Sectoral Analysis: How Climate Change Affects Women Across Different Industries

Climate change does not affect everyone equally. Around the world, women-particularly those in developing nations-bear a disproportionate burden of climate impacts across multiple sectors of the economy. From the fields where they grow food to the homes where they care for sick family members, the effects of rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events create cascading challenges that deepen existing gender inequalities. Understanding how climate change affects women across different industries is essential for developing effective adaptation strategies and building resilient communities.

Agricultural and fishing sectors: where women’s livelihoods are most vulnerable
Structural barriers compound climate vulnerability
Vulnerability during extreme weather events
Physical and social constraints during emergencies
Food security challenges
The water collection burden
Migration and infrastructure damage
Challenges in finding new livelihoods
Health impacts and care responsibilities
The caregiving burden intensifies
Moving toward gender-responsive climate action

Agricultural and fishing sectors: where women’s livelihoods are most vulnerable

Agriculture forms the backbone of many women’s livelihoods, particularly in the Global South. According to the FAO, rural women depend more heavily than men on natural resources and ecosystem services for food security, as they are often heavily involved in agricultural production and natural resource management. Women smallholder farmers tend to be more vulnerable to climatic shocks because they have less diversified livelihoods and are more dependent on agriculture.

The fishing sector presents similar challenges. In coastal regions like Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, rising sea levels threaten millions who rely on fishing for their livelihoods. Saltwater intrusion into freshwater systems-a direct consequence of sea-level rise-reduces fish production and contaminates the water sources that fishing communities depend upon. Women involved in fish processing and trading find their income sources disappearing as catches decline.

Research from CGIAR’s Gender Impact Platform identifies climate-agriculture-gender inequality hotspots where climate hazards converge with areas of high female agricultural participation and significant structural gender inequalities. These hotspots are concentrated primarily in Africa and Asia-regions where women often lack land ownership, access to credit, and control over agricultural inputs.

Structural barriers compound climate vulnerability

Women’s vulnerability in these sectors stems not just from environmental changes but from pre-existing inequalities. FAO reports indicate that women in agrifood systems work under worse conditions than men, taking informal and part-time jobs at higher rates while earning roughly 82 cents for every dollar men earn. The number of men who own agricultural land is twice that of women globally. These disparities mean women have fewer resources to adapt when climate impacts strike their farms and fishing grounds.

Vulnerability during extreme weather events

The statistics on women’s mortality during disasters are stark. According to UNDP, women and children are 14 times more likely than men to die during a disaster. Historical examples demonstrate this clearly: women accounted for 61 percent of fatalities from Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, 70-80 percent of deaths in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and 91 percent of casualties from the 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh.

These disproportionate death rates are rooted in social factors rather than biological ones. In many communities, women have never learned to swim-a skill that can mean the difference between life and death during floods and storm surges. Cultural restrictions on women’s mobility often prevent them from fleeing to safety without male family members. During the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, warning information was transmitted by men in public spaces but rarely communicated to women at home, and many women died waiting for male relatives to escort them to shelter.

Women’s vulnerability during extreme weather extends beyond swimming ability. Traditional clothing that restricts movement, responsibility for children and elderly family members, and lack of access to transportation all limit women’s capacity to respond quickly to sudden-onset disasters. Research published in the journal BMJ Global Health found that over the past two decades, more than 7,300 disasters triggered by natural hazards were recorded-nearly double the number from the previous two decades-with women and girls bearing a disproportionate burden of impacts.

Food security challenges

Climate change is fundamentally reshaping food systems worldwide, and women face unique vulnerabilities in this transformation. Studies from Bangladesh show how climate change affects food security and the status of disadvantaged women through decreased agricultural productivity, rising food costs, and post-hazard illness. The FAO has predicted that women will experience increasing poverty, social disruption, and food insecurity as climate change intensifies.

In many rural communities, women bear primary responsibility for household food distribution. When harvests fail due to drought, floods, or unpredictable weather patterns, women must stretch inadequate food supplies further. Research from CGIAR notes that in cultures where women traditionally eat last and least, climate-induced food scarcity exacerbates these disparities.

The water collection burden

The United Nations reports that 2.4 billion people currently live in water-stressed countries, with women, indigenous peoples, migrants, and refugees particularly affected. When water becomes scarce due to changing rainfall patterns and drought, women and girls-who traditionally bear responsibility for water collection in most developing communities-must travel greater distances to find sources.

UN Women explains that in many regions, women bear disproportionate responsibility for securing water and fuel for their families. When these resources become scarce due to changing climate, women must work harder and travel farther. This also puts added pressure on girls, who sometimes must leave school to help their mothers manage the increased burden. The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land notes that water scarcity can particularly affect women because they need to spend more time and energy collecting water, where they may also face increased exposure to physical and sexual violence.

Migration and infrastructure damage

Natural disasters cause widespread destruction of homes, farmland, and infrastructure, forcing communities to relocate. According to the Migration Policy Institute, there were 33 million natural disaster-related displacements in 2022, with most movement occurring internally rather than across borders. The World Bank estimates that under worst-case scenarios, approximately 216 million people could move internally by 2050 due to climate-related changes.

The Harvard International Review reports that the United Nations estimates 80 percent of those displaced by climate change are women. Women’s social restrictions and economic disadvantages contribute to the fact that they are 14 times more likely to die in climate disasters, and those who survive face unique challenges in displacement situations.

Challenges in finding new livelihoods

When families migrate to urban areas following climate disasters, women face particular difficulties establishing new livelihoods. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) notes that women are less likely than men to own productive and financial assets, social protection, and land that could help them absorb shocks and restart their lives. In urban areas, discrimination based on place of origin, combined with gender discrimination, limits women’s access to housing, employment, education, and health services.

Research on climate displacement shows that in the face of climate shocks, men are often more mobile and more likely to migrate to urban areas seeking employment. Women frequently face greater challenges relocating due to gendered social obligations to care for family and household, coupled with fewer financial and property rights. This can leave women trapped in deteriorating environments or struggling alone when male family members migrate for work.

Health impacts and care responsibilities

Climate change is expanding the range and intensity of vector-borne diseases. The World Health Organization states that climate change increases the spread of zoonoses and food-, water-, and vector-borne diseases. Temperature and precipitation changes enhance the spread of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks. Without preventive actions, deaths from such diseases-currently exceeding 700,000 annually-may rise significantly.

Research published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society confirms that vector-borne diseases cause more than one billion infections annually, with per capita mortality rates almost 300 times greater in developing nations than in developed regions. The CDC notes that warmer weather, along with other factors like lifestyle and healthcare access, could increase risk for vector-borne infections as climate changes lead to shifts or expansions in geographic ranges of disease-carrying organisms.

The caregiving burden intensifies

A systematic review on climate change and women’s health found that climate change intensifies women’s caregiving responsibilities. When family members fall ill with climate-sensitive diseases, women bear the primary responsibility for their care-a role that reinforces traditional gender expectations while increasing their workload beyond normal levels. In Pakistan, for example, women in informal settlements face increased care burdens due to floods and disease outbreaks, exacerbating existing health and socioeconomic disparities.

The burden of unpaid care work means women have less time to engage in paid work, participate in community decision-making processes, gain knowledge on adaptation strategies, or invest in new climate-resilient livelihoods. This creates a cycle where climate impacts reinforce women’s economic marginalization while also limiting their capacity to adapt to further changes.

Moving toward gender-responsive climate action

Addressing the gendered impacts of climate change requires recognizing women not only as vulnerable populations but as potential agents of change. The FAO emphasizes that if women are provided with equal access to resources and services, climate change can offer significant opportunities for them to become agents of transformation. When root causes of women’s excess risk to climate change impacts are addressed, women can play leading roles in building climate resilience.

Effective strategies include ensuring women’s participation in climate policy development, providing equal access to land, credit, and agricultural inputs, incorporating gender-disaggregated data into climate planning, and designing early warning systems that reach women effectively. UNDP’s work on gender and climate action emphasizes that when policies are gender-responsive and include women in policy processes, they are much more likely to help women withstand shocks and build resilience.

What do you think? How can communities better include women’s perspectives in climate adaptation planning? What changes in your own region could help reduce the disproportionate burden that climate change places on women?

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Table of Contents

Agricultural and fishing sectors: where women’s livelihoods are most vulnerable 🔗

Structural barriers compound climate vulnerability 🔗

Vulnerability during extreme weather events 🔗

Physical and social constraints during emergencies 🔗

Food security challenges 🔗

The water collection burden 🔗

Migration and infrastructure damage 🔗

Challenges in finding new livelihoods 🔗

Health impacts and care responsibilities 🔗

The caregiving burden intensifies 🔗

Moving toward gender-responsive climate action 🔗