Climate Change and Gender Impacts on Development among Rural Communities

This paper discusses the relationship between climate change and gender, and the implications for development among rural communities. The research findings are based on a survey of secondary sources, research and institutional reports. Climate change is one development issue in which inequalities such as those created by gender will require serious attention in order to provide a comprehensive and meaningful understanding and solutions for mitigation and adaptation to the prevailing changes that affect livelihood systems. Climate change is one development issue in which inequalities such as those created by gender will affect the solutions for mitigation and adaptation to the prevailing changes that affect livelihood systems. Climate change and variability are emerging as some of the most serious global problems affecting sustainable development in the world today. Developing countries are especially vulnerable to climate change because of their heavy dependence on rain-fed agriculture. On the other hand, gender is contained in the human element which has an input in all productive activities. Thus climate change and gender form an integral part of the economic growth and development driving wheel. We live in societies and communities that are dominated by gender differences in terms of the social, political and economic status of men and women. These differences create a skewed pattern in control and ownership of economic and productive resources and this affects the pace and level of rural and economic development. In terms of technology development, most technologies developed are masculine, making it difficult for women to operate them, thus making them lag behind in terms of use of advanced technologies. Access to institutional services such as extension, markets and financial services is largely dominated by men. Women are also marginalized in terms of access to health care, information, skills, and education among other human development facilities, resulting in them having a lower human development index than their male counterparts. These factors have contributed to the marginalization and deprivation of women among rural communities. As such, they are rendered weak and powerless in terms of their ability to respond effectively and appropriately to the vagaries of climate variability and change.