Working Women Hardest Hit

Women are more vulnerable to climate change than men and will continue to bear the brunt of extreme weather conditions unless more is done to educate and empower them. Poor women in poor countries are among the hardest hit by climate change, says UNFPA executive director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid.

By Valkerie Baynes for AAP  (18 November 18, 2009):

WOMEN are more vulnerable to climate change than men and will continue to bear the brunt of extreme weather conditions unless more is done to educate and empower them, a report has found.

The State of World Population 2009 report, released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today, says women have been overlooked in discussions on how to combat rising seas, drought and melting glaciers.

According to the report, women are most vulnerable to climate change because in many countries they make up a larger proportion of the agricultural workforce and have fewer income-earning opportunities.

“Women manage households and care for family members, which often limits their mobility and increases their vulnerability to sudden weather-related natural disasters,” the report said.

“Drought and erratic rainfall force women to work harder to secure food, water and energy for their homes.

“Girls drop out of school to help their mothers with these tasks. The cycle of deprivation, poverty and inequality undermines the social capital needed to deal effectively with climate change.”

While women represent half the world’s adult population, they constitute a larger proportion of its poor, whose dependence on agriculture puts them at greater risk of losing their food sources and livelihoods in a disaster.

Poorer communities also tend to live in marginal areas, prone to flooding, rising seas and storms.

The report suggested education and health programs aimed at women could help in the fight against climate change.

“Girls with more education, for example, tend to have smaller and healthier families as adults,” it said.

“Women with access to reproductive health services, including family planning, have lower fertility rates that contribute to slower growth in greenhouse-gas emissions in the long run.”

UNFPA executive director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said next month’s climate change summit in Copenhagen must focus not only on how best to reduce carbon emissions and financial responsibilities.

The talks must also take into account the power of individuals to reverse the effects of global warming.

“Poor women in poor countries are among the hardest hit by climate change, even though they contributed the least to it,” she said.

“With the possibility of a climate catastrophe on the horizon, we cannot afford to relegate the world’s 3.4 billion women and girls to the role of victim.”

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au