The Gender Dimensions of Poverty and Climate Change Adaptation

Drawing on available literature on gender and climate change, this article examines the ways in which interlinkages between gender inequalities and multiple dimensions of poverty impact on the capacity of women and men to adapt to or mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. Cautioning against the tendency to fall back on assumptions of women as a homogenous, subjugated group, the article calls instead for more contextualised research drawing on women's and men's local realities and coping strategies. By developing more nuanced and concrete understandings of how gender-related constraints play out in particular contexts of environmental stress, we will be able to move away from generalisations to more appropriately inform adaptation policies and programmes of poor and marginalised people's needs and priorities. Adapted from the source document.