Climate change is a global phenomenon that affects everyone, but its effects are not experienced equally. Heat waves, droughts, rising sea levels, floods and extreme storms can affect entire communities, but factors such as income, location and gender can determine who is more exposed to these risks and who has more resources to recover.
Women are particularly affected because, in many parts of the world, they are more likely to live in poverty, have less access to land and economic resources, and take on a larger share of unpaid domestic and care work. In addition, many women depend directly on natural resources for food and income. When these resources are affected by climate change, responsibilities that already fall disproportionately on women can become even more demanding.
According to UN Women, climate change could push up to 158 million additional women and girls into poverty by 2050, while another 236 million could face food insecurity. The estimates come from the organization’s Feminist Climate Justice: A Framework for Action report (unwomen.org).
When water becomes a gender issue
One of the clearest examples of this relationship can be seen in access to water. Droughts and changing rainfall patterns can make water increasingly difficult to access, especially in rural and remote communities. According to UN Women, around 380 million women and girls, or 10% of the world’s female population, currently live in areas facing high or critical water stress. The organization estimates that this number could reach 647 million by 2050 (unwomen.org).
In some regions, collecting water takes up a significant part of the day. In India, for example, women and girls living in rural areas without water at home spend more than 50 minutes a day collecting water, while men and boys spend around four minutes. In Iraq, women can spend up to three hours a day collecting water (unwomen.org).
The problem is not limited to the time spent collecting water. When drought reduces access to this essential resource, women and girls may have to travel longer distances to find it, leaving less time for education, paid work, rest or other activities. Limited access to water can also directly affect families’ food security and health, especially in communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.
The hidden workload of climate change
This reality is connected to a much larger issue: unpaid domestic and care work. According to UN Women, women and girls spend, on average, three times more time than men and boys on unpaid domestic and care work. Climate change can make these responsibilities even more difficult. Cooking, cleaning, collecting water, preparing food and caring for children or other family members can require more time when water, food or energy becomes scarce (unwomen.org).
This means that the climate crisis does not only happen through major disasters. It can also appear in everyday tasks. A prolonged drought, for example, can change a family’s routine for months. A flood can destroy a home and interrupt access to essential services. A heat wave can make it harder to work, sleep or care for children and older people. When these situations overlap with existing inequalities, their effects can become even more severe.
Climate change can also affect women’s health
Health is another area where these differences can become evident. Rising temperatures, air pollution, food insecurity and changes in the spread of some diseases create risks for different groups of people. For pregnant women, some of these effects can be particularly concerning. The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that exposure to climate-related risks during pregnancy can be associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes, including preterm birth, low birth weight and other pregnancy-related complications.
The WHO estimates that climate change could cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050 from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. The organization also emphasizes that these impacts are not equally distributed and that vulnerable populations are particularly affected (who.int).
Climate-related disasters can also increase other forms of vulnerability. During displacement, loss of income and disruptions to public services, women and girls may face greater risks of gender-based violence and difficulties accessing sexual and reproductive health services. These risks are not necessarily caused by climate change itself, but they can be worsened by the social and economic conditions created or intensified by extreme events.
It is not about women being “naturally” more vulnerable
It is important to emphasize that this does not mean women are naturally more vulnerable to climate change. The issue lies in the social and economic inequalities that shape how different people are able to respond to the same crisis.
A woman living in a rural community without reliable access to water, land or healthcare may face very different consequences from a woman living in a city with infrastructure, income and access to public services.
This is why gender has become part of international discussions about climate policy. The Paris Agreement recognizes the importance of gender-responsive approaches, particularly in climate adaptation and capacity-building.
From the Paris Agreement to COP30
Within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a Gender Action Plan was established in 2017 to increase women’s participation in climate policy and to integrate gender considerations into countries’ climate actions. This agenda has continued to develop over the years. According to the UNFCCC, during COP30, held in Belém in 2025, countries adopted a new Gender Action Plan.
The Belém Gender Action Plan for 2026–2034 establishes a nine-year framework to strengthen the integration of gender equality into climate policies. Its objectives include improving data collection, financing, access to technology and participation in climate-related decision-making (unfccc.int).
Political participation is particularly important because women remain underrepresented in some climate decision-making spaces. The UNFCCC monitors women’s participation in national delegations and decision-making bodies connected to the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. The organization’s most recent data shows that women’s participation in these spaces has increased, although gender parity has not yet been achieved across all of them (unfccc.int).
There is no single female experience of climate change
At the same time, there is no single female experience of climate change. Its effects can vary depending on income, location, age, race, disability and access to public services, among other factors. A woman living in a large city may experience a heat wave very differently from a farmer who depends on rainfall to produce food.
Understanding climate change from a gender perspective, therefore, does not mean saying that all women will be affected in the same way. It means recognizing that an environmental crisis can deepen existing inequalities.
Climate change may be a global problem, but vulnerability is not equally distributed. From the additional hours spent collecting water to the risks associated with extreme heat and pregnancy, different groups can face different consequences on a warming planet. Recognizing these differences is an important part of understanding the climate crisis and developing responses that address not only rising temperatures, but also the social inequalities that can make their effects even more severe.
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The article above was edited by Julia Miranda.
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