Introduction to Gender & Climate Change

Why is it important to integrate gender into the climate change policy?

Women and men contribute differently to the causes of climate change, are differently affected by climate change, react differently to its impacts and, given the choice, favour different solutions to mitigate and options for dealing with the consequences of climate change.

These differences are based on traditional gendered roles and responsibilities in most societies, and on gendered access to resources and political influence. [...]

A gendered analysis of emissions reveals the fact that energy consumption in the developed world is a function of gendered roles, responsibilities and identities. [...]

Most of the current solutions to mitigate climate change, as promoted by the Kyoto Protocol, are market or technology driven. [...]

As predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change impacts will be distributed differently among different regions, generations, age classes, income groups, occupations and genders. [...]

Gender responsive technologies are defined as a set of technologies that pay due attention to gender-differentiated needs and constraints, reduce drudgery among women, release time for alternative activities, and promote labour efficiency and sustained household economic and welfare gains. [...]

Climate change funds have only gained very small budgets, with only marginal benefits for the poorest countries and groups of people. So far, women are not targeted by these financing instruments. [...]