Climate change hits women and girls harder

ISTANBUL (AA) – Several studies have found that women are hit harder than men when it comes to natural disasters caused by climate change.

Studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) say the effects of climate change hit women harder because biologically they need more water.

According to a study by researchers at the University of Texas, the University of Minnesota and Arizona State University, the number of women who have lost their lives in disasters is 14 times higher than that of men.

Speaking to Türkiye’s Anadolu news agency, researcher Virginie Le Masson said that it is women’s job to bring water into the home, and that water shortages therefore affect them directly.

“Here in many places, it is the job of women and girls to bring water to the house. If the water source is too far from home, this job takes up a lot of their time during the day. With climate change, water resources are also decreasing,” she said.

“In fact, this is a domino effect. Women’s workload is higher. They cannot work in jobs where they can earn money, so their capacity to save money and invest in their future is affected,” she said.

“We need to understand that climate change is not specifically targeting women. Women are more vulnerable to climate change as they already face many inequalities,” she concluded.

Amber Fletcher, a sociologist at Canada’s College of Regina, said women in the global South are particularly hard hit by disasters.

She said many women cannot swim and are left behind in disasters such as floods.

“The gender gap is at the root of the unequal distribution of resources and power. Such inequalities are also exacerbated when disaster strikes,” she said.

Reports by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which deals with the role of women in society in various parts of the world and their participation in business life, stress that women carry out 75% of the unpaid work around the world.