Gender Inequalities Among Global Warming Migrants

The World Bank estimated that, in 2016, 65% of the world’s poorest working adults made their living through agriculture production. Agriculture uses roughly 70% of our freshwater supply, which is expected to increase by 50% by 2050.  

Yet.

The global temperature has continued to rise, our oceans are getting warmer, ice sheets are beginning to disappear. The sea levels are rising, we’re seeing more extreme weather events, and our oceans are becoming more acidic. 

Global rise in temperature

The slow-onset of environmental changes, such as soil erosion, heavy rain and flooding, and a plethora of natural disasters have already been observed. As one might imagine, damaging changes to farm land have had devastating effects on those who rely on agriculture for their primary source of income. For example, extreme temperature and precipitation may reduce crop yields; the same is true for prolonged drought. As CO2 increases, so does plant growth; however, it simultaneously reduces the nutritional value of plants. So, it is not to our surprise that global warming is one of the leading causes of world hunger and malnutrition.

As a result of the impact of environmental changes in agriculture, many families have been forced to migrate in search of livable opportunities. Unfortunately, climate change migration disproportionately effects women when compared to their male counterparts. 

Gender inequalities continue to persist among cultural subgroups and hinder a women’s ability to receive help even though women make up 40-80% of all food production in low-income countries. Lack of access to political power, land, finances, etc. limit the amount of control she has on building her new life as a migrant; not to mention the rise in sexual exploitation that often occurs after a natural disaster. Women also may face heavy discrimination not just during migration, but at their destination where they often do not receive adequate housing, health services, education, and employment. Employment, in particular, is difficult to come by as a migrant woman and as a result, women are more willing to take economic risks. 

In sum, women often have more responsibilities without having more rights. 

Flooded field in Bangladesh

An embankment wall that kept the bay from flooding nearby homes and fields in Bangladesh had been breached due to rising sea levels. Hafiza Khatun and her husband had been managing a betel leaf farm before it had been destroyed by floods. The family was forced to sell several possessions just in order to survive. When the last cattle was sold, Hafiza Khatun smuggled his way into Myanmar along with 20 other men in search of work. Hafiza was on her own with three children and never enough food. She found work during the day as a domestic servant, but when illness would set in, it would keep Hafiza from earning the income they needed to survive. 

Bonded labor is unfortunately not uncommon in Bangladesh. Landless indigenous people who have not fled the region ask landlords for an advance on labor so they may get food when work ran out. A person will ask several landlords to buy their labor and only stay for a month or so. This has effectively created less job opportunities for the rest of the community. Meanwhile, the fields themselves have been damaged due to flooding and again, many flee in hopes of survival. 

For some, survival demands looking for other lines of work. Some young women moving out of Bangladesh, that then migrate to India, are promised work from an “agent” who may turn out to be part of a trafficking ring. These women would then be forced into sex work in brothels once they’ve arrived in India. 

Most studies have indicated that there simply is not enough research on the impact of climate change that separates males from females, yet, because of gender roles, discrimination, and power differences, women are systematically treated differently across all cultures. To be certain, migration due to climate change negatively effects everyone—regardless of age, sex, gender, or socioeconomic status. Women and men who are dependent on agriculture as a source of income and food are especially vulnerable; however, in a United Nations “Woman’s Watch” article, women face economic and political barriers (barriers that men do not face) that limit their ability to cope with and change their living status. 

As our global temperature continues to rise, our environment will continue to change and suffer. Land erosion, soil nutrient depletion, rising CO2 levels, extreme weather events, polluted waters, warmer temperatures… the list continues. For those making a living off of the land, the changing environment can actually mean the difference between life and death; or, at the very least, uprooting one’s family in search of livable opportunities. This is where the process becomes divided: women often take on more responsibilities, yet continue to be discriminated against, exploited for sex work, and denied fundamental human rights including the right to life, health, shelter, and food.