Unequal Impact: Exploring the Factors Behind Women's Heightened Climate Change Vulnerability

Women's vulnerability to climate change is heightened by several interconnected factors: discriminatory practices, social and economic inequalities, and systemic barriers. These factors collectively hinder women’s ability to adapt and respond to climate impacts. Discriminatory practices are explicit actions or behaviors that limit women’s participation in climate decision-making and adaptation efforts. Inequalities in social, economic, and cultural contexts further create unequal access to resources and opportunities. Finally, systemic barriers embedded in societal and institutional structures reinforce gender inequality, often prioritizing male authority over female contributions.

Discriminatory Practices in Climate-Related Decision-Making

Discriminatory practices frequently restrict women’s participation in political processes, particularly in climate-related decision-making. For instance, women are often excluded from climate initiatives, limiting their input in planning, policy-making, and implementation. This underrepresentation is evident at the global level, such as at COP26 in 2021, where women accounted for only 38% of delegates and 29% of heads of delegations.

Social and Economic Inequalities Limiting Climate Resilience

Similarly, social and economic inequalities—such as norms around land ownership—favor men, limiting women’s ability to influence climate resilience efforts. For example, in Peru, only 30% of indigenous women participate in national climate discussions, despite being disproportionately affected by deforestation and land use changes (Oxfam, 2018).

Systemic Barriers in Resource Management

Systemic barriers also perpetuate gender inequality by limiting women's participation in resource management. In rural Morocco, for instance, only 15% of participants in community water management meetings, which are crucial for responding to drought, are women, underscoring the persistent gender gap in climate-related decision-making.

Understanding the Interplay of Factors

The lines between these three factors can sometimes blur, especially when discussing systemic issues like gender inequality. Discriminatory practices involve explicit actions that, in the example above, could be explained by discriminatory hiring processes that often prevent women from holding leadership roles in environmental decision-making bodies. Inequalities manifest as indirect social conditions such as unequal education or access to resources. In many regions, this lack of access limits women´s opportunities to build climate resilience. While these inequalities often stem from discriminatory practices, they aren't always tied to formal rules. Systemic barriers, on the other hand, are institutionalized structures or frameworks that perpetuate gender inequality. These barriers are often the most challenging to dismantle due to their deep roots in long-standing societal structures.