August 1, 2025

Gender equality and conservation go hand-in-hand

Photo: Marie Meloche

Climate change is inescapable. Here at home and around the world, people are already feeling its impacts – some more than others. Data has shown that women are disproportionately affected by climate change and its impacts.

The Gender Snapshot report from last year indicates that, by 2050, climate change could push up to 158 million more women into poverty – compared to up to 142 million men. Already, the United Nations reports that 47 million more women face food insecurity and hunger than men.

But women are adaptable and resilient, and they’re taking action to address these pressing challenges.

Think about the women who took part in our Building Community Resilience to Climate Change in Senegal project, for example.

Through this project, we worked with partners, community members, and farmers to promote gender equality and ensure women have greater decision-making roles. And though the project has wrapped, this work continues – sustained by the communities themselves, who are building on the momentum and knowledge they have long carried.

We also supported women, who are the primary collectors of firewood, to produce and market biomass briquettes – which are alternative fuel sources that help reduce pressure on forests while creating local opportunities for income and innovation.

You can also look at our Femmes en Action project – through which women and communities are accessing resources to become more resilient to climate change and its impacts.

They are also contributing to forest conservation, particularly by integrating nature-based solutions. And they are participating in agricultural, literacy, and leadership strengthening activities that reflect both tradition and evolving needs.

Our Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems project also accompanies communities, especially women, to better prepare themselves for the effects of extreme weather and the impacts of climate change.

This includes training in gender-responsive forest management, forming Roots & Shoots clubs that introduce nature-based learning for students, especially girls, and raising awareness of gender-informed conservation approaches among local leaders.

As Dr. Jane has said: “Because so many women are on the front line of the climate change fight, they’re uniquely situated to be agents of change.”

We remain extremely committed to walking alongside women – recognizing them not only as agents of change, but as stewards of knowledge, resilience, and progress. Because when women benefit, everyone benefits.

To learn more about these projects and the other work we’re doing to promote gender equality and address conservation challenges at the same time, go to JaneGoodall.ca/What-We-Do.