Looking at climate change through the gender lens

On March 8 the world celebrates International Women’s Day—a day dedicated to raising awareness on the importance of achieving gender parity in the working world. To understand women’s role in agriculture and to close the gender gap in agricultural production, IFPRI research has been examining gender differences within rural households and communities for over 25 years.One challenge that both men and women face is increasing resilience to growing climate threats. Gender-disaggregated data from a study in Bangladesh, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda, which was conducted in partnership with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), showed that men and women respond differently to climate change given considerable variations in perceptions, preferences, needs, and priorities. Women often lack access to information and resources needed to adapt to perceived climate changes. Therefore, closing the gender gap in agriculture would enable women to contribute to making agriculture and rural livelihoods more resilient.