Gender Day at COP21

Today is "Gender Day" at COP21 - a day to reflect on the way that men and women experience climate change and it's impacts; and to consider the contributions and knowledge that both genders bring to the table.  We know that women make up half the world’s population and the majority of the world’s poor and that the differential impacts of climate change are felt more strongly in situations of poverty, violent conflict or political instability.  

"Climate change exacerbates existing inequalities and slows progress toward gender equality. Gender equality is a prerequisite for sustainable development and poverty reduction. But inequalities are magnified by climate change.”
​                                                              Lorena Aquilar, International Union for Conservation in Nature  

Research from the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice shows that women can become disproportionately vulnerable to climate related impacts in the following ways: 
•  Women are more dependent for their livelihood on natural resources that are threatened by climate change
•  Women are often constrained in their response to sudden onset disasters such as floods and cyclones. During natural disasters, women and children are 14 times more likely to die than men
•  Women farmers are disproportionately affected by climate change because of their limited access to natural resources and limited access to information and services about climate resilient and adaptive agricultural strategies and technologies
•  Women face additional social, economic and political barriers that limit their participation and coping capacity


However, without equal access to representation, women’s voices are often overlooked in decision-making and policy and programme design.   At the half way point of COP21, Gender Day is firmly focussed on women's roles as leaders, innovators and change agents in addressing climate change. 

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Today, in an article published in Outreach, Mary Robinson writes:
"If we are to deliver gender responsive climate action then we must enable women’s meaningful participation in climate action. This requires investment in training, capacity building and financial support. Ensuring that women’s voices are heard and their priorities supported is central to realising climate justice. Only if women are enabled to participate as equals in the design of climate policy – so that their needs are considered and reflected in these policies – will we succeed. This is why gender equality and human rights have to be at the heart of the Paris climate agreement."
​                                                                                  UN Special Envoy for Climate Change Mary Robinson

​For more information, see the CCAFS Working Paper, the UN Women's Fact Sheet and the Expert Group Meeting's recommendations for Gender Responsive Climate Action.