Most accept that climate change is human-driven. But often dominating our casual observations and reactions is too much emphasis on technology and not enough on people. Further, the understanding that not all humans will be equally impacted is frequently missing. Gender is one of those human factors that has not received enough attention. I hope to motivate you to learn more about the role of gender in climate change challenges and solutions and to consider actions you can take to help solve a global crisis.

United Nations sites and reports

• Gender and climate change

  • Introduction to Gender and Climate Change. https://unfccc.int/gender 

  • The Gender Action Plan. https://unfccc.int/topics/gender/the-big-picture/introduction-to-gender-and-climate-change/the-gender-action-plan-1 

  • Gender and Climate Change: Cross-cutting Issues. https://unfccc.int/topics/gender/resources/cross-cutting-topics 

  • 5 Reasons Why Climate Action Needs Women. (2 April 2019). https://unfccc.int/news/5-reasons-why-climate-action-needs-women 

• Ginette Azcona et al. (2020). From Insight to Action: Gender Equality in the Wake of COVID-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116232059/https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Gender-equality-in-the-wake-of-COVID-19-en.pdf 

• IPCC (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116104806/https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ 

• International Women’s Day 8 March. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116160933/https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day 

• World Toilet Day 19 November. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116161148/https://www.un.org/en/observances/toilet-day 

Teaching

• Montecinos, V., Signorella, M. L., & Mazur, E. (2020). Internationalizing the curriculum with United Nations resources. In Schwartz, A. & Miller, R. L. (Eds.). High Impact Educational Practices: A Review of Best Practices with Illustrative Examples (pp. 29-43). http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/highimpacted

• Signorella, M. L., Montecinos, V., Mazur, E., & Higgins, M. (2017, March). The importance of teaching gender from global and interdisciplinary perspectives. Paper presented at the Association for Women in Psychology, Milwaukee, WI. https://doi.org/10.26207/2twq-z078

• Signorella, M. L., Montecinos, V., Mazur, E., & Higgins, M. (2017, September). Global and interdisciplinary perspectives on human rights and other global justice issues in the university curriculum: Crossing borders without a passport. Paper presented at the Diversity Research Symposium, Muncie, IN. https://psyarxiv.com/fc79x/

News

• Bonnie Chiu. (30 October 2021). COP26: Why are women still missing at the top climate table. Forbes.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/bonniechiu/2021/10/30/cop26-why-are-women-still-missing-at-the-top-climate-table/?sh=3005bebe519d

• Euronews. (10 November 2021). COP26: Five takeaways as the “sexism” of climate change is discussed. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116232809/https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/11/09/cop26-five-takeaways-as-the-sexism-of-climate-change-is-discussed

• Lauren Jackson. (24 August 2021). The climate crisis is worse for women. Here’s why. New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20211112054900/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/us/climate-crisis-women-katharine-wilkinson.html 

• Alina Tugend. (1 April 2017). Women’s crucial role in combatting climate change. New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116161328/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/us/womens-crucial-role-in-combating-climate-change.html