Women & Climate Change
Women and girls face inequality every day, especially in poor communities worldwide. Climate change -- and now the coronavirus pandemic -- are making the inequality worse. Gains that we have made in recent years are being eroded.
The impacts of climate change often leave families struggling to earn enough money. Poor harvests or disasters can deplete whatever savings they had. And when a family is struggling, parents have to make tough choices. Many pull their daughters out of school to work or marry young.
Amidst these growing challenges, women and girls are stepping up to make change happen. Around the world, women are starting and expanding businesses through CWS programs. They are building livelihoods, savings and ultimately resilience. Girls are enrolling in school and studying for brighter futures. So are older women who did not finish school and are learning how to read later in life.
We must address the climate crisis. And women and girls are crucial in making it happen.
Latest Updates
As Hardships Grow, so Does a Harmful Practice
In many cultures across the globe, female genital mutilation – or FGM – has long been practiced as a rite of passage marking the transition of girls to womanhood. It is often considered a necessary steppingstone to marriage and motherhood. On the contrary, FGM is now increasingly understood to be a painful, unnecessary tradition without medical benefits. Its harmful effects …
Replacing Losina’s discouragement with hope
At the beginning of this year, Losina Evarist Elias was discouraged. Her family was struggling to afford three meals a day. They didn’t have enough money to meet their basic needs, and didn’t even have enough clothing for all nine people in her household. Their plot of land wasn’t yielding enough, and the wages that they earned from seasonal labor …
Women’s Right to Water: a “Learning Route” in Argentina
It was the end of October, and spring had just started in Argentina. In the Gran Chaco region, though, it felt like the middle of summer as the temperature easily reached 110° F. We were in Orán, a town in the province of Salta in the Gran Chaco. Thirty women got together to exchange experiences and learn new technologies for …