Gender Equity

Citation:

Hartmann, Miriam, Suneeta Krishnan, Brent Rowe, Anushah Hossain, and Myles Elledge. 2015. Gender-Responsive Sanitation Solutions in Urban India. Research Brief. Research Triangle Park: RTI Press.

Authors: Miriam Hartmann, Suneeta Krishnan, Brent Rowe, Anushah Hossain, Myles Elledge

Annotation:

Summary:
"In this research brief, we provide an overview of recent literature on women and sanitation in urban India. In particular, we consider possible improvements to the design and location of toilet facilities based on articulated needs and current solutions. We also highlight the need for further research evaluating the potential benefits of female-targeted interventions for women and their communities. The issues we consider are context specific, because women’s preferences vary across caste, religion, and region. Furthermore, the improvements we discuss respond primarily to existing gender norms. Broader efforts are needed to transform gender norms and meet the dual goals of higher sanitation adoption and better outcomes for women" (Hartmann et al. 2015, 1).

 

Topics: Caste, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation, Religion Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2015

Citation:

Akinsemolu, Adenike A., and Obafemi A. P. Olukoya. 2020. "The Vulnerability of Women to Climate Change in Coastal Regions of Nigeria: A Case of the Ilaje Community in Ondo State." Journal of Cleaner Production 246.

Authors: Adenike A. Akinsemolu, Obafemi A. P. Olukoya

Abstract:

Values, patriarchal norms, and traditions related to gender and gendering are diverse among societies, communities, and precincts. As such, although climate change is expected to exacerbate vulnerabilities and deepen existing gender inequities and inequalities, the impacts will be unequally felt across geographical strata. This implies that the specificity of the vulnerability of women to climate change may also vary from community to community and society to societies. However, mainstream literature on the vulnerability of women to climate changes in coastal zones trivializes the plurality and nuances of different geographical contexts by universalizing context-specific vulnerability to climate change. Mindful of the limitations associated with the generalizing conception of women’s vulnerability, this paper is therefore underpinned by the implicit assumption that a successful response to the vulnerability of women to climate change in coastal zone is forged in the nexus between contextual investigation of climate change parameters and a localized investigation of differentiation in gender roles, patriarchal norms and other unknown factors in a particular setting. Thus, this paper presents a case study of the contextual vulnerability of women to climate change in Ilaje coastal region in Nigeria. Examining the intersecting complex of contextual factors, the paper establishes that beyond patriarchal traditions and norms: economic, political, educational and environmental factors are at play in the vulnerability of women to climate change in Ilaje community. To this end, this paper posits that to alleviate the vulnerability of women to climate change in coastal zones, the understanding of contextual factors play a fundamental role.

Keywords: women, vulnerability, coastal region, climate change, Ilaje, Nigeria

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2020

Citation:

Bhattarai, Basundhara. 2020. "How Do Gender Relations Shape a Community's Ability to Adapt to Climate Change? Insights from Nepal's Community Forestry." Climate and Development. doi:10.1080/17565529.2019.1701971.

Author: Basundhara Bhattarai

Abstract:

Despite notable policy reforms and development actions, gender inequality persists in environmental management in Nepal. In this paper, I present an in-depth case study to demonstrate how the persistence of gender-based inequality in community forestry has, or is likely to have, impacted the possibility to adapt to climate change, and then also reshape gender relations in adaptation interventions. Based on this, I argue that adaptation initiatives which rest on existing gender inequitable forest management institutions are likely to exacerbate gender-based inequality, further hampering the longer-term socio-ecological resilience. Although gender inequality is not created solely either by forestry institutions or in the institutions designed for climate adaptation, community forestry institutions are increasingly reinforcing the larger patriarchal societal structure that is deeply rooted and manifested in everyday practices. I highlight the need for both forest management and adaptation policies and practices to better recognize, appreciate and address gender inequality. In order to enhance gender-equitable adaptation to climate change, I suggest re-examining and constantly monitoring the changing gender in/equality in the existing forest management institutions and service delivery mechanisms and also adjusting adaptation planning to fully harness the potential of gender equitable forest management and climate change adaptation.

Keywords: gender equity, climate change, climate adaptation, Nepal, community forestry

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Nepal

Year: 2020

Citation:

Mukhopadhyay, Kuheli, and Nandini Das. 2019. "The Discourse of Climate Change and Women's Health: Some Insights on Gender Mainstreaming." Current Research Journal of Social Sciences 2 (2): 79-86.

Authors: Kuheli Mukhopadhyay, Nandini Das

Abstract:

Climate Change has an overwhelming health impact on all, especially on the women, constituting around 49. 58% of the global population. There is ample literary evidence in support of the claim that a changing climate has a differentiated impact on humanity and that it is not “gender neutral”. Climate driven food scarcity, poor air quality, rising temperature and extreme weather events (floods, droughts, heat waves etc. ), acute water shortage, increasing incidence of vector borne diseases make the situation all the more dreadful for women in particular. And this vulnerability gets even more critical because of various biological, political, social and cultural factors that historically contributed against women and their empowerment. Though women are reservoirs of indigenous knowledge about how to deal with the aftermath of climatic changes, yet they remain largely untapped. However the importance of gender based climate action plan was long absent in arena of international climate negotiation. It was only in COP7 (2001) where women’s involvement in climate action had first caught global attention and subsequently nodal international bodies are working on formulating programmes and appropriate policies for promoting gender balance. However, the progress on this has been limited in comparison to the magnitude of impacts of climatic changes on women’s health and hence much more needs to be done on the policy front so as to promote gender equity and women’s participation in various adaptation and mitigation policies.

Keywords: climate change, gap, goals, gender mainstreaming, Lima, sustainable development

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Health, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Year: 2019

Citation:

Spring, Úrsula Oswald. 2019. "Gender, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals." In Úrsula Oswald Spring: Pioneer on Gender, Peace, Development, Environment, Food and Water, 225-41. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Author: Úrsula Oswald Spring

Keywords: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), women, gender equality, gender perspective, land

Annotation:

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equity, International Organizations

Year: 2019

Citation:

Clissold, Rachel, Ross Westoby, and Karen E. McNamara. 2020. "Women as Recovery Enablers in the Face of Disasters in Vanuatu." Geoforum 113: 101-10.

Authors: Rachel Clissold, Ross Westoby, Karen E. McNamara

Abstract:

Keywords: Gender, resilience, disaster recovery, disaster response, Pacific Islands, Cyclone Pam

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Livelihoods Regions: Oceania Countries: Vanuatu

Year: 2020

Citation:

Alexander, Ronni. 2019. "Gender, Disaster and Stories from Popoki: Learning from Women Survivors in Northeast Japan." Journal of International Cooperation Studies 26 (2): 17-37.

Author: Ronni Alexander

Abstract:

This paper critically explores the question of gender and disaster, suggesting that much of the current thinking and practice serves to reproduce understandings of gender rather than transform them. The first half of the paper looks at issues of gender and disaster, providing a short introduction to some of the issues involved followed by a discussion of the meaning of gender and resilience in the context of peace. The second half introduces the stories of four women who experienced the Great Northeast Japan Earthquake. These stories were compiled through interviews and conversations occurring between 2011 and 2018 in the context of the Popoki Friendship Story Project, a support project organized shortly after the 2011 disaster. The stories illustrate women’s involvement with community after disaster and speak to the range of women’s responses and challenges. While in some ways they can be said to have been empowered, their stories suggest that they do not necessarily want empowerment, and that inclusion does not necessarily lead to transformation. The paper concludes with a reflection on theory and practice, stressing the importance of gender equity and equality as a prerequisite to transformative practices in disaster support. Working to foster peace before crises occur is therefore important for making societies more resilient and for greater inclusion and diversity during and after disaster.

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity Regions: Asia, East Asia Countries: Japan

Year: 2019

Citation:

del Corral, Beatriz López-Fanjul Díez. 2020. "Women in a Climate Changing World. The Need of a Policy Solution for Cross-Border Displacement." In Climate Change, Hazards and Adaptation Options, edited by Walter Leal Filho, Gustavo J. Nagy, Marco Borga, and Pastor David Chávez Muñoz, 523-43. Cham: Springer, Cham.

Author: Beatriz López-Fanjul Díez del Corral

Abstract:

An international framework that addresses displacement across borders due to sudden events does not exist, and a policy embracing a gender perspective on the topic is lacking. This absence of specific regulations on the matter leaves women in a vulnerable situation. The purpose of this work is to advance knowledge in order to identify international policy conventions and agreements that consider climate change disasters, gender and migration, to provide support for women and girls of developing countries when a sudden disaster strikes their communities, a situation where cross border displacement is the only option. This report strives to clarify the importance of having an equity perspective to create equality between genders in a migration process. This is not equivalent to favor one gender upon the other, but simply stresses the fact that the “starting line” for women and girls is not the same as that for men. It is important to consider this positive discrimination of women as a first step to create gender equality by building empowerment through resilience and coping capacity.

Keywords: displacement, Gender, women, sudden disaster, vulnerability assessment, climate change

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Climate Displacement, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Girls, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Governance

Year: 2020

Citation:

Schalatek, Liane. 2013. "The Post-2015 Framework: Merging Care and Green Economy Approaches to Finance Gender-Equitable Sustainable Development." Washington, D.C.: Heinrich Böll Stiftung.

Author: Liane Schalatek

Annotation:

Summary:
"One year after the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), commonly referred to a “Rio +20” elaborated on the global community’s shared understanding of “the future we want”, follow up processes have started to sketch out possible outlines of a post-2015 framework with a set of sustainable development goals (SDG) as likely successor to the millennium development goal process (MDG), which ends in 2015. Gender-equitable sustainable development approaches will be key to addressing the shortcomings of the MDG process, which largely failed to significantly reduce persistent poverty and inequalities, including between men and women, in a natural environment that is overstressed, continues to be depleted in the name of economic growth and development, and is taken as a given. In order to succeed, truly sustainable development needs the marrying of the care economy which recognizes and accounts for primarily women’s unpaid social reproduction and care burden with the instruments of a green economy approach that internalizes and values (not necessarily prizes and commodifies) the use of environmental resources. Making development and climate finance processes and mechanisms more democratic and gender-responsive and devoting significant resources to interventions targeting gender equality and women’s empowerment is necessary to translate states’ rhetorical commitment into concrete policy actions" (Schalatek 2013, 3).

Topics: Economies, Care Economies, Ecological Economics, Poverty, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Year: 2013

Citation:

Tandon, Nidhi. 2012. Empowerment of Women in a Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication: The Case for Community-Based, Gender-Equitable and Human Rights-Based Green Economic Development. New York: UN Women.

Author: Nidhi Tandon

Annotation:

Summary:
This paper has three sections. The first section cautions against whole-scale acceptance of the current economic institutional order and the prevailing neo-liberal policy framework and applying those principles to the architecture of a green economy. Poverty is by far the greatest violation of human rights, and today’s economic institutional order is closely associated with the structural drivers of persistent poverty. It is therefore imperative and urgent that those movements that speak for both disenfranchised people and for disempowered women build understanding and solidarity to fundamentally change the global rules of engagement that disadvantage the poor and make it impossible for them to fend for themselves. This section outlines a sample of current challenges to how the economic system could be designed, regulated and measured around different sets of values and ownership models to benefit poor communities in a green economy. The author encourages the women’s movement to build strategic alliances and integrate gender equity issues with this emergent transformative thinking.

The second section identifies, illustrates and discusses three sectors, recognizing that a green economy has implications for women not only across sectors but in both urban and rural settings with a plethora of employment opportunities in labour and technology intensive areas. These sectors are drawn from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Green Economy Initiative report:4 (1) natural capital, emphasizing women’s relations with water, fisheries and land use; (2) energy and resource efficiency, including an examination of waste collection with a special emphasis on women waste pickers; and (3) the transition to a global green economy, which includes an analysis of enabling conditions and financial instruments. It also addresses a number of predicaments and ramifications already evident or emerging at the community, local, national, regional and global levels, where the drivers and interests of one green economy can erode or even erase the drivers and outcomes of another green economy. The author emphasizes that communities of citizens, broadly defined, each need their own cognitive framework of green economy values, principles, practices and policies, since these address and respond to intensely local issues. The locally defined framework then needs to be embraced and supported by an overarching public policy environment. This process constitutes a key platform for women’s engagement in the management and negotiation of the benefits from the development of the green economy.

Complex challenges create imperatives for change. At the community level these complexities need to be unpacked for women and men to fully grasp what is at stake. The third section continues the discussion by reinforcing the importance of developing women’s capacity for change through consolidating social capital, collective agency and community action. It suggests that while economic empowerment in a green economy context will be key, economic empowerment on its own will not translate automatically, or even necessarily, into the kind of action needed for a holistic green economy regime. The community level is the quintessential entry point for investing in women’s empowerment in green economies. If poor communities are the designated beneficiaries of cost-benefit programmes in green economies, to generate revenues from Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes or access regular compensation payments for water used by industry, then a scaled-down financial support infrastructure is an absolute necessity. The section closes with strategic recommendations focusing on community-level empowerment of women through collective agency, social capital and institutional anchoring of support services and investment.

Topics: Economies, Ecological Economics, Poverty, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Livelihoods

Year: 2012