Many should remember the images that appear in the news when some regions are affected by. In many cases, men end up migrating to cities in search of work, leaving their families in the region of origin. The images show young and elderly women surrounded by children, in contexts marked by great food and water insecurity. These women, the main ones of these homes, need to look for water and food increasingly far away, and have less income generation capacity.
We all feel the impacts by witnessing one, such as or, for example. The effects are often devastating. The question is: are these effects felt the same way by all people? People who live in communities with little ventilation and without access to drinking water feel more the effects of heat waves than those with access to air conditioners. What studies show is that previously existing inequalities can be aggravated by the effects of climate change.
In countries where women have less access to assets or properties, but whose economy depends on land production, they also face greater difficulty in accessing the credit market. In the case of disasters, they will have more obstacles to rise and thus existing inequalities tend to expand. The result is a vicious circle: the more women are affected by adverse weather events, the greater the level of inequality.
Several studies show that the consequences of climate events affect girls more than boys. A study conducted that the reduction in precipitation (dry) levels has a significant negative impact on the enrollment in elementary school of older girls, but does not affect the school’s performance or school attendance. This suggests that, during periods of greater resources, families prioritize boys’ access to these resources and increase the use of daughters as a supplementary domestic labor.
In another study, conducted at, author Nancy Qian found that the relative increase in female participation in family income raises daughters’ survival rates, while increased male income reduces these rates and the level of education of girls.
The study “Climate Change and Gender Equality in Development States”, published in 2018, investigates whether weather events can affect both the economic aspect and the evolution of social rights. The author analyzes these effects in developing countries, including Brazil, from 1981 to 2010. The results found corroborate other studies by showing that climate shocks and disasters negatively impact gender equality and are associated with retrocessions on women’s economic and social rights. These effects are more intense in less democratic countries, with greater dependence on agriculture and lower levels of economic development.
In this context, the international commitments assumed by countries gain even more relevance. In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted sustainable development goals to be met by 2030, known as the 2030 Agenda. One of the sustainable development objectives, ODS 5, aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. We hope that, despite the difficulties, the countries will pursue these goals.
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