The climate crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity, and organizations around the world are investing in a wide range of environmental sustainability initiatives. However, many of these efforts focus solely on reducing carbon emissions without considering social sustainability, and in particular, gender equity. But a growing body of research suggests that gender equity is critical to achieving real progress in environmental sustainability.
The United Nations (UN) Women found that women are disproportionately affected by most of the challenges highlighted in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, natural disasters often disproportionately affect women, children, the poor, the elderly, and the disabled, whose perspectives often go unheard or ignored. Women and girls in many regions in the Global South are typically responsible for collecting water, which becomes more taxing during droughts, and in Europe, women are more likely than men to live in flood zones, where the impact of climate change is felt most severely. Gender-based violence, including physical, psychological, and reproductive violence against women, also becomes more prevalent after natural disasters, with complex and far-reaching consequences on health and well-being.
Moreover, policies and initiatives designed to address environmental issues often harm women and other underserved groups. For example, women and poorer households tend to be affected more negatively by environmental policies such as expansions of public transport, carbon pricing, and taxes, because these policies often overlook the needs of women and underserved groups (e.g., by optimizing public transit for traditional 9-to-5 commutes rather than school pickup routes, or by increasing the prices of goods on which women and families rely). In one case, climate-driven efforts to install “clean” cooking stoves were discontinued when organizers realized their impact on emissions was smaller than initially expected, disregarding the unexpected positive byproduct that these stoves improved women’s and children’s health and safety.
This “carbon tunnel vision” causes well-meaning leaders to overlook the broader sustainability conversation, ultimately limiting their ability to achieve environmental or social sustainability goals. Even when organizations do consider social issues alongside environmental ones, the two topics are often isolated from one another. Companies often set separate goals for each sustainability dimension, leading many top executives and board directors to agree that not enough is being done to link social sustainability and diversity with climate goals.
However, women are especially vulnerable in this climate crisis and are uniquely positioned to act as powerful agents of change. On average, women have smaller carbon footprints than men, more-responsible attitudes towards climate change, and greater interest in protecting the environment. Female leaders are already tackling the climate crisis from the grassroots up to the top levels of the corporate world, with studies showing that organizations with more female executives and board members have better performance in terms of both environmental impact and broad corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals. Women have been demonstrated to be more effective leaders both in normal times and during crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and the data suggests this advantage extends to the climate crisis as well.
To empower more women to lead the way in fighting the climate crisis, leaders should consider the following recommendations:
1. Promote women’s representation in climate policy and decision-making.
Women are currently underrepresented in politics and strategic decision-making generally, as well as in climate politics more specifically. To close this gap, leaders should explicitly support the inclusion of women in political spaces, including by nominating, sponsoring, and of course, voting for female candidates. At the same time, it’s important to avoid relegating women exclusively to special, “women’s” spaces.
2. Craft narratives that inspire girls and women to pursue STEM careers.
Today, women make up just 27% of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. There are a variety of systemic barriers that contribute to this disparity, but leaders can help bring more women into vital fields related to climate science and engineering by rethinking how they approach and talk about these fields. Leaders should prioritize telling stories of women in STEM careers who have achieved success and made a difference, highlighting the ways that their work contributes to solving global problems like the climate crisis. This can help inspire more girls and women to pursue these fields, showing them that they too can have a meaningful impact on the world.
3. Acknowledge and address the differential impact of environmental policies and initiatives on women and underserved communities.
As noted earlier, many environmental policies and initiatives have unintended consequences that harm women and underserved communities. To address this issue, leaders should conduct thorough impact assessments of their sustainability initiatives, looking closely at how they may differentially impact different groups of people. This can help identify potential negative impacts and allow for adjustments to be made to mitigate them. Leaders should also engage with impacted communities directly to understand their concerns and perspectives, and work to incorporate their feedback into policy decisions.
4. Invest in gender-sensitive climate solutions.
Investing in gender-sensitive climate solutions can help ensure that the unique challenges faced by women and other underserved communities are taken into account when developing solutions to environmental challenges. For example, this could mean investing in sustainable energy solutions that prioritize the needs of women and families, or providing resources to support women-led businesses that focus on sustainable practices. By taking a gender-sensitive approach to sustainability initiatives, leaders can help ensure that these initiatives are effective and equitable.
5. Prioritize gender diversity and inclusion in sustainability initiatives.
To truly integrate social sustainability into environmental sustainability, leaders must prioritize gender diversity and inclusion in their sustainability initiatives. This means ensuring that women are represented at all levels of the organization and in decision-making processes related to sustainability. Leaders should also work to create an inclusive workplace culture that values diversity and actively works to overcome bias and barriers that may limit the participation of women and other underserved groups.
6. Collaborate across sectors and prioritize partnerships with women-led organizations.
Finally, leaders should collaborate across sectors to tackle the climate crisis in a more holistic and effective way. This can include partnering with women-led organizations and other community groups to ensure that sustainability initiatives are informed by and responsive to the needs of impacted communities. Leaders should also prioritize building partnerships with organizations that are led by women and other underrepresented groups, helping to promote equity and inclusion in sustainability efforts.
In conclusion, while reducing carbon emissions remains an essential part of the fight against climate change, we must also recognize the importance of incorporating social sustainability and gender equity into our sustainability initiatives. By taking a more intersectional approach to sustainability, leaders can help ensure that their efforts are effective, equitable, and sustainable in the long term. The time for action is now, and by prioritizing gender equity and social sustainability, we can build a more resilient and equitable world for all.