Amit Baijnath Garg
Social workers involved in climate adaptation programs state that they are no longer just empowering women by breaking barriers but are now facing a new battle: maintaining livelihoods in the face of climate change. This is a much more difficult and challenging task.
An analysis of the National Health Survey shows that despite constituting nearly half of India’s population (around 48 percent), women contribute only 18 percent to the GDP. This gap can be attributed to various challenges faced by rural women, including cultural barriers, limited opportunities, lack of education, and limited access to credit. A report suggests that bridging this gender gap could increase India’s GDP by 18 percent by 2025. This underlines the importance of creating an enabling environment that empowers women to reach their full potential. Recognizing their critical role, several initiatives like the National Rural Livelihoods Mission should be steered to bridge this gap and expand livelihood opportunities for rural women.
Climate change is significantly affecting rural women, who are often among the world’s poorest and are more dependent on local natural resources for their livelihoods. Changes in climate impact household water, food, and fuel security. Drought and erratic rainfall force women to spend more time collecting water and fuel, affecting crop yields and the health of livestock, thereby making women work harder for less food. Social structures, discriminatory norms, and institutions burden women with more household chores and childcare responsibilities than men, limiting their opportunities for education and employment.
To make rural women leaders in climate change adaptation, they need skills, capabilities, assets, and resources, along with gender-focused public policies. These policies can help reduce the gap that limits rural women’s capabilities. Over the past decade, livelihood programs for rural women have made extraordinary contributions to their communities. Recognizing the tireless efforts of rural women inspires others and creates a ripple effect, bringing about much-needed change towards a more sustainable livelihood future. Although governments are making efforts at their level, achieving the goals is not easy without the social concerns of the common man.
Besides empowering women for a more equitable society, it is crucial to consider the impact of climate change on their livelihoods. Unpredictable weather events, rising temperatures, and changing rainfall patterns are rapidly changing the landscape, posing a major threat. Climate change issues have been discussed in detail at the recent COP 28 conference, where it was emphasized that climate change is not gender-neutral. To see the impact of climate change on livelihoods, one must turn to rural India. Livelihood programs are being discussed in states like Maharashtra, where significant changes are observed. Similar unexpected results of livelihood programs are seen in other states, but efforts still need to be accelerated, necessitating proactive steps.
Social workers involved in such programs indicate that maintaining livelihoods in the face of a changing climate is a formidable challenge. A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that female-headed rural households are disproportionately affected during climate change shocks. A one-degree increase in temperature results in a 34 percent drop in their income compared to male-headed households. This raises crucial questions: why do national climate plans often lack concrete action to support these most at-risk communities? Why are women underrepresented in climate change policymaking? Climate change is exacerbating inequality. These issues are often discussed insufficiently, though they deserve more attention.
The FAO report indicates that failing to address the unequal impacts of climate change on rural people will widen the already large gaps between the rich and the poor, and between men and women. In low- and middle-income countries, rural and female-headed households already face greater financial burdens than men when disasters strike. If these significant existing wage gaps are not addressed, they will widen even further. Scientists estimate that current global temperatures are about 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than in the late 1800s, leading to more destructive weather like floods, storms, and heatwaves. The FAO states that women are more vulnerable to climate change than men due to deeply entrenched social structures and discriminatory norms and institutions, which are challenging to combat.
Poor families in rural areas have limited access to resources, services, and jobs, making it difficult for them to cope with climate change. On average, they lose five percent more income to heat than the richest households and four percent more to floods. Households headed by women are even worse off, losing about eight percent more income to extreme heat and three percent more to floods than male-headed households. This report forces us to contemplate how to protect rural women from climate change. The big question is whether we can protect them and, if not, what the future holds for these women and the impact on our society and country.
The responsibility to tackle climate change lies with multilateral institutions, states, civil society, and the business community. Each stakeholder should lead in their respective fields and work across sectors to build partnerships and promote cooperation sensitive to the needs and experiences of women, in line with their capabilities and potential. Greater connectivity between the international, national, and local levels is necessary, but it is also important to recognize that the mere presence of women does not guarantee their experiences and leadership will be integrated into climate change policies. Greater inclusion of women at the highest levels of climate change decision-making is essential. Women must also be able to lead at the national and rural levels. The perspectives and initiatives of rural women need to be as prominent as those of urban women.
Note: Amit Baijnath Garg
International and National Awardee Journalist-Writer
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