Why women’s participation is essential to achieve global climate targets

The authors argue that women are disproportionately affected by climate change and are often excluded from the design of climate technologies and political decision-making. They highlight that women's roles in energy-intensive domestic tasks make their input critical for energy transition, and that addressing the gender gap in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, maths, and medicine) is necessary to accelerate climate innovation. The text calls for gender equality strategies, such as the Athena Swan Charter and the #5050Vision campaign, to ensure diverse representation in climate negotiations and the workforce.

• Climate change disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations, particularly women and children, who make up over 75% of the more than 125 million people requiring humanitarian assistance.
• Women's exclusion from the design process of clean energy technologies often leads to the failure of these innovations because the specific concerns of the primary users—women—are not considered. These barriers include maintenance difficulties, fear of job loss, and cultural or religious objections to certain renewable fuels.
• The underrepresentation of women in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, maths, and medicine) limits the pool of talent available for climate innovation. Overcoming this requires addressing cultural legacies of exclusion, implementing gender equality strategies like the Athena Swan Charter, closing the gender pay gap, and supporting those returning to work after caring responsibilities.
• Efforts to increase gender diversity in climate governance include the #5050Vision campaign, which seeks to ensure that at least 50% of top-level representatives in all climate negotiation delegations are diverse women.

APA

Jimoh, M. O. (2021). Why women’s participation is essential to achieve global climate targets. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/women-participation-essential-achieve-global-climate-targets/

Chicago

Jimoh, Modupe Olufunmilayo. Why women’s participation is essential to achieve global climate targets. World Economic Forum, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/women-participation-essential-achieve-global-climate-targets/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jimoh |first1=Modupe Olufunmilayo |title=Why women’s participation is essential to achieve global climate targets |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=17 November 2021 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/women-participation-essential-achieve-global-climate-targets/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jimoh2021why, author = {Jimoh, Modupe Olufunmilayo}, title = {{Why women’s participation is essential to achieve global climate targets}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/women-participation-essential-achieve-global-climate-targets/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }