Empowering the Most Affected to Lead: Women in Climate Solutions

I was born and raised in The Bahamas, and have seen the disastrous effects of climate change firsthand, from stronger hurricanes to increased flooding caused by rising sea levels. I have also witnessed how rare it is for those most impacted by climate change — Bahamian women and girls — to lead solutions to climate change in the Caribbean.

During an online event last month, co-hosted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and New America, USAID’s Chief Climate Officer Gillian Caldwell opened with a quote from USAID Administrator Samantha Power: “Climate change is sexist, but our response shouldn’t be.” The discussion that followed on women leading solutions to climate change made clear that building climate resilience must start with ensuring that vulnerable communities around the world, particularly women and girls, have the necessary resources and opportunities in place to adapt to or mitigate coming disasters. Women and girls bear the brunt of negative climate impacts globally, from heightened acts of violence or exploitation to missing out on academic or economic opportunities. According to the United Nations, 80 percent of people displaced by climate change are women.

Although women comprise half the world’s population, they’re often sidelined when it comes to decision-making and leading on climate change. This is despite evidence that women are more effective in crisis response, and are actively working towards a more sustainable world. Less than 1 percent of all recorded human rights funding between 2010 and 2013 went to Indigenous women's organizations.It’s past time to incorporate their knowledge during the development and implementation of new climate solutions.

In the Caribbean, women have an important role to play in climate adaptation and resilience plans, creating new solutions within important regional industries like agriculture, fishing, and natural resource management. For example, during the event, Rili Djohani, co-founder and executive director of the Coral Triangle Center in Indonesia, said that involving more women in marine conversation would provide them with leadership skills and help them thrive in a male-dominated environment, an idea that can be carried over to the Caribbean. Women in the Caribbean are less likely to be formally employed than men, which leaves them at risk of lacking health coverage, social security, or financial assistance during and after shocks such as natural disasters, making them less climate resilient than their male counterparts.

But before we can even explore ways to empower women more in the fight against climate change, we should first ensure basic human rights. Throughout the Caribbean, gender discrimination hinders women's ability to be at the forefront of climate change solutions, as most are still fighting for basic women’s rights. According to the United Nations, the United States ranks 46th out of 162 countries on the Gender Inequality Index, while The Bahamas ranks 77th. The Bahamas, for example, is still dealing with the inability for a Bahamian woman to pass down citizenship to her children (a bill was struck down by the government in 2017).

On average in Caribbean nations’ governments, only 22 percent of cabinet positions are held by women. In 2021, The Bahamas elected six women to parliament out of the 39 available seats, the largest group of women since the country became independent in 1973. This increase reflects political and social progress, but also shows there’s room for more women to lead in the future.

As the effects of climate change become stronger worldwide, more countries must explore how women are affected specifically and advance solutions that help them . We cannot keep leaving our women behind; they are an integral part of society and must be a part of climate change solutions.

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