Rural women in poor countries hit harder by climate shocks: FAO study

ROME

Women farmers and female-headed households in low- and middle-income countries suffer larger losses due to climatic shocks, such as heat and flooding, than those by male-headed households, according to a new study Tuesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The Unjust Climate noted that female-headed rural households on average have lost 8% more of their income during heat waves and 3% more during floods, compared to male-headed households.

The gender gap translates into a per capita reduction of $83 due to heat stress and $35 due to floods -- reaching an annual total of $37 billion and $16 billion, respectively, it said.

The report used data from 24 low- and middle-income countries across five regions and spans 70 years of daily climate data, matched with the incomes of more than 100,000 households.

Climate change is also increasing the number of hours women are required to work and since women already have a higher burden of care in almost all countries, it exacerbates the situation.

On top of all of this, there are also persistent discriminatory social norms that women and girls face in agri-food systems, which may constrain how much they can work outside the home or how far they can travel for work.

The FAO estimated that closing labor and productivity gaps between women and men could significantly affect GDP, increasing it by 1% globally and reducing food insecurity for 45 million people.

The report found that projects and policies focusing on empowerment can significantly improve resilience to climatic and other shocks. It was estimated that empowering projects could lead to an additional 235 million families having higher resilience to climate shocks.

Addressing the gaps and promoting empowerment are crucial to helping families and women become more resilient to climate change.

The UN agency then urged specific strategies to address the particular vulnerabilities of rural households headed by women.