by Sophie Kelly
Youths wade through submerged tents at refugee camps after heavy rain hit the Sermada district of Idlib, Syria, on December 5, 2019. Source: Alaa Fetravi / Anadalou Agency Via Getty Images
Here is a staggering statistic to sit with for a few minutes: 80% of people displaced by climate change are women. While it is well-known that climate change and environmental harms disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC) communities, the unique experiences of women and girls are seldom centered in public discourse and decision-making processes. In 2018 only 27% of the heads of delegation and 38% of the delegates to the UN Climate Change conference in Katowice, Poland, were women.
This erasure of women and girls’ unique vulnerabilities to the climate crisis is harmful for multiple reasons: they are less likely to be provided with climate adaptation resources, in the wake natural disasters women and girls are disproportionately killed, and issues of reproductive justice are rarely incorporated into larger concerns over the proliferation of toxins in our environments. But what is also erased is the crucial role that BIPoC women have played and continue to play in demanding justice for their communities.
Before we can fully understand the imperative role women play in demanding and carrying out climate justice, we must first explore the meaning of climate injustice. Marcia Ishii-Eitemann, Grassroots Science Programme Director of Pesticide Action Network, asserts that “Climate injustice is the manifestation of racism that has, for centuries, been directed at Indigenous communities and peoples of colour; it is the misogyny directed at women that also shows up as brutal disregard for life on Earth .”
Operating from Marcia’s assertion of climate injustice allows us to center communities that have the most at stake when envisioning climate justice for the world. As Mary Annaïse Heglar, Director Of Publications at the Natural Resources Defense Council, says “The next time you want to ‘educate’ communities of color about climate change, remember that they have even more to teach you about building movements, about courage, about survival.” Environmental, social, racial, and gender justice are deeply interconnected and we must de-center the role of white activists and decision makers in order to engage in action led and championed by BIPoC communities and women.
Members and allies of the UNFCCC Women and Gender Constituency. Source: Annabelle Avril/WECF
Centering women in the fight against climate change is essential for our collective survival. Because women and girls have always been at the forefront on climate change, their firsthand experiences position them as invaluable decision makers in the formation of climate resilient policies. Women and girls commonly assume roles in food security, caretaking, and household management within their communities. Part of that responsibility is ensuring the long-term availability of resources they use for their community's subsistence which also makes women and girls key agents of biodiversity conservation. Expanding beyond women’s roles in their communities, a 2005 study found that countries with higher percentages of women serving in Parliament are more likely to endorse and take action on global environmental initiatives.
Despite women often being barred from decision making, being disproportionately impacted by climate disasters, and facing intersections of oppression, youth female climate leaders are now leading the way. In the next part of this series, we will be digging deeper into the imperative role that youth activism has played in mobilizing action around the climate crisis. In the meantime keep an eye out for Climable’s #MelanatedEJ series illustrated by our talented in-house artist/intern Malia Shen. We highlight the amazing work that BIPoC women activists are doing in the environmental space. Also be sure to engage with podcasts that center the voices of BIPoC women: The Yikes! Podcast hosted by Mikaela Loach is a great place to start.