expression of countries’
policies and plans concerning climate change is the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) developed by each Party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A review by
<a href="https://wedo.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/WEDO_GenderINDCAnalysis-1.pdf" target="_blank">
<span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">WEDO of 190 NDCs</span></a> found only 64 countries include a reference to women or gender, most commonly with the reference characterized as a vulnerable group. If intersectional gender and human dimensions
are not integrated across the climate-relevant development sectors in NDCs and additional climate change measures, then they will not prove to be just and sustainable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">To ensure this alignment, there needs to be increased effort and support to engage women, women’s organizations, and gender-related groups (including national gender machinery)
in the processes determining what plans and policies will be developed. Increasingly, national gender machinery — e.g., a Ministry of Women’s Affairs, National Council on Women and Girls, or national gender focal points — are recognizing the linkages between
gender and climate change. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Conducting a gender analysis across climate sectors to effectively determine an evidence-based pathway forward to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality within climate
measures is a key initial step.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p>
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