Women This Week: Climate Change Perpetuates Inequality for Women

Aug 3, 2023 | Noël James
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A new report by the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center at the Atlantic Council (Arsht-Rock) has illustrated the disproportionate impact that extreme heat is having on women in the United States, India, and Nigeria. Project scholars estimate that $120 billion is currently being lost annually across the three countries due to the impact of extreme heat on women’s paid labor; the study added that the losses could increase to up to $500 billion per year if no action is taken to mitigate climate change. In addition, Arsht-Rock reported that across the three countries, 204,000 women may die annually during hot years. Not only does heat worsen existing illness symptoms, but women are more susceptible to getting sicker as they often bear the ‘double burden’ of caring for their families in sickness. Kathy Baughman McLeod, Director of Arsht-Rock, summarized, “The number one thing pushing [women] back into poverty is the climate impacts of heat and floods.”