Why Climate Change Disproportionately Affects Women

Mar 5, 2020 | Joe McCarthy
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Climate change is a planetary phenomenon that will impact all countries, but its effects are being shaped by pervasive and entrenched gender inequality.

Heat waves, droughts, rising sea levels, and extreme storms disproportionately affect women.

That’s because women are more likely to live in poverty than men, have less access to basic human rights like the ability to freely move and acquire land, and face systematic violence that escalates during periods of instability.

These factors, and many more, mean that as climate change intensifies, women will struggle the most. In fact, the Paris climate agreement includes specific provisions to ensure women receive support to cope with the hazards of climate change.