ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR CORAL REEF STUDIES
Scientists say outdated assumptions around gender continue to hinder effective and fair policymaking and action for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Lead author of a new study, Dr Jacqueline Lau from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (Coral CoE at JCU) and WorldFish, said gender–alongside other identities like race, class and age–has a powerful influence on people’s experience of, and resilience to, climate change.
She said the four most common and interlinked assumptions found are: women are innately caring and connected to the environment; women are a homogenous and vulnerable group; gender equality is a women’s issue and; gender equality is a numbers game.
“Although there is a global mandate to work towards gender equality in climate change mitigation and adaptation, efforts are hindered by a set of assumptions about gender, long critiqued in development studies,” Dr Lau said.
The study draws on post-2014 gender and climate change literature, to give an overview of how the gender assumptions manifest across recent work in adaptation, mitigation and broader climate change policy, practice and research.
The review of the literature takes a closer look at how these assumptions narrowly diagnose the causes of gender inequality.
“As a result, we see too many strategies that have unintended–and even counterproductive–consequences,” said Dr Pip Cohen, from WorldFish.
“For instance, strategies that target women only may overburden them, cause a backlash, or obscure the vulnerabilities of other groups.”
The study offers lessons for a more informed pursuit of gender equality in climate change research, policy and practice.
The authors said progressing gender equality means breaking down stereotypes and prejudices about gender–creating environments to enable all people to exercise their agency to cope, change and adapt.
Dr Lau said she was surprised to find so many examples of gender assumptions in climate change practice. She explained that a first step in disrupting these assumptions is to lay them bare and explain why development research has found them to be problematic.
“The social and cultural expectations about what it is to be a woman or a man in any given society will shape people’s wellbeing,” Dr Lau said.
She said alongside efforts to dismantle broader barriers to gender equality, better and more coordinated efforts are needed from practitioners and researchers to disrupt and counteract unhelpful assumptions.
“Pursuing gender equality in climate change policy and practice is critical, and decades of experience in development offer lessons for how to do it well,” Dr Lau said.
“Ultimately, we want to see equitable opportunities for all people to realise their full potential. Where no one is left behind.”
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PAPER
Lau J, Kleiber D, Lawless S, Cohen P. (2021). ‘Gender equality in climate policy and practice hindered by assumptions’. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-00999-7
I’m not surprised. The amount of actual science in “gender studies” is about the same as the amount of actual science in global warmunism. Thus they fit well together
Garbage like this, which is being produced faster and faster in our day and age, has me convinced that we are headed for a new dark age.
I fail to see how climate change would affect women more or less than men. There is probably gender equality when it comes to feeling hot or cold.
Then again, most of the TV weather reporters are female. It can be a consolation to look at a pretty woman telling you about the lousy weather to come.
As for the gender of glaciers, the word “glacier” in French is masculine, although “glace” (ice) is feminine. I suppose feminine ice changes genders in large quantities. But when it melts, “eau” (water) is feminine in French, as is “vapeur” (steam) when it boils. Phase changes don’t result in gender changes.
Genders can change in translation. The French word for “sea” is feminine (la mer), but the Spanish word for “sea” is masculine (el mar).
Even two words for the same object can have different genders. A bicycle in French can be a feminine “bicyclette” or a masculine “velo”. Calling a bicycle by another name gives it a sex change!
The idea of gender for inanimate objects is built into most foreign languages other than English, so all these PC-woke ideas of neutering speech in English don’t translate well into other languages, or into study of the climate.
Hasn’t she heard? By using the term woman instead of gender neutral terminology she is contributing to the oppression of the transgendered.
We have entered into another level of insanity. The most easily offended and insecure among us are being made the arbiters of what is acceptable speech.
This is what you get when you require science students to take gender studies courses. They get the two mixed up.
JCU is a failed experiment in AGW activism and should shut down. Safer for students to go to a university with integrity that respects real science.
From the article: “Scientists say outdated assumptions around gender continue to hinder effective and fair policymaking and action for climate mitigation and adaptation.”
How silly!
Scientists? How many scientists? Who? What do these scientists know about gender and fair policymaking?
Outdated assumptions? Biology is biology.
Climate mitigation and adaption? Where is the need to mitigate or adapt to our present climate? Isn’t that all in your (alarmist’s) head?
If the authors didn’t have assumptions, they wouldn’t have anything at all.