Photo by Melinda Kramer

•    Oxfam Internationl reported that “women are more likely to die during natural disasters than men. Over the past two decades, the number of weather-related disasters has quadrupled. A study by the London School of Economics of 141 disasters showed decisively that a higher death rate for women is directly linked to their lack of rights (when, for example, women can't leave their homes without a male escort).”


•    Women make up 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries. According to the UN, climate change is predicted to severely harm poor farmers by reducing crop yields, worsening water shortages and droughts, threatening livestock and fish stocks, aggravating the spread of pests harmful to crops and animals, and upsetting sensitive ecological balances upon which the livelihoods of the world’s poor and particularly the world’s farmers are directly dependent.

•    Oxfam recognizes that “climate change makes women's long workday even longer. When unpredictable rainfall makes food, fuel and water scarce, women have to walk longer and farther to collect them - time that could have been spent studying, earning an income or working to better their communities. What's more, long remote treks often put women at a greater risk of violence.”


•    Despite decades of demanding international action on the environment indigenous women bear a heavy burden from climate change. According to Oxfam, drought, flooding, unpredictable temperatures and extinction of plants and animals weaken not just the planet but also indigenous women's identity, well-being and way of life.

As changing climates make basic resources less available, women’s economic and social disadvantages can cause them to become further disenfranchised.  Yet, women’s unique position relative to their families and communities can also make them key agents of change, as they develop strategies to adapt to new environmental realities. Take a look at what WEA's grassroots colleagues are doing in the face of climate change here!